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Effect of Road Traffic on Air Pollution. Experimental Evidence from COVID-19 Lockdown

Author

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  • Riccardo Rossi

    (Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo, 9, 35131 Padova, Italy)

  • Riccardo Ceccato

    (Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo, 9, 35131 Padova, Italy)

  • Massimiliano Gastaldi

    (Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo, 9, 35131 Padova, Italy
    Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova, Italy)

Abstract

The increasing concentration of human activities in cities has been leading to a worsening in air quality, thus negatively affecting the lives and health of humans living in urban contexts. Transport is one of the main sources of pollution in such environments. Several local authorities have therefore implemented strict traffic-restriction measures. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness and limitations of these interventions, by analyzing the relationship between traffic flows and air quality. The used dataset contains concentrations of NO, NO 2 , NOx and PM 10 , vehicle counts and meteorology, all collected during the COVID-19 lockdown in the city of Padova (Italy), in which severe limitations to contain the spread of the virus simulated long and large-scale traffic restrictions in normal conditions. In particular, statistical tests, correlation analyses and multivariate linear regression models were applied to non-rainy days in 2020, 2018 and 2017, in order to isolate the effect of traffic. Analysis indicated that vehicle flows significantly affect NO, NO 2 , and NOx concentrations, although no evidence of a relationship between traffic and PM 10 was highlighted. According to this perspective, measures to limit traffic flows seem to be effective in improving air quality only in terms of reducing nitrogen oxide.

Suggested Citation

  • Riccardo Rossi & Riccardo Ceccato & Massimiliano Gastaldi, 2020. "Effect of Road Traffic on Air Pollution. Experimental Evidence from COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-17, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:21:p:8984-:d:436834
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ennio Cascetta, 2009. "Transportation Systems Analysis," Springer Optimization and Its Applications, Springer, number 978-0-387-75857-2, June.
    2. Domenico Toscano & Fabio Murena, 2020. "The Effect on Air Quality of Lockdown Directives to Prevent the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in Campania Region—Italy: Indications for a Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-17, July.
    3. Alfredo Aloi & Borja Alonso & Juan Benavente & Rubén Cordera & Eneko Echániz & Felipe González & Claudio Ladisa & Raquel Lezama-Romanelli & Álvaro López-Parra & Vittorio Mazzei & Lucía Perrucci & Darí, 2020. "Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Urban Mobility: Empirical Evidence from the City of Santander (Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, May.
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    2. Paolo Maranzano & Matteo Maria Pelagatti, 2022. "Spatio-temporal Event Studies for Air Quality Assessment under Cross-sectional Dependence," Papers 2210.17529, arXiv.org.
    3. Fangyu Ye & Yi Li, 2024. "Road Traffic Infrastructure Construction and Air Pollution Based on the Perspective of Spatial Spillover," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-16, November.
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    6. Jorge Bañuelos-Gimeno & Natalia Sobrino & Rosa María Arce-Ruiz, 2023. "Effects of Mobility Restrictions on Air Pollution in the Madrid Region during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Periods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-23, August.
    7. Janice Hegewald & Melanie Schubert & Matthias Lochmann & Andreas Seidler, 2021. "The Burden of Disease Due to Road Traffic Noise in Hesse, Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-19, September.
    8. Maria Chiara Pietrogrande & Cristina Colombi & Eleonora Cuccia & Umberto Dal Santo & Luisa Romanato, 2023. "Seasonal and Spatial Variations of the Oxidative Properties of Ambient PM 2.5 in the Po Valley, Italy, before and during COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    9. Riccardo Ceccato & Riccardo Rossi & Massimiliano Gastaldi, 2021. "Travel Demand Prediction during COVID-19 Pandemic: Educational and Working Trips at the University of Padova," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-20, June.
    10. Luís Velez Lapão & Jorge César Correia & Marija Jevtic, 2023. "Public Health Framework for Smart Cities within the Comprehensive Approach to Sustainability in Europe: Case Study of Diabetes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, February.
    11. Christos Spandonidis & Dimitrios Paraskevopoulos & Christina Saravanos, 2023. "Neighborhood-Level Particle Pollution Assessment during the COVID-19 Pandemic via a Novel IoT Solution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-16, May.
    12. Ceccato, Riccardo & Rossi, Riccardo & Gastaldi, Massimiliano, 2024. "Low emission zone and mobility behavior: Ex-ante evaluation of vehicle pollutant emissions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    13. Haixia Feng & Zhouhao Wu & Xin Li & Huacai Xian & Qiang Jia & Xingyu Wang & Maoxin Zhu, 2023. "Effect of Transportation Operation on Air Quality in China Based on MODIS AOD during the Epidemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, February.
    14. Rengin Aslanoğlu & Begüm Ulusoy & Jan K. Kazak, 2024. "Air Quality of Private Interiors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Dormitory Interiors as Shared Spaces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-13, January.
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