Atmospheric particulate matter pollution over residential urban areas during COVID-19 quarantine

Ilieva, R.; Angelova, B.; Iliev, M.; Stoyanov, D.; Groudeva, V.; Cherkezova-Zheleva, Z.; Nedkov, I.; Iop,

This study of particulate matter (PM) pollution was conducted in May and June 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown in residential areas of the Bulgarian capital Sofia. Its methodology was based on lidar monitoring of the ground layer of the atmosphere and focused on the sampling procedure. The sampling was performed with portable instruments in situ in the areas with air pollution fixed on the city's map during the lidar monitoring. The collected PM was examined by a set of physical methods (XRD, SEM, EDAX) and PCR tests for viral contamination). A wide range of data on the nature of PM were obtained. Data on the number of COVID-19 positive individuals in the town for the period was also summarized.