How Did Air Pollution Change during the COVID-19 Outbreak in China?

Abstract

In early December 2019, an outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and spread fast throughout China. As of 15 June 2020, there have been about 84,000 confirmed cased over China. The Chinese government launched a national emergency response upon the detection of the COVID-19 in Wuhan. To curb the spread of the epidemic, the outbound channels of Wuhan have also been closed since 23 January 2020 (Li et al. 2020; China Internet Information Center 2020). On 26 January, the second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, all motor vehicles were banned in urban central Wuhan, except for special vehicles to supply epidemic prevention (Hubei Government 2020). In terms of the national prevention and control measures, the government encouraged people to stay at home; discouraged mass gatherings; extended the Lunar New Year holiday; closed all crossprovince bus services; and closed schools, government offices, and factories (Chen et al. 2020).