Impact of COVID 19 Lockdown on Air Quality In...

Impact of COVID 19 Lockdown on Air Quality Index in Hyderabad, India

Author Name : Udaya Laxmi Sriperambudur, Nagamani Pullaiahgari Venkata

ABSTRACT

Healthy air is most essential prerequisite for good human wellbeing and prosperity of the mankind. Air pollution keeps on being an important natural problem around the world. It can cause a serious hazard to human health if it go beyond the tolerable limit (WHO, 2000; USEPA. 2008). The goal of this paper is to provide clear vision of air quality in COVID 19 lockdown across Hyderabad, Telangana, India. An effort is made to make individuals aware about several types of gases and particulate matter existing in air highlighting their effects on environment along with the differences in phases of lockdowns in these pandemic situation.All major pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO, O3 and NH3) for 5 monitoring stations extended over the Hyderabad city. The outcomes showed that during lockdown air quality is fundamentally improved. Since the start of the lockdown, which meant no air traffic, trains, factory work, coal-burning power plants or traffic on roads. The statisticsverified by the air quality monitoring stations was recorded to be under the ‘good’ and  ‘Satisfactory’ levels.

The survey of AQI from last 3 years observed that in march 2020 has resulted 67 which is remarkable development in air quality across the country, taking the aerosol levels for this time of year in the Hyderabad of India to a 20-year low. During Lockdown 1 AQI observed is 62 whereas after the Lockdown 4 AQI has increased to 121 including the increase in PM10 121, due to vehicle movement NO₂ 68, CO is 31 which have shown that these pollutants are also a major contributor to fatalities due to respiratory ailments caused by Covid-19 (coronavirus).

Keywords: AQI, COVID 19, Lockdown, Pollutants