The Impact of Movement Control Order (MCO) during Pandemic COVID-19 on Local Air Quality in an Urban Area of Klang Valley, Malaysia
| Autor: | Haris Hafizal Abd Hamid, Murnira Othman, Johary Anuar, Fatimah Ahamad, Mohd Fadzil Firdzaus Mohd Nor, Norfazrin Mohd Hanif, Mohd Zaim Mohd Nor, Sawal Hamid Md Ali, Anis Asma Ahmad Mohtar, Kemal Maulana Alhasa, Noratiqah Mohd Ariff, Maggie Chel Gee Ooi, Mohammed Ahmed Subhi, Mohd Shahrul Mohd Nadzir, Mohd Talib Latif, Azliyana Azhari, Mohd Aftar Abu Bakar |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Pollutant
geography geography.geographical_feature_category 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Particulates Urban area 01 natural sciences Pollution Residential area Toxicology Pandemic Environmental Chemistry Environmental science Air quality index Movement control 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| Zdroj: | Aerosol and Air Quality Research. 20:1237-1248 |
| ISSN: | 2071-1409 1680-8584 |
| DOI: | 10.4209/aaqr.2020.04.0163 |
| Popis: | The world is currently going through the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths in just a few months. Considering the need for lockdown measures, most countries, including Malaysia, have implemented ‘Movement Control Orders’ (MCOs) as a prevention step to reduce the deadly spread of this disease. Local and worldwide media have reported the immediate improvement of air quality due to this event. Nevertheless, data on the effects of MCOs on air quality at local scales are still sparse. Here, we investigate changes in air quality during the MCO at an urban area using the air sensor network AiRBOXSense which measures monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). In this study, air pollutant data during normal days were compared with MCO days using a reference analyser and AiRBOXSense. The results showed that the levels of the measured pollutants dropped by ~20 to 60% during the MCO days at most locations. However, CO in Kota Damansara (KD) dropped to 48.7%, but PM2.5 and PM10 increased up to 60% and 9.7% respectively during MCO days. Local burning activities in the residential area of KD are believed to be the main cause of the increased PM levels. This study has proven that air pollutant levels have significantly fallen due to the MCO. This air quality level information showed that the reduction of air pollutants can be achieved if traffic and industry emissions are strictly controlled. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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