The Effects of COVID-19 on Air Quality in Boston, MA

• Activity Number: 322 - Analyses in Ecology, Epidemiology, and Environmental Policy
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 11, 2021 : 3:30 PM to 5:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics and the Environment
• Author(s): Alicia T. Lamere* and Dan McNally
• Companies: Bryant University and Bryant University
• Keywords: Time series; Correlation; COVID-19; Air quality; Pollution; Mobility data

Abstract

During the year 2020, COVID-19 spread throughout the globe, drastically impacting our daily behavior. With societies under lockdown, many places of work shut down as well, potentially reducing levels of pollution. This study attempts to determine whether the lockdown of the United States of America in the spring of 2020 caused a measurable reduction in the pollution levels in the areas surrounding Boston, Massachusetts.

Several air quality metrics and pollutant levels, along with mobility data for residents, were examined. Not only were significant reductions in pollutant levels observed in 2020 compared to previous years, but strong correlations were also observed between pollutant levels and mobility data, confirming the relationship between changes in resident behavior and air quality.