Sustainable policies for air pollution reduction after COVID‐19 pandemic: Lessons learnt from the impact of the different lockdown periods on air quality

• DOI: 10.1002/sd.2432
• Publication Date: 2022-11-01T04:44:50Z
• Authors: Ana Catarina T. S...; Pedro T. B. S. Br...; Patricia Ferrini ...; Sofia I. V. Sousa
• Keywords: Pandemic

Abstract Due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, governments imposed several mobility restrictions which can be used evaluate their impact on air quality and generate better‐targeted policies improve it. Therefore, this study aimed define sustainable mitigation measures reduce pollution based quantifying impacts of during pandemic in Portugal. Thus, hourly concentrations PM 10 , 2.5 NO 2 O 3 CO SO were obtained from Portuguese Air Quality Monitoring Network. Data was then divided into six periods (2020–2021) compared with corresponding historical (2015–2019). Furthermore, satellite data CO, absorbing aerosol index (AAI) sentinel‐5P TROPOMI collected complement analysis conducted for monitoring data. Overall, improved all areas, except industrial sites. The corroborated results herein achieved thus validated real effect adopted country quality. Sustainable could include remote (or hybrid) work whenever possible as a long‐term measure prohibition travelling between municipalities when an extraordinary event high is predicted or occurs. Other should areas. Given this, restrictive had strong reducing pollution, post‐COVID era represents opportunity society rethink future other emerging policies, that favour softer cleaner means transportation.