Substantial changes in Gaseous pollutants and health effects during COVID-19 in Delhi, India

PeerJ

article

Bhupendra Singh¹  Puneeta Pandey³  Saikh Mohammad Wabaidur⁴  Ram Avtar⁵  Pramod Kumar⁶  Shakilur Rahman⁷ 

[1] Delhi School of Climate Change and Sustainability ,(Institute of Eminence), University of Delhi;Deshbandhu College, Department of Environmental Science, University of Delhi;Department of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Central University of Punjab Bathinda;Chemistry Department, King Saud University;Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University;Department of Chemistry, Sri Aurobindo College, University of Delhi;Department of Medical Elementology and Toxicology

关键词: Air Quality;    COVID-19;    Health Hazard;    lockdown;    unlockdown;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.14489

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCoronavirus disease has affected the entire population worldwide in terms of physical and environmental consequences. Therefore, the current study demonstrates the changes in the concentration of gaseous pollutants and their health effects during the COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi, the national capital city of India.MethodologyIn the present study, secondary data on gaseous pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3), and ozone (O3) were collected from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on a daily basis. Data were collected from January 1, 2020, to September 30, 2020, to determine the relative changes (%) in gaseous pollutants for pre-lockdown, lockdown, and unlockdown stages of COVID-19.ResultsThe current findings for gaseous pollutants reveal that concentration declined in the range of 51%–83% (NO), 40%–69% (NOx), 31%–60% (NO2), and 25%–40% (NH3) during the lockdown compared to pre-lockdown period, respectively. The drastic decrease in gaseous pollutants was observed due to restricted measures during lockdown periods. The level of ozone was observed to be higher during the lockdown periods as compared to the pre-lockdown period. These gaseous pollutants are linked between the health risk assessment and hazard identification for non-carcinogenic. However, in infants (0–1 yr), Health Quotient (HQ) for daily and annual groups was found to be higher than the rest of the exposed group (toddlers, children, and adults) in all the periods.Conclusion1), which indicated a high probability to induce adverse health outcomes.

【 授权许可】

CC BY