Impact of lockdown and crop stubble burning on air quality of India: a case study from wheat-growing region

The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the entire planet to a halt. Many countries, including India, were compelled to shut down most urban, industrial, social and other activities as a result of the pandemic. Due to a series of complete lockdowns imposed in India from March 24 to May 17, 2020, and state-wise local level restrictions afterward, have resulted in significant reduction of emissions of numerous atmospheric pollutants. The objective of this study is to analyse the change in concentration of various pollutants such as nitrogen oxide (NO(2)), carbon monoxide (CO) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) due to lockdown and also to quantify the contribution of crop stubble burning to air pollution. The Sentinel-5P based NO(2) and CO observations for 2019 and 2020 and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based AOD observations for 2016–2020 were used for detecting the variations. The obtained results showed a significant decrease in NO(2) levels during various stages of lockdown. Small decrease in CO levels was observed across most part of the India. With a few exceptions, such as coastal and desert regions, there was a moderate decrease in AOD levels. Furthermore, to study the contribution of NO(2), CO and AOD from crop stubble burning, MODIS observations on active fire events were obtained from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The burning of crop stubble increased NO(2) emissions by 22 to 80%. CO levels, on the other hand, have risen by 7 to 25%. A considerable variation in AOD was reported, ranging from 1 to 426%.