About this Research Topic
Despite substantial reductions, air pollution in Europe and North America is still of concern, while in other parts of the world, e.g. Southeast Asia and West Africa, particulate and gaseous air pollutants have increased dramatically in recent decades with economic growth. The elevated loading of these pollutants is attributed to industrialization, vehicular transport, energy usage, and other anthropogenic activities. These aerosols and trace gas pollutants are important climate drivers and lead to severe air pollution episodes in different parts of the world affecting health and agriculture.
The lockdown in several countries during March-June 2020 and the subsequent limited opening of the economy in various parts of the world caused notable changes in atmospheric gases and particles. These widespread restrictions imposed to control the rate of transmission of the COVID-19 caused a drastic reduction in the emissions of various atmospheric pollutant gases and particles which have been observed in satellite and in-situ records.
This Research Topic welcomes original research articles addressing the changes in atmospheric trace gases and aerosols since the COVID-19 outbreak in December 2019 and their various potential impacts on air pollution, climate, environment, and human health.
The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Top-down and bottom-up estimates of anthropogenic emissions during and after the lockdown.
• Impacts of reduced levels of gases and aerosols on air quality, health, agricultural yields, etc.
• Changes in precursor gases affecting the secondary pollutant gases and aerosols.
• Changes in atmospheric composition in the free troposphere and stratosphere due to reduced air traffic and other means of transport.
• Variations in cloud properties due to changes in aerosol concentrations.
• Impact of changed aerosol concentrations on weather and climate through aerosol-radiation and aerosol-cloud interactions, as a result of the lockdown.
• The COVID-19 pandemic as a test case for air pollution and climate mitigation.
• Variations in the long-range transport of aerosols and their impacts on receptor regions after the lockdown.
The lockdown in several countries during March-June 2020 and the subsequent limited opening of the economy in various parts of the world caused notable changes in atmospheric gases and particles. These widespread restrictions imposed to control the rate of transmission of the COVID-19 caused a drastic reduction in the emissions of various atmospheric pollutant gases and particles which have been observed in satellite and in-situ records.
This Research Topic welcomes original research articles addressing the changes in atmospheric trace gases and aerosols since the COVID-19 outbreak in December 2019 and their various potential impacts on air pollution, climate, environment, and human health.
The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Top-down and bottom-up estimates of anthropogenic emissions during and after the lockdown.
• Impacts of reduced levels of gases and aerosols on air quality, health, agricultural yields, etc.
• Changes in precursor gases affecting the secondary pollutant gases and aerosols.
• Changes in atmospheric composition in the free troposphere and stratosphere due to reduced air traffic and other means of transport.
• Variations in cloud properties due to changes in aerosol concentrations.
• Impact of changed aerosol concentrations on weather and climate through aerosol-radiation and aerosol-cloud interactions, as a result of the lockdown.
• The COVID-19 pandemic as a test case for air pollution and climate mitigation.
• Variations in the long-range transport of aerosols and their impacts on receptor regions after the lockdown.
Keywords: COVID-19, atmosphere, aerosols, air pollutants, atmospheric pollutants
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
