A high-resolution typical pollution source emission inventory and pollution source changes during the COVID-19 lockdown in a megacity, China

To control the spread of COVID-19, China has imposed national lockdown policies to restrict the movement of its population since the Chinese New Year of January 2020. In this study, we quantitatively analyzed the changes of pollution sources in Shanghai during the COVID-19 lockdown; a high-resolution emission inventory of typical pollution sources including stationary source, mobile source, and oil and gas storage and transportation source was established based on pollution source data from January to February 2020. The results show that the total emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), nitrogen oxides (NO(x)), particulate matter (PM), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were 9520.2, 37,978.6, 2796.7, and 7236.9 tons, respectively, during the study period. Affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, the mobile source experienced the largest decline. The car mileage and oil sales decreased by about 80% during the COVID-19 lockdown (P3) when compared with those during the pre-Spring Festival (P1). The number of aircraft activity decreased by approximately 50%. The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on industries such as iron and steel and petrochemicals was less significant, while the greater impact was on coatings, chemicals, rubber, and plastic. The emissions of SO(2), NO(x), PM(2.5), and VOCs decreased by 11%, 39%, 37%, and 47%, respectively, during P3 when compared with those during P1. The results show that the measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic made a significant contribution to emission reductions. This study may provide a reference for other countries to assess the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on emissions and help establish regulatory actions to improve air quality. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-020-11858-x.