Covid 19 Pandemic Impact of on Air Quality in Italy and France

Introduction

Global health officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the

Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) a global health emergency on March 12, 2020, citing it as

one of the most critical risks facing the world. It is possible for this virus to transmit via three

different channels: the saliva, nasal discharge, and airborne particles. Despite the fact that the

majority of infected individuals recover without the need for sophisticated treatment, the elderly

and sensitive individuals are at a higher risk of developing a severe and perhaps fatal infection.

Globally, wearing facemasks, washing hands, and using alcohol-based hand sanitizer on a

continuous basis are the most effective methods of preventing and reducing transmission of the

virus. It is estimated that this contagious virus has had several consequences in almost every

country on the planet. Because of the high incidence of COVID-19 transmission between

humans, numerous governments have taken precautionary steps to prevent the virus from

spreading further. As a result, various human activities, including industrial activity, tourism, and

transportation, were halted, and all scientific and cultural gatherings were postponed throughout

the world as a result.

In the first four months of 2019, the spread of the 2019 coronavirus illness (COVID-19)

resulted in more than one million cases throughout the globe. Over the course of the virus

existence, it has infected almost every country on the earth (a total of 235), resulting in over 34

million confirmed cases and around 1,030,000 fatalities. Many countries have gone under

lockdown as a consequence of this. The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a significant impact on

human civilization, particularly on healthcare, economic institutions, and social relationships,

among other things.

 An unprecedented number of national and provincial legislative measures were enacted

in Italy during February and March to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19, which had a

profound impact on the everyday routines and lives of Italians. Following the lockdown and the

subsequent implementation of measures, economic activity experienced a sharp decline, with

road transportation in many cities experiencing a significant decline and citizens experiencing a

significant reduction in mobility as a result of the implementation of intelligent procedures

wherever possible, among other things.

In France, the national air-pollution monitoring network examined the development of

average daily concentration levels of nitrogen oxides (NO) from 1st day to last day of March year

2020 at air quality measurement sites in France's main cities, a representative for mobile

pollution exposure in order to understand these effects on air quality. When the month of March

2020 is compared to the same month in prior years, it seems that the lockdown resulted in a

reduction in daily average NO concentrations adjacent to highways of 50 percent in Bordeaux

and 70 percent in Toulouse.

SARS-CoV-2-induced Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant influence on public

health, society, and economy around the globe. In order to contain the spread of Covid-19,

governments throughout the world enacted extraordinary measures that had severe consequences

for the sake of economic growth and transportation patterns, but had favorable consequences for

air quality.

Air pollution is a critical and long-lasting risk factor for a wide range of diseases,

including respiratory illnesses. Asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, and bronchial

allergies are just a few of the illnesses that may be made worse or even fatal by exposure to air

pollution. Covid19 lockdown has recently been the subject of numerous research looking at how
it affects air quality in various parts of the globe. In nations such as France, Germany, Italy, and

Spain, big factories and other routine companies came to a standstill, resulting in a substantial

decrease in NO2 concentrations. For comparison's sake, air quality during the 2020 lockdown

has been compared to both the pre- and post-lockdown periods, as well as to a similar time that

occurred the year before.

Methods

The possible consequences of these hazardous particles in propagating the present

COVID-19 outbreak are the primary focus of this research. The fundamental theory is that a

predefined particle concentration might promote the growth of COVID-19 and render the heart

and lungs more vulnerable to infection with this virus. As a result, we depend on daily data

collected at the municipal level to conduct an empirical evaluation of this link. According to the

COVID-19 time frame, the following three stages were identified. Fist is the pre-lockdown (from

1st of January to February 9th 2020). Next is the First (I ) period (March–April 2020), when

nationwide lockdowns were proclaimed. Lastly, Second (II) period (May 2020), when nations

chose to take less prohibitive restrictions, as compared to the same periods from the previous two

years.

The United Kingdom, Spain, France, and Sweden, as well as the Northern Italy area,

were chosen for air quality monitoring because they were the most severely afflicted with

COVID-19 and had enacted a variety of regulations to prevent the virus' transmission. The

northern Italian towns of Turin, Milan, and Genoa form a "industrial triangle" in the Piemonte,

Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Veneto regions, which is characterized with a high

density of industrial enterprises, transportation, and agricultural production.

 Data availability issues have caused several restrictions in the study of specific air

pollutant information. The statistics on cities' air pollution published in the EEA directory

indicated that certain cities did not supply data during specific times in some circumstances.

Results

In the United States alone, air pollution is responsible for a huge proportion of

preventable deaths each year. In 2017, air pollution killed 4.9 million people throughout the

world, with the majority of those fatalities occurring in low-income countries (Global Burden of

Disease Collaborative Network, 2018). A considerable decrease in air pollution was seen during

the lockdown of COVID-19 (Dantas et al., 2020; Tobas et al., 2020), according to research.

Because to the global pause in industrial and transportation activities, air pollutants such as

nitrogen oxides (NO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission have drastically decreased (Paital,

2020). As a result of a significant decrease in fossil fuel usage in various nations, including

China, Italy, the United States, and India, air pollution has decreased significantly (Paital, 2020).

Lockdown reduced NO2 levels in major Indian cities including Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Pune

about 40 to 50 percent (Wright, 2020). Lockdown is predicted to reduce CO2 emissions in

Europe with 390 million tonnes (Paital, 2020).

COVID-19 guidelines for early diagnosis, observation, preventing transmission, and

contact monitoring were initiated through the Spanish Ministry of Health in order to combat the

disease. The Hispabot-Covid19 information and consultation channel for people was established

on April 8th using the messaging app WhatsApp. The first steps towards halting the transmission

of the virus were taken between March 3 and March 12, according to the CDC. It was

proclaimed a "State of Emergency" on March 14th, resulting in severe restrictions on mobility

across the whole nation. For the most part, citizens were expected to remain at home and only
utilize public highways for extremely defined purposes, such as going to get foodstuffs or drugs,

commuting to and from work, or their normal place of abode, visiting health-care facilities, and

so on. All schooling involving face-to-face interactions has been halted. Lockdown restrictions

were increased on March 29th, and all employees, with the exception of those who offer

essential services, were required to remain at home.

The very first incidents of COVID-19 in Italy were reported on the 31st of January 2020,

according to the latest available data. Since then, the number of reported case has risen at an

enormous speed, surpassing more than 236,000 in June, the highest number ever recorded.

Lombardy was the area that was the most severely affected with the virus. It was announced in

March that all activities, forced to close educational institutions (daycares, secondary schools,

higher education, colleges, and universities), entertainment venues, recreation activities, and

large-scale gatherings were prohibited, and that all transportation within Italy was prohibited

with some restrictions for work or medical reasons. On the 10th of March, a stay-at-home order

was issued, which was valid until the 4th of May. Aside from agricultural pursuits, almost all

manufacturing and commercial activity, as well as road transportation, were outlawed throughout

the country.

Because of the unique geography of the region, which is bordered with the Alps and has a

mild temperature (with little wind), as well as the high level of industrial activity, a large

quantity of emissions entrapped in the vicinity. Throughout the first month of the Pre-lockdown

period, the average concentration of NO2 stayed the same as it was in January 2019.

Discussion