The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the air quality in China: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) in early 2020 posed a significant threat to people’s health and economic sustainability in China and worldwide. This study investigated whether the lockdown measures precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic affected air pollutants in the short term. Moreover, we investigated the impact of the heterogeneity of cities and regions. Using city-level daily panel data for the 2018–2020 lunar calendar, we employed a two-way fixed effects model and interrupted time-series analysis to inspect the effects of the lockdown measures. Interesting empirical findings emerged from our analysis. First, compared with the base period from 2018 to 2019, the COVID-19 lockdown measures significantly reduced air pollutants. In 2020, compared to 2018, PM(10) and SO(2) dropped by 15.28 μg/m(3) and 6.55 μg/m(3), and compared to 2019, PM(2.5), PM(10), and SO(2) declined by 7.4 μg/m(3), 19.34 μg/m(3), and 1.41 μg/m(3), respectively. Second, our dynamic analysis showed that as more time elapsed since the start of the lockdown, the associated reduction in air pollution became more significant. Third, the proportion of secondary industries and the cumulative number of confirmed cases had a considerable heterogeneity impact on lockdown measures. Policymakers should encourage investment in new infrastructure and initiatives to boost efficiency and enhance environmental outcomes.