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Based on the PM2.5 concentration in the autumn and winter of 2015-2019, the characteristics of urban air pollution in the eastern monsoon region of China were discussed. The spatial distribution and interregional influence of fine particle pollution under different synoptic weather and topography in the eastern monsoon region of China were illustra...
Citations
... However, the high nitrogen oxide values before the pandemic under the anticyclonic type could be attributed to downward motion and pollutant accumulation. Zhu et al. [64] obtained high PM 2.5 concentrations in eastern China under uniform pressure fields. Chen et al. [65] investigated the impact of the lockdown on ultrafine particles in Taipei, Taiwan, since traffic emissions decreased. ...
The port of Cartagena, south-east Spain, is noted for its intense activity. This paper presents the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the recorded levels of six pollutants. Fifteen years of measurements were used, with two objectives. The first was to investigate how these pollutants evolved, together with their usual cycles. The second objective was to ascertain whether the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the concentrations recorded. The results showed that nitrogen oxide concentrations remained steady in the first half of the measurement period and decreased in the second half. SO2 concentrations decreased irregularly, whereas O3 and PM10 presented steady concentrations. The annual cycle was observed for nitrogen oxides and O3. Only SO2 evidenced no weekly cycle. Finally, the analysis of pre- and post-pandemic concentrations revealed a sharp decrease in nitrogen oxides, whereas the pandemic was not seen to have had any impact on the other pollutants. In addition, NO2 emerged as the best indicator of human activity—represented by car and maritime traffic—due to its response to the relaxation measures. Finally, Lamb weather types were calculated. The unclassified type was the most frequent. However, the greatest concentration changes were observed for anticyclonic and eastern flow types.
The Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) is considered to be the most stringent air pollution control policy in China implemented since 2013. This policy is a milestone in China to mitigate serious air pollution. However, health benefits attributable to reduced fine-particulate air pollution after the implementation of the APPCAP have not been quantitatively estimated on a PM2.5 constituent-specific and morbidity cause-specific basis. Here we conducted a nationwide case-crossover study based on hospital admission records in 292 Chinese cities during 2013-2017. Compared with 2013, the annual average concentrations of PM2.5 and black carbon (BC) in 2017 decreased by 28.61% and 20.35%, respectively. As a result, the average relative reductions in annual attributable fractions of nine major cause-specific hospital admissions associated with PM2.5 and BC were 30.00% and 21.14%, respectively, among which annual attributable fraction for depression showed the largest reduction. Nationally, cities with higher reductions in PM2.5 and BC were found to have higher absolute reductions in annual hospital admission attributable fractions associated with PM2.5 and BC, and geographic inequality in health benefits still existed. Our study highlights the substantial wide-ranging health benefits of reduced PM2.5 and BC levels following the nationwide implementation of the APPCAP in China.
