Global fine-scale changes in ambient NO2 during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an important contributor to air pollution and can adversely affect human health1-9. A decrease in NO2 concentrations has been reported as a result of lockdown measures to reduce the spread of COVID-1910-20. Questions remain, however, regarding the relationship of satellite-derived atmospheric column NO2 data with health-relevant ambient ground-level concentrations, and the representativeness of limited ground-based monitoring data for global assessment. Here we derive spatially resolved, global ground-level NO2 concentrations from NO2 column densities observed by the TROPOMI satellite instrument at sufficiently fine resolution (approximately one kilometre) to allow assessment of individual cities during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 compared to 2019. We apply these estimates to quantify NO2 changes in more than 200 cities, including 65 cities without available ground monitoring, largely in lower-income regions. Mean country-level population-weighted NO2 concentrations are 29% ± 3% lower in countries with strict lockdown conditions than in those without. Relative to long-term trends, NO2 decreases during COVID-19 lockdowns exceed recent Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)-derived year-to-year decreases from emission controls, comparable to 15 ± 4 years of reductions globally. Our case studies indicate that the sensitivity of NO2 to lockdowns varies by country and emissions sector, demonstrating the critical need for spatially resolved observational information provided by these satellite-derived surface concentration estimates.

Ozone profile retrieval from nadir TROPOMI measurements in the UV range

The TOPAS (Tikhonov regularised Ozone Profile retrievAl with SCIATRAN) algorithm to retrieve vertical profiles of ozone from space-borne observations in nadir-viewing geometry has been developed at the Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP) of the University of Bremen and applied to the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) L1B spectral data version 2. Spectral data between 270 and 329 nm are used for the retrieval. A recalibration of the measured radiances is done using ozone profiles from MLS/Aura. Studies with synthetic spectra show that individual profiles in the stratosphere can be retrieved with an uncertainty of about 10 %. In the troposphere, the retrieval errors are larger depending on the a priori profile used. The vertical resolution above 18 km is about 6–10 km, and it degrades to 15–25 km below. The vertical resolution in the troposphere is strongly dependent on the solar zenith angle (SZA). The ozone profiles retrieved from TROPOMI with the TOPAS algorithm were validated using data from ozonesondes and stratospheric ozone lidars. Above 18 km, the comparison with sondes shows excellent agreement within less than ±5 % for all latitudes. The standard deviation of mean differences is about 10 %. Below 18 km, the relative mean deviation in the tropics and northern latitudes is still quite good, remaining within ±20 %. At southern latitudes, larger differences of up to +40 % occur between 10 and 15 km. The standard deviation is about 50 % between 7–18 km and about 25 % below 7 km. The validation of stratospheric ozone profiles with ground-based lidar measurements also shows very good agreement. The relative mean deviation is below ±5 % between 18–45 km, with a standard deviation of 10 %. TOPAS retrieval results for 1 d of TROPOMI observations were compared to ozone profiles from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Aura satellite and the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite Limb Profiler (OMPS-LP). The relative mean difference was found to be largely below ±5 % between 20–50 km, except at very high latitudes.

Abrupt decline in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide over China after the outbreak of COVID-19.

China's policy interventions to reduce the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 have environmental and economic impacts. Tropospheric nitrogen dioxide indicates economic activities, as nitrogen dioxide is primarily emitted from fossil fuel consumption. Satellite measurements show a 48% drop in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide vertical column densities from the 20 days averaged before the 2020 Lunar New Year to the 20 days averaged after. This decline is 21 ± 5% larger than that from 2015 to 2019. We relate this reduction to two of the government's actions: the announcement of the first report in each province and the date of a province's lockdown. Both actions are associated with nearly the same magnitude of reductions. Our analysis offers insights into the unintended environmental and economic consequences through reduced economic activities.