Researchers selected China to study how air pollution changed during the COVID-19 outbreak. Prior to the outbreak, China: 
- had very high NO2 levels, particularly in North China and Northeast China 
- had numerous major cities with poor air quality and pollution from PM2.5, PM10, SO2, CO, and O3 
- had notable declines in NO2 levels during the Lunar New Year (late January to late February), with levels increasing following conclusion of the holidays 

Air Pollution: China (Pre-COVID-19)

Researchers studying China found air quality may have improved following strict lock downs during the COVID-19 outbreak. 
- Satellite imaging showed NO2 levels above China decreased in early February as compared to January, but increased in late February as industrial activity resumed
- Numerous cities saw improvements in general air quality and 120 cities achieved standard air quality levels 
- On average, PM2.5 levels decreased by 14.8%, PM10 levels decreased by 20.5%, NO2 levels decreased by 25% (12.9 μg/m3), SO2 levels decreased by 21.4%, CO levels decreased by 6.2%, and O3 levels remained consistent 
- ESA satellite images showed NO2 levels decreased 20-30% from February 10, 2020 to February 25, 2020 
-  The US NASA Aura and European Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor satellites found NO2 levels decreased ~48% from late January to early February 2020, a larger decrease than could be attributed to celebration of Lunar New Year alone 

Air Pollution: China (Post-COVID-19)

Liu, F., Page, A., Strode, S. A., Yoshida, Y., Choi, S., Zheng, B., Lamsal, L. N., Li, C., Krotkov, N. A., Eskes, H., van der A, R., Veefkind, P., Levelt, P. F., Hauser, O. P., & Joiner, J. (2020). Abrupt decline in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide over China after the outbreak of COVID-19. Science Advances, 6(28). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abc2992

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- Abrupt Decline in Tropospheric Nitrogen Dioxide over China after the Outbreak of COVID-19


COVID-19 Environmental Impact Articles from Science Advances 

You, S., Sonne, C., & Ok, Y. S. (2020, June 26). COVID-19's unsustainable waste management. Science. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6498/1438.1.

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