Lockdown measures and air quality: evidence from Italian provinces

Maurizio Malpede; Marco Percoco

doi:10.1007/s12076-021-00267-4

Lockdown measures and air quality: evidence from Italian provinces

Lett Spat Resour Sci. 2021;14(2):101-110. doi: 10.1007/s12076-021-00267-4. Epub 2021 Feb 21.

Authors

Maurizio Malpede¹, Marco Percoco²

Affiliations

¹ GREEN, Università Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
² Department of Social and Political Science and GREEN, Università Bocconi, Milano, Italy.

Abstract

The aim of this short communication is to estimate the effects of the implementation of more restrictive lockdown measures on pollution levels in Italy. Using a time series of weekly concentrations of PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and NO₂ for the period 2016-2020 across 71 provinces, we find that the introduction of lockdown measures reduced the air concentration levels of PM₁₀ and NO₂ by 17-18%, while their effect on PM_2.5 remains unclear. These results indicate that the lockdown had a significant positive impact in terms of lives saved and improved air quality.

Keywords: Air quality; COVID-19; Pandemics; Particulate matter; Pollution.