Impact on Ultrafine Particles Concentration and Turbulent Fluxes of SARS-CoV-2 Lockdown in a Suburban Area in Italy

Abstract

In order to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, governments have implemented several restrictive measures (lockdown, stay-in-place, and quarantine policies). These provisions have drastically changed the routines of residents, altering environmental conditions in the affected areas. In this context, our work analyzes the effects of the reduced emissions during the COVID-19 period on the ultrafine particles number concentration and their turbulent fluxes in a suburban area. COVID-19 restrictions did not significantly reduce anthropogenic related PM10 and PM2.5 levels, with an equal decrement of about 14%. The ultrafine particle number concentration during the lockdown period decreased by 64% in our measurement area, essentially due to the lower traffic activity. The effect of the restriction measures and the reduction of vehicles traffic was predominant in reducing concentration rather than meteorological forcing. During the lockdown in 2020, a decrease of 61% in ultrafine particle positive fluxes can be observed. At the same time, negative fluxes decreased by 59% and our observation site behaved, essentially, as a sink of ultrafine particles. Due to this behavior, we can conclude that the principal particle sources during the lockdown were far away from the measurement site.