A Review of COVID-19: Nature of the Virus and Impact of Lockdown on Air Pollution over India and the World

Main Article Content

N.V. Krishna Prasad*
P. Sasikala
S. Ramesh
M.S.S.R.K.N. Sarma
Thomaskutty Mathew
T. Anil Babu
N. Madhavi

Abstract

A new infection was reported on 31st December, 2019 from the city of Wuhan (China) to WHO. It was later named COVID-19 disease and was declared pandemic on 11thMarch, 2020. Estimates predicted that forty to sixty percent of world population would be affected by this virus. This virus has created an immeasurable crisis in the entire world economically, socially as well as environmentally with adverse effect on health. Worldwide lockdowns have been implemented to curtail virus transmission. Lockdown starting and ending dates have varied depending on the country. These lockdowns have had significant impact on air quality due to sudden reduction in vehicular traffic as well as shutdown of industries. It was reported that thirty percent reduction in air pollution was experienced by Wuhan city due to the lockdown. Many research publications have reported the impact of air pollution on human health for the last few decades. However, for the first time, forced lockdown created a chance to review the air pollution in various cities. In this review, we present some of the published results related to the nature of virus and impact of lockdown on air pollution over India and the world.


Keywords: COVID-19; lockdown; air pollution


*Corresponding author: Tel.:  91-8971199913


                                             E-mail: drnvkprasad@gmail.com

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Review Ariticle

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