The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on nitrogen dioxide levels in Nigeria

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been transmitted worldwide over a very short time after it originated in China in December 2019. In an attempt to control its spread and reduce its health impacts, several countries including those in the African continent imposed restrictive measures that was termed “lockdown”. The outcomes of this lockdown have been reported to be beneficial to air quality worldwide. The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of lockdown due to COVID-19 on nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) levels over six major cities in Nigeria. Maps extracted from satellite (Sentinel-5P) were used to indicate the significant reduction in the level of NO(2) in the selected cities in Nigeria during two time-intervals, pre-lockdown (December, 2019) and during lockdown (April, 2020). The results show a significant reduction in NO(2) levels during the lockdown period compared with its levels during the pre-lockdown period in 2019. The reduction in NO(2) concentration levels during lockdown is likely due to less traffic, social distancing and restrictions on business and human activities. There could be an element of uncertainty in the results due to seasonality, as the comparison is done with a different season. However, the magnitude of change due to lockdown is probably much higher than the seasonal variability. Although COVID-19 has negatively impacted the health and economic status of all regions worldwide, it has benefited some aspects of air quality in most countries including Nigeria. This indicates that anthropogenic activities may be managed to reduce air pollution and positively impact the health of human beings.