The Nexus Between COVID-19 Factors and Air Pollution

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Epidemiology
• Econometrics

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted daily life and the environment.
• Previous research on COVID-19's environmental effects is extensive, but a synthesized analysis of its impact on pollution is needed.
• This study focuses on environmental pollution in Bangladesh during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in Bangladesh under strict COVID-19 lockdown conditions.
• To analyze the asymmetric relationship between COVID-19 and environmental pollution.
• To examine the nonlinear relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and COVID-19 indicators.

Main Methods:

• Employed the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model to assess asymmetric relationships.
• Utilized daily COVID-19 positive cases and deaths as key pandemic indicators.
• Incorporated a dummy variable for lockdown periods to analyze its impact.

Main Results:

• The bound test confirmed significant long-run and short-run relationships between the studied variables.
• A strict lockdown in Bangladesh, implemented due to a COVID-19 surge, led to a notable reduction in air pollution.
• Greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), were significantly decreased during the lockdown period.

Conclusions:

• Strict COVID-19 lockdown measures in Bangladesh demonstrably improved air quality by reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
• The findings highlight the potent impact of enforced restrictions on environmental factors during health crises.
• Further research into the specific drivers of these asymmetric relationships is warranted.