Variation in Concentration and Sources of Black Carbon in a Megacity of China During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Overview

Journal Geophys Res Lett

Date 2020 Dec 22

PMID 33349736

Citations 23

Authors

Liang Xu

Jian Zhang

Xin Sun

Shengchen Xu

Meng Shan

Qi Yuan

Lei Liu

Zhenhong Du

Dantong Liu

Da Xu

Congbo Song

Bowen Liu

Gongda Lu

Zongbo Shi

Weijun Li

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Black carbon (BC) not only warms the atmosphere but also affects human health. The nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a major reduction in human activity during the past 30 years. Here, the concentration of BC in the urban, urban-industry, suburb, and rural areas of a megacity Hangzhou were monitored using a multiwavelength Aethalometer to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on BC emissions. The citywide BC decreased by 44% from 2.30 to 1.29 μg/m following the COVID-19 lockdown period. The source apportionment based on the Aethalometer model shows that vehicle emission reduction responded to BC decline in the urban area and biomass burning in rural areas around the megacity had a regional contribution of BC. We highlight that the emission controls of vehicles in urban areas and biomass burning in rural areas should be more efficient in reducing BC in the megacity Hangzhou.

Citing Articles

The effect of quarantine policy on pollution emission and the usage of private transportation in urban areas.

Hong Y, Lu K Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):15752.

PMID: 38977818 PMC: 11231271. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-66685-8.

Declining carbon emission/concentration during COVID-19: A critical review on temporary relief.

Adhikari A, Sengupta J, Hussain C Carbon Trends. 2024; 5:100131.

PMID: 38620883 PMC: 8590614. DOI: 10.1016/j.cartre.2021.100131.

Shift-and-persist strategies as a potential protective factor against symptoms of psychological distress among young adults in Puerto Rico.

Lopez-Cepero A, Spruill T, Suglia S, Lewis T, Mazzitelli N, Perez C Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2023; 59(8):1357-1365.

PMID: 38085277 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-023-02601-1.

Discovery of Brassica Yellows Virus and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus in and Changes in Virome Due to Infection with '. L. asiaticus'.

Lu J, Zeng L, Holford P, Beattie G, Wang Y Microbiol Spectr. 2023; :e0499622.

PMID: 36943045 PMC: 10100913. DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.04996-22.

Concentration and size distribution of atmospheric particles in southern Italy during COVID-19 lockdown period.

Conte M, Dinoi A, Grasso F, Merico E, Guascito M, Contini D Atmos Environ (1994). 2022; 295:119559.

PMID: 36569029 PMC: 9759460. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119559.

References

Cappa C, Onasch T, Massoli P, Worsnop D, Bates T, Cross E . Radiative absorption enhancements due to the mixing state of atmospheric black carbon. Science. 2012; 337(6098):1078-81. DOI: 10.1126/science.1223447. View

Yuan Q, Qi B, Hu D, Wang J, Zhang J, Yang H . Spatiotemporal variations and reduction of air pollutants during the COVID-19 pandemic in a megacity of Yangtze River Delta in China. Sci Total Environ. 2020; 751:141820. PMC: 7440035. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141820. View

Lelieveld J, Pozzer A, Poschl U, Fnais M, Haines A, Munzel T . Loss of life expectancy from air pollution compared to other risk factors: a worldwide perspective. Cardiovasc Res. 2020; 116(11):1910-1917. PMC: 7449554. DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvaa025. View

Liu L, Kong S, Zhang Y, Wang Y, Xu L, Yan Q . Morphology, composition, and mixing state of primary particles from combustion sources - crop residue, wood, and solid waste. Sci Rep. 2017; 7(1):5047. PMC: 5505958. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05357-2. View

Chen J, Li C, Ristovski Z, Milic A, Gu Y, Islam M . A review of biomass burning: Emissions and impacts on air quality, health and climate in China. Sci Total Environ. 2016; 579:1000-1034. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.025. View

Wang P, Chen K, Zhu S, Wang P, Zhang H . Severe air pollution events not avoided by reduced anthropogenic activities during COVID-19 outbreak. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2020; 158:104814. PMC: 7151380. DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104814. View

Zhang R, Wang G, Guo S, Zamora M, Ying Q, Lin Y . Formation of urban fine particulate matter. Chem Rev. 2015; 115(10):3803-55. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00067. View

Dallmann T, DeMartini S, Kirchstetter T, Herndon S, Onasch T, Wood E . On-road measurement of gas and particle phase pollutant emission factors for individual heavy-duty diesel trucks. Environ Sci Technol. 2012; 46(15):8511-8. DOI: 10.1021/es301936c. View

Sandradewi J, Prevot A, Szidat S, Perron N, Alfarra M, Lanz V . Using aerosol light absorption measurements for the quantitative determination of wood burning and traffic emission contributions to particulate matter. Environ Sci Technol. 2008; 42(9):3316-23. DOI: 10.1021/es702253m. View

10.

Cui Y, Ji D, Maenhaut W, Gao W, Zhang R, Wang Y . Levels and sources of hourly PM-related elements during the control period of the COVID-19 pandemic at a rural site between Beijing and Tianjin. Sci Total Environ. 2020; 744:140840. PMC: 7347310. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140840. View

11.

Grange S, Carslaw D . Using meteorological normalisation to detect interventions in air quality time series. Sci Total Environ. 2019; 653:578-588. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.344. View

12.

Sun Y, Wang Z, Wild O, Xu W, Chen C, Fu P . "APEC Blue": Secondary Aerosol Reductions from Emission Controls in Beijing. Sci Rep. 2016; 6:20668. PMC: 4758222. DOI: 10.1038/srep20668. View

13.

Liu Y, Yan C, Zheng M . Source apportionment of black carbon during winter in Beijing. Sci Total Environ. 2017; 618:531-541. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.053. View

14.

Mousavi A, Sowlat M, Hasheminassab S, Polidori A, Sioutas C . Spatio-temporal trends and source apportionment of fossil fuel and biomass burning black carbon (BC) in the Los Angeles Basin. Sci Total Environ. 2018; 640-641:1231-1240. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.022. View

15.

Huang X, Ding A, Gao J, Zheng B, Zhou D, Qi X . Enhanced secondary pollution offset reduction of primary emissions during COVID-19 lockdown in China. Natl Sci Rev. 2021; 8(2):nwaa137. PMC: 7337733. DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa137. View

16.

Tian H, Liu Y, Li Y, Wu C, Chen B, Kraemer M . An investigation of transmission control measures during the first 50 days of the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Science. 2020; 368(6491):638-642. PMC: 7164389. DOI: 10.1126/science.abb6105. View

17.

Bauwens M, Compernolle S, Stavrakou T, Muller J, van Gent J, Eskes H . Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak on NO Pollution Assessed Using TROPOMI and OMI Observations. Geophys Res Lett. 2020; 47(11):e2020GL087978. PMC: 7261997. DOI: 10.1029/2020GL087978. View

18.

Li K, Chen L, White S, Zheng X, Lv B, Lin C . Chemical characteristics and sources of PM during the 2016 summer in Hangzhou. Environ Pollut. 2017; 232:42-54. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.09.016. View

19.

Xu L, Zhang J, Sun X, Xu S, Shan M, Yuan Q . Variation in Concentration and Sources of Black Carbon in a Megacity of China During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Geophys Res Lett. 2020; 47(23):e2020GL090444. PMC: 7744912. DOI: 10.1029/2020GL090444. View

20.

Janssen N, Hoek G, Simic-Lawson M, Fischer P, van Bree L, Brink H . Black carbon as an additional indicator of the adverse health effects of airborne particles compared with PM10 and PM2.5. Environ Health Perspect. 2011; 119(12):1691-9. PMC: 3261976. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1003369. View