Evaluation of Air Pollution Contributes for the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran using Sentinel 5 Satellite Data

One of the economic challenges facing developing countries is the cost of tackling air pollution and improving its quality. On the other hand, in addition to cost, the health of people in the community and existing diseases are also directly related to air quality. Therefore, the study and analysis of changes in air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone can provide valuable information for experts to analyze air quality. The presence of high-resolution spatial sensors to study a variety of applications has enabled experts in this field to study most environmental phenomena. In the present study, temporal and spatial changes of air pollutants were determined using Sentinel-5 satellite data in April 2016, simultaneously with the release of Covid-19 virus for Iran, and compared with the values of the same period in 1998. The spread of Covid-19 virus during this period had a variety of consequences that led to a reduction in factory activity as well as a decrease in vehicle traffic. Therefore, the present study seeks to investigate the effect of these factors by analyzing the temporal changes and spatial distribution of pollutants in the interval between these two times. The results confirm the improvement of air quality in this period compared to the previous year, April 1998. According to the results, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in the entire barley column and tropospheric nitrogen dioxide , which is directly related to transportation and human activities, has decreased.