Air quality in the West Midlands: impacts of COVID-19 restrictions, March-May 2020

Bloss, William; Shi, Zongbo; Rooney, Daniel; Cowell, Nicole; Song, Congbo

Abstract

Executive summary
• Levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have fallen significantly in most urban regions. The data shows that that future policies to reduce vehicle emissions in individual cities, whether through lowered traffic levels or switches to cleaner vehicles, will reduce NO2 levels.
• Changes in particulate matter (PM) levels are less directly apparent in the data we have at the moment and will require longer term analyses to quantify. This reflects the wider range of PM sources and the importance of regional, as well as local, emissions. Future reductions in PM ill require coordinated, regional approaches across a range of sectors.
• Living in areas with poor air quality leads to chronic and acute health conditions. It is plausible that these increase susceptibility to Covid-19; however, the magnitude of this effect is not yet known.

Citation

Bloss, W., Shi, Z., Rooney, D., Cowell, N., & Song, C. (2020). Air quality in the West Midlands: impacts of COVID-19 restrictions, March-May 2020. University of Birmingham/NERC

• Report Type: Case Study
• Online Publication Date: May 29, 2020
• Publication Date: May 29, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jan 16, 2025
• Series Title: Covid-19 Briefing series
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/44231499
• Publisher URL: https://wm-air.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/UoB-Briefing-May2020-WM-Air-Quality-Bloss-v2.pdf