The impact of COVID-19 measures on air quality in Turkey

Dursun Ş., Sağdıç M., Toros H.

ENVIRONMENTAL FORENSICS, cilt.23, sa.1-2, ss.47-59, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 23 Sayı: 1-2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2022
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/15275922.2021.1892876
  • Dergi Adı: ENVIRONMENTAL FORENSICS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Aerospace Database, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), CAB Abstracts, Communication Abstracts, Environment Index, INSPEC, Metadex, Pollution Abstracts, Veterinary Science Database, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.47-59
  • Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The main objective of this study is to determine the effects of COVID-19 measures on air

quality in Turkey. For this investigation, a daily mean of PM10, PM2.5, NO2, CO, O3, and SO2

air pollutant data, provided from the measurement stations run by the Ministry of

Environment and Urbanisation and the Istanbul and Izmir Metropolitan Municipalities were

used. The R program, an open-code statistics program, was used to generate associated distribution

maps using the data obtained. Data for 29 metropolitan cities and the province of

Zonguldak, where the pandemic measures were first implemented, were examined for air

quality changes. In evaluating whether the COVID-19 measures have had an impact on the

air quality of the 30 given cities, two time periods were selected: a period before the

COVID-19 measures were implemented (between January 1 and March 15) and the period

in which the measures were in force (between March 16 and April 15). In order to take the

effects of seasonal conditions on air quality based on the 2020 post-epidemic data into

account, the average data from 2018 and 2019 were also compared. This study finds that

the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic period in the 30 major cities, in

which most of the Turkish population lives, significantly improved the air quality. Assuming

that some of the measures taken during the pandemic period will become permanent over

time (such as the increase in home working, the decrease in air travel thanks to online

meetings, the widespread use of distance education, the change in consumption habits and

a reduction of waste), the epidemic period is thought to represent a turning point in

increasing global air quality.