The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Gaseous and Solid Air Pollutants Concentrations and Emissions in the EU, with Particular Emphasis on Poland

Aurelia Rybak and Aleksandra Rybak
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Aurelia Rybak: Department of Electrical Engineering and Industrial Automation, Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Aleksandra Rybak: Department of Physical Chemistry and Technology of Polymers, Faculty of Chemistry, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-25

Abstract: This article presents the research on the analysis of the impact of social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on gaseous air pollutant concentrations. For this purpose, the authors presented (thermal maps) and analyzed the concentrations of selected gases such as NO 2 , CO, SO 2 , and PM 2.5 particles during the strict quarantine period in Poland and other EU countries. Statistical analysis of the concentration level of these gases was performed. It was noticed that in Poland, Germany, and France, the concentrations of such gases as CO, NO 2 , and PM 2.5 particles decreased, while in Italy and Spain, the tendency was the opposite. To verify whether the discovered dependencies are not a natural continuation of the trends shaping the given phenomenon, the time series of gas and PM 2.5 particle emissions were analyzed. On this basis, the emission forecast up to 2023 was created, using the ARIMA class models. The obtained results allowed to construct five scenarios for the development of NO 2 , CO, SO 2 , and PM 2.5 emissions until 2023, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was stated that in the optimistic scenario, in 2023, a decrease in CO, NO 2 , and PM 2.5 emissions could be achieved by maximums of 51%, 95%, and 28%, respectively.

Keywords: gaseous and solid air pollutants emissions; concentration; COVID-19; GIS; forecast; emission scenarios (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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