Characterizing the emission trends and pollution evolution patterns during the transition period following COVID-19 at an industrial megacity of central China.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 7805381 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1090-2414 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01476513 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Ecotoxicol Environ Saf Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: Amsterdam, Netherlands : Elsevier
    • Subject Terms:
      COVID-19*/epidemiology ; Environmental Monitoring*/methods ; Air Pollutants*/analysis ; Air Pollution*/statistics & numerical data ; Cities* ; Particulate Matter*/analysis; China/epidemiology ; Humans ; Vehicle Emissions/analysis ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Industry ; Pandemics
    • Abstract:
      After the resumption of work and production following the COVID-19 pandemic, many cities entered a "transition phase", characterized by the gradual recovery of emission levels from various sources. Although the overall PM 2.5 emission trends have recovered, the specific changes in different sources of PM 2.5 remain unclear. Here, we investigated the changes in source contributions and the evolution pattern of pollution episodes (PE) in Wuhan during the "transition period" and compared them with the same period during the COVID-19 lockdown. We found that vehicle emissions, industrial processes, and road dust exhibited significant recoveries during the transition period, increasing by 5.4%, 4.8%, and 3.9%, respectively, during the PE. As primary emissions increased, secondary formation slightly declined, but it still played a predominant role (accounting for 39.1∼ 43.0% of secondary nitrate). The reduction in industrial activities was partially offset by residential burning. The evolution characteristics of PE exhibited significant differences between the two periods, with PM 2.5 concentration persisting at a high level during the transition period. The differences in the evolution patterns of the two periods were also reflected in their change rates at each stage, which mostly depend on the pre-PE concentration level. The transition period shows a significantly higher value (8.4 μg m -3 h -1 ) compared with the lockdown period, almost double the amount. In addition to local emissions, regional transport should be a key consideration in pollution mitigation strategies, especially in areas adjacent to Wuhan. Our study quantifies the variations in sources between the two periods, providing valuable insights for optimizing environmental planning to achieve established goals.
      Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
      (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Emission trends; Evolution pattern; PM(2.5); Sources; Transition period
    • Accession Number:
      0 (Air Pollutants)
      0 (Particulate Matter)
      0 (Vehicle Emissions)
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20240501 Date Completed: 20240524 Latest Revision: 20240524
    • Publication Date:
      20240525
    • Accession Number:
      10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116354
    • Accession Number:
      38691882