Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on tropospheric NO(2) pollution assessed using Satellite-ground perspectives observations in India

Balamadeswaran, P.; Karthik, J.; Ramakrishnan, Ruthra; Bharath, K. Manikanda

The global outbreak of Novel Corona Virus 2019 (SARS-CoV-2) has made worldwide lockdown including India since March 24, 2020. The current research aims at the improvements of nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) during the COVID-19 lockdown in India. This research has been done using both the open source data sets taken from satellite and ground based for better analysis. For the satellite-based analysis, the Sentinel 5 Precauser’s Tropospheric NO(2) from the European Space Agency and for the ground-based numeric data sets from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has been used. During the COVID-19 disease, outbreak the world has set in quarantine and as an overcome air quality improved in Asian countries after national lockdown, the average NO(2) rates plummeted calculated by 40–50%. Similarly, it dramatically decreased in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine period. The basic statistical patterns of the NO(2) concentration spectrum of historical data sets (2018–2020) bi-weekly showed during October to March were seen higher in each year. Related with National Ambient Air Quality Standards of mean of NO(2) in India our result shown in the NO(2) levels fall in 21 μg/m(3) during the national lockdown, from the Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality standards it almost decreased 50% of the hourly mean in India. This caused by the sudden restriction to the development of manufacturing and the transportations which ultimately minimized the fossil fuel burning which cause the most of the NO(2) releases to the atmosphere. Nowadays, people are aware about comparatively prosperous future with clear blue skies and uses of renewable energy sources from the nature.