Variability of Air Pollutant Concentrations and Their Relationships with Meteorological Parameters during COVID-19 Lockdown in Western Macedonia

Abstract

The lockdown implemented to tackle the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on air quality. Globally, studies have shown that air pollutant levels decreased temporally during the restriction measures. In this study, we evaluated the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the air quality of Western Macedonia, Greece, using the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 along with meteorological data from the Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS) operated by the Lignite Center of Western Macedonia. In Western Macedonia, previous studies have identified a general reduction in air pollutant levels during the last decade due to the coal phase-out plan for power generation. During the lockdown, the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 decreased further. The reduced emissions from the local mining activities and lignite-fired power plant electricity generation, as well as the weather conditions, seem to contribute to improving air quality.

Keywords

• COVID-19 pandemic
• lignite-fired power plants
• particulate matter (PM)
• Western Macedonia