Anthropogenic Impact on Air Quality in the Light of the Experience of COVID-Preventing Measures

The impact of measures to limit the COVID-19 pandemic on atmospheric composition and emissions of atmospheric impurities in scales of the whole Northern Eurasia and Moscow region was assessed. The effect of restrictive measures on the surface NO₂ and CO concentrations and columns as well as aerosol optical depth AOD was investigated. Significant but short-time changes of NO₂ tropospheric column spatial distribution comparing to 2019 reflecting the pandemic extension across Eurasia and reduction of regional emissions due to lockdowns were revealed for the first half of 2020 using TROPOMI data. Lockdown period in Moscow coincided with substantial decrease in both NO_x and CO surface concentrations, and CO total content. However, the meteorological parameters in 2020 strongly differed from ones in previous years and favored Moscow regional air quality improvement in the spring months of 2020. Therefore, reduction of air pollution due to the lockdown is likely to be within interannual variability due to meteorological situation.