Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Preventing Measures and Meteorological Conditions on the Atmospheric Air Composition in Moscow in 2020

• Published in: Russian meteorology and hydrology Vol. 47; no. 3; pp. 183 - 190
• Main Authors: Skorokhod, A. I., Rakitin, V. S., Kirillova, N. S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Atmospheric chemistry; Atmospheric composition; Atmospheric Sciences; Carbon monoxide; COVID-19; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Emission analysis; Emission measurements; Emissions control; Meteorological conditions; Meteorological parameters; Meteorology; Nitrogen dioxide; Ozone; Pandemics; Particulate matter; Pollutants; Pollution control; Spatial distribution; atmospheric composition; Moscow region; lockdown; meteorological conditions; emissions; air quality
• ISSN: 1068-3739; 1934-8096
• DOI: 10.3103/S1068373922030037

Changes in the atmospheric composition during different periods of 2020 in Moscow which were associated with the COVID-19 pandemic preventing measures as well as corresponding pollutant emission reduction, are investigated. Surface concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO
2
), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O
3
), aerosol fraction (PM
10
), and meteorological parameters during different periods of 2020 were compared with similar data for the previous five years. The analysis of ground-based measurements, as well as of high-resolution satellite distributions of CO and NO
2
 indicated that the concentration of major pollutants and its spatial distribution in the Moscow region were significantly affected by both restrictive measures and abnormal meteorological conditions in 2020.