Analyzing relationships between air pollutants and Covid-19 cases during lockdowns in Iran using Sentinel-5 data
,
Abstract
Introduction: Air quality improvement was an unparalleled environmental consequence of the Covid-19 global crisis in many regions. Numerous researches have been conducted on the influence of national quarantines on air pollution and the relationship between the abundance of infected cases and mortality caused by this pandemic with air pollutants; however, these investigations are limited in Iran. The present study aims to investigate the correlation between Covid-19 cases and air pollution from a statistical viewpoint in order to evaluate the performance of multiple national lockdowns from February 2020 to August 2021 through measuring changes in air pollutants in the 31 provinces of Iran.
Materials and methods: We applied a remote sensing method by employing Sentinel-5P satellite data to analyze changes in PM2.5, CO, and O3 during the three public quarantine periods and their two months earlier.
Results: We recognized a considerable positive correlation between PM2.5 and the infected cases (r=0.63, p=0.001) and victims (r=0.41, p=0.001). Moreover, we compared the efficiency of lockdowns and supposed lockdown 2 (November-December 2020) as an only effective quarantine due to a dramatic reduction in PM2.5 (21.2%), CO (0.8%), the infected cases (48.7%), and victims (66.9%) in comparison to the average of its next two months.
Conclusion: Governments should handle the outbreak of Covid-19 by implementing efficient quarantines, as well as environmental conservation strategies.
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Münzel T, Lelieveld J. Regional and global
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cvaa288.
36. Zhang Z, Arshad A, Zhang C, Hussain S, Li W.
Unprecedented Temporary Reduction in Global
Air Pollution Associated with COVID-19 Forced
Confinement: A Continental and City Scale
Analysis. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12(15):2420.
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12152420.
37. Venter ZS, Aunan K, Chowdhury S, Lelieveld
J. COVID-19 lockdowns cause global air
pollution declines. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America. 2020; 117(32):18984–90. http://doi.
org/10.1073/pnas.2006853117.
38. Kumari P, Toshniwal D. Impact of lockdown
on air quality over major cities across the globe
during COVID-19 pandemic. Urban Climate.
2020; 34:100719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
uclim.2020.100719.
39. Briz-Redón Á, Belenguer-Sapiña C, Serrano-
Aroca Á. Changes in air pollution during
COVID-19 lockdown in Spain: a multi-city study.
Journal of environmental sciences. 2021; 101:16-
26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2020.07.029.
40. He G, Pan Y, Tanaka T. The short-term
impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on urban air
pollution in China. Nature Sustainability. 2020;
3(12):1005–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/
s41893-020-0581-y.
41. El Zowalaty ME, Young SG, Järhult JD.
Environmental impact of the COVID-19
pandemic–a lesson for the future. Infection
Ecology and Epidemiology. 2020; 10(1). https://
doi.org/10.1080/20008686.2020.1768023.
42. Rad AK, Zarei M, Pourghasemi HR,
Tiefenbacher JP. The COVID-19 crisis and its
consequences for global warming and climate
change. InComputers in Earth and Environmental
Sciences 2022 Jan 1 (pp. 377-385). Elsevier. 2022,
Pages 377-385, ISBN 9780323898614. https://
doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-89861-4.00006-3.
quality during the COVID-19: PM2.5 analysis in
the 50 most polluted capital cities in the world.
Environmental Pollution. 2020: 115042. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115042.
2. Gautam S. The Influence of COVID-19 on Air
Quality in India: A Boon or Inutile. Bulletin of
Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.
2020; 104 (6): 724–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s00128-020-02877-y.
3. Cheval S, Mihai Adamescu C, Georgiadis T,
Herrnegger M, Piticar A, Legates DR. Observed
and Potential Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic
on the Environment. International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health.
2020; 17 (11):4140. https://doi.org/10.3390/
ijerph17114140.
4. Skirienė AF, Stasiškienė Ž. COVID-19 and Air
Pollution: Measuring Pandemic Impact to Air
Quality in Five European Countries. Atmosphere.
2021;12(3):290.https://doi.org/10.3390/
atmos12030290.
5. Venter ZS, Aunan K, Chowdhury S, Lelieveld
J. Air pollution declines during COVID-19
lockdowns mitigate the global health burden.
Environmental Research. 2021; 192 (November
2020):110403.https://doi.org/10.1016/j. envres.2020.110403.
6. Dang HAH, Trinh TA. Does the COVID-19
lockdown improve global air quality? New crossnational
evidence on its unintended consequences.
Journal of Environmental Economics and
Management. 2021; 105:102401. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jeem.2020.102401.
7. Karuppasamy MB, Seshachalam S, Natesan U,
Ayyamperumal R, Karuppannan S, Gopalakrishnan
G, Nazir N. Air pollution improvement and
mortality rate during COVID-19 pandemic in
India: global intersectional study. Air Quality,
Atmosphere & Health. 2020 Nov;13(11):1375-84.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-020-00892-w.
8. Liu F, Wang M, Zheng M. Effects of COVID-19
lockdown on global air quality and health. Science
of the Total Environment. 2021; 755:142533.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142533.
9. Bray CD, Nahas A, Battye WH, Aneja VP.
Impact of lockdown during the COVID-19
outbreak on multi-scale air quality. Atmospheric
Environment. 2021 Jun 1;254:118386. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118386.
10. Berman JD, Ebisu K. Changes in US air
pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic. Science
of the Total Environment. 2020; 739:139864.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139864
11. Ju MJ, Oh J, Choi YH. Changes in air pollution
levels after COVID-19 outbreak in Korea. Sci
Total Environ. 2021; 750:141521. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141521.
12. Querol X, Massagué J, Alastuey A, Moreno
T, Gangoiti G, Mantilla E, Duéguez JJ, Escudero
M, Monfort E, García-Pando CP, Petetin H.
Lessons from the COVID-19 air pollution
decrease in Spain: Now what?. Science of The
Total Environment. 2021 Jul 20;779:146380..
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146380.
13. Bera B, Bhattacharjee S, Shit PK, Sengupta
N, Saha S. Significant impacts of COVID-19
lockdown on urban air pollution in Kolkata
(India) and amelioration of environmental health.
Environment, Development and Sustainability.
2021; 23(5):6913–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s10668-020-00898-5.
14. Shehzad K, Sarfraz M, Shah SG. The impact
of COVID-19 as a necessary evil on air pollution
in India during the lockdown. Environmental
Pollution. 2020 Nov 1;266:115080. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115080.
15. Travaglio M, Yu Y, Popovic R, Selley L, Leal
NS, Martins LM. Links between air pollution and
COVID-19 in England. Environmental Pollution.
2021; 268:115859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
envpol.2020.115859.
16. Fattorini D, Regoli F. Role of the chronic air
pollution levels in the Covid-19 outbreak risk in
Italy. Environmental Pollution. 2020; 264:114732.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114732.
17. Zhu Y, Xie J, Huang F, Cao L. Association
between short-term exposure to air pollution
and COVID-19 infection: Evidence from
China. Science of the Total Environment.
2020; 727:138704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
scitotenv.2020.138704.
18. Gupta A, Bherwani H, Gautam S, Anjum
S, Musugu K, Kumar N, Anshul A, Kumar R.
Air pollution aggravating COVID-19 lethality?
Exploration in Asian cities using statistical
models. Environment, Development and
Sustainability. 2021 Apr;23(4):6408-17. https://
doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00878-9.
19. Salimi R, Gomar R, Heshmati B. The
COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. J Glob Health.
2020;10(1):010365. http://doi.org/10.7189/
jogh.10.010365.
20. Iran Health Ministry. The latest Covid-19
cases in Iran. Updated: 22 September 2021.
Available online at https://behdasht.gov.ir [In
Persian].
21. Zarei M, Rad AK. Covid-19, challenges
and recommendations in agriculture. Journal
of Botanical Research. 2020; 2(1). https://doi.
org/10.30564/jrb.v2i1.1841.
22. Rad AK, Shamshiri RR, Azarm H,
Balasundram SK, Sultan M. Effects of the
COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Security and
Agriculture in Iran: A Survey. Sustainability.
2021; 13(18):10103. https://doi.org/10.3390/
su131810103.
23. Rad AK, Shariati M, Zarei M. The impact
of COVID-19 on air pollution in Iran in the first
and second waves with emphasis on the city
of Tehran. Journal of Air Pollution and Health.
2020. https://doi.org/10.18502/japh.v5i3.5391.
24. Shami S, Ranjgar B, Azar MK, Moghimi A,
Sabetghadam S, Amani M. Trends of CO and
NO2 Pollutants Change in Iran during Covid-19
Pandemic using Time-Series Sentinel-5 Images
in Google Earth Engine. 2021. https://doi.
org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-773367/v1.
25. World Population Review. Iran Population
2021. Updated: September 25, 2021. Available
online at https://worldpopulationreview.com/
countries/iran-population
26. MFA. General information of Iran. Accessed
date: 22 September 2021. Available online at
https://mfa.ir/portal/viewpage/3992 [In Persian].
27. Ritchie H, Mathieu E, Rodés-Guirao L,
Appel C, Giattino C, Ortiz-Ospina E, Hasell J,
Macdonald B, Beltekian D, Roser M. Coronavirus
pandemic (COVID-19). Our World in Data. 2020
Mar 5. Available online at https://ourworldindata.
org/coronavirus.
28. Sentinel Hub. EO Browser remote sensing
system. 2021. Available online at https://apps.
sentinel-hub.com/eo-browser/
29. Shariati M, Mesgari T, Kasraee M, Jahangiri-
Rad M. Spatiotemporal analysis and hotspots
detection of COVID-19 using geographic
information system (March and April, 2020).
Journal of Environmental Health Science and
Engineering. 2020; 18(2):1499-507. https://doi.
org/10.1007/s40201-020-00565-x.
30. Norouzi N, Asadi Z. Air pollution impact on
the Covid-19 mortality in Iran considering the
comorbidity (obesity, diabetes, and hypertension)
correlations. Environmental Research. 2021;
204(PA):112020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. envres.2021.112020.
31. Ali N, Islam F. The effects of air pollution
on COVID-19 infection and mortality—A review
on recent evidence. Frontiers in Public Health.
2020; 8. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpu
bh.2020.580057.
32. Wu X, Nethery RC, Sabath BM, Braun
D, Dominici F. Exposure to air pollution and
COVID-19 mortality in the United States.
MedRxiv. 2020 Jan 1. https://doi.org/10.1126/
sciadv.abd4049.
33. Zhang Z, Xue T, Jin X. Effects of
meteorological conditions and air pollution on
COVID-19 transmission: Evidence from 219
Chinese cities. Science of the Total Environment.
2020; 741:140244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
scitotenv.2020.140244.
34. Srivastava A. COVID-19 and air pollution
and meteorology-an intricate relationship: A
review. Chemosphere. 2021; 263:128297. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128297.
35. Pozzer A, Dominici F, Haines A, Witt C,
Münzel T, Lelieveld J. Regional and global
contributions of air pollution to risk of death from
COVID-19. Cardiovascular Research. 2020;
116(14):2247–53. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/
cvaa288.
36. Zhang Z, Arshad A, Zhang C, Hussain S, Li W.
Unprecedented Temporary Reduction in Global
Air Pollution Associated with COVID-19 Forced
Confinement: A Continental and City Scale
Analysis. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12(15):2420.
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12152420.
37. Venter ZS, Aunan K, Chowdhury S, Lelieveld
J. COVID-19 lockdowns cause global air
pollution declines. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America. 2020; 117(32):18984–90. http://doi.
org/10.1073/pnas.2006853117.
38. Kumari P, Toshniwal D. Impact of lockdown
on air quality over major cities across the globe
during COVID-19 pandemic. Urban Climate.
2020; 34:100719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
uclim.2020.100719.
39. Briz-Redón Á, Belenguer-Sapiña C, Serrano-
Aroca Á. Changes in air pollution during
COVID-19 lockdown in Spain: a multi-city study.
Journal of environmental sciences. 2021; 101:16-
26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2020.07.029.
40. He G, Pan Y, Tanaka T. The short-term
impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on urban air
pollution in China. Nature Sustainability. 2020;
3(12):1005–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/
s41893-020-0581-y.
41. El Zowalaty ME, Young SG, Järhult JD.
Environmental impact of the COVID-19
pandemic–a lesson for the future. Infection
Ecology and Epidemiology. 2020; 10(1). https://
doi.org/10.1080/20008686.2020.1768023.
42. Rad AK, Zarei M, Pourghasemi HR,
Tiefenbacher JP. The COVID-19 crisis and its
consequences for global warming and climate
change. InComputers in Earth and Environmental
Sciences 2022 Jan 1 (pp. 377-385). Elsevier. 2022,
Pages 377-385, ISBN 9780323898614. https://
doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-89861-4.00006-3.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 6 No 3 (2021): Summer 2021 | |
| Section | Original Research | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/japh.v6i3.8233 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Air pollution; Covid-19; Lockdown; Remote sensing; Sentinel-5 | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Kaviani Rad A, Shariati M, Naghipour A. Analyzing relationships between air pollutants and Covid-19 cases during lockdowns in Iran using Sentinel-5 data. JAPH. 2022;6(3):209-224.
