Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Atmospheric Environment
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/atmosenv

Impact of Covid-19 lockdown regulations on PM2.5 and trace gases (NO2,

SO2, CH4, HCHO, C2H2O2 and O3) over Lahore, Pakistan
I. Karim *, B. Rappenglück
University of Houston, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Houston, TX, USA

H I G H L I G H T S

• Drastic reductions in anthropogenic emissions due to COVID-19 lockdown regulations.

• Anthropogenic emissions are substantial, and the magnitude of these reductions are important with regard air quality and climate.
• No reduction C2H2O2 and HCHO levels as Biomass burning for heating, crop residue burning, and biogenic activities were least effected by the COVID regulations.
• No sharp reduction in SO2 from fossil fuel power plants due to smaller decreases in energy demand during the COVID lock down period.

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The COVID-19 pandemic altered the human mobility and economic activities immensely, as authorities enforced
COVID -19 unprecedented lock down regulations. In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a complete lockdown was
Particulate matter observed between 24 March – 31 May 2020 in Pakistan. This paper aims at investigating the PM2.5, AOD and
Remote sensing data
column amounts of six trace gases (NO2, SO2, CH4, HCHO, C2H2O2, and O3) by comparing periods of reduced
Lahore city
Urban air quality
emissions during lockdown periods with reference periods without emission reductions over Lahore, Pakistan.
HYSPLIT cluster trajectory analyses were performed, which confirmed similar meteorological flow conditions
during lockdown and reference periods. This provides confidence that any change in air quality conditions would
be due to changes in human activities and associated emissions. The results show about 38% reduction in
ambient surface PM2.5 levels during the lockdown period. This change also positively correlated with MODISDB
and AERONETAOD data with a decrease of AOD by 42% and 35%, respectively. Reductions for tropospheric
columns of NO2 and SO2 were about 20% and 50%, respectively during a semi lockdown period, while no
reduction in the CH4, C2H2O2, HCHO and O3 levels occurred. During the lockdown period NO2, O3 and CH4 were
about 50%, 45% and 25% lower, respectively, but no reduction in SO2, C2H2O2 and HCHO levels were noticed
compared to the reference lockdown period for Lahore. HYSPLIT cluster trajectory analysis revealed the greatest
impact on Lahore air quality through local emissions and regional transport from the east (agricultural burning
and industry).

1. Introduction concentration of Greenhouse gases (Bauwens et al., 2020).

In an attempt to control the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19), strict lockdown regulations were imposed around the
world in the first half of 2020. In Pakistan, complete lockdown regula­
tions were imposed from March 24, 2020–May 31, 2020, which was
followed by the semi lockdown periods in second half of 2020 and first
half of 2021. These regulations resulted in drastic reductions in human
activities, especially reduction in the volume of transportation, closure
of commercial and industrial sectors, resulting in sharp reduction in the
Lahore with an annual average of PM2.5 (particulate matter with
diameter <2.5 μm) concentrations 86.5 μg/m3 in 2021 was even ranked
among the top polluted cities of the world (https://www.iqair.com
/us/world-air-quality-ranking). PM2.5 sources in Lahore are linked to
vehicular emission, industries and brick kilns, the later one also emitting
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Ahmad et al., 2020), which pose
additional public health concerns. In the case of Pakistan relatively few
studies have been conducted on aerosol pollution for major cities in that
area. Predominantly, these studies utilized remote sensing satellite data

* Corresponding author. University of Houston, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, 4800 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX, 77204-5007, USA.
E-mail address: ikarim2@uh.edu (I. Karim).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2023.119746
Received 27 October 2022; Received in revised form 21 March 2023; Accepted 24 March 2023
Available online 30 March 2023
1352-2310/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück
due to the lack of in-situ surface data. Satellite data included AOD
(Aerosol Optical Depth) inferring from Moderate-Resolution Imaging
Spectrometer (MODIS) on Aqua and Tera (Ahmad et al., 2020), TOMS
(Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) and MISR (Multi angle Imaging
Spectroradiometer) (Alam et al., 2011). Recent study by Khan (2021)
attributed lockdown period in Lahore Pakistan resulted in reduction of
Particulate matter (PM2.5) and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) levels by
56% and 46% consequently improving the air quality.
Remote sensing data from OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) in­
dicates that among other populated cities of Pakistan like Karachi and
Rawalpindi, Lahore has the highest NO2 tropospheric vertical column
density as well as the highest SO2 vertical column density during the
months of November–February, attributed to transport, industrializa­
tion, powerplants and brick kilns. Additionally, the annual mean CAMS
(Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) PM concentrations from
2003 to 2020 indicates that Lahore is the most polluted city of Pakistan
(Bilal et al., 2021). In another study by Ali et al. (2022) based on
TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) satellite data a sharp
reduction in concentration of NO2 by 42% was observed however no
significant reduction in SO2 was noted during the lockdown period
compared to same period in 2019. SO2 is a hazardous environmental
pollutant and short-term exposure can harm eyes, throat and respiratory
tract. Main anthropogenic source of atmospheric SO2 is combustion of
fossil fuels by power plants, industrial facilities and automobile exhaust.
SO2 has an average lifetime of 2 days in the troposphere, but can vary
from 15 to 65 h in summer and winter respectively (Lee et al., 2011).
According to an analysis of 2003–2020 OMI data Bilal et al. (2021)
found the highest annual mean SO2 Vertical Column Density (VCD)
(10.6 × 1015 molecules/cm2) among major cities of Pakistan over
Lahore. They associated these elevated SO2 VCD levels with anthropo­
genic sources in that area (i.e. power plants, smelters, oil and gas
industry).
There are numerous studies on COVID 19 regulations impact on air
quality for developed regions. However, due to the scarcity of robust air
quality monitoring systems it is more challenging to design and conduct
studies on COVID-19 related effects on air quality in developing regions
of the world. Additionally, the pandemic specific regulations and pol­
icies implemented in response to the pandemic may vary between
different locations, making it difficult to generalize findings from one
area to another. In case of Lahore, only few studies have been attempted
to study the impact of COVID 19 regulations on air quality. These studies
focused only on PM2.5, and AOD, and some included the trace gases NO2,
and SO2, meanwhile other significant pollutants e.g., methane, formal­
dehyde, glyoxal and ozone were not considered. Additionally, these
studies lack trajectory analysis, which is an important tool to determine
the origin of pollutants. According to a study by Khan (2021) PM2.5 and
AOD levels in Lahore decreased by about 61% and 46% during the
period from March 23 to December 31, 2020. They looked at this almost
nine month long period to cover every part of the selective lockdown
strategy, which was enforced to control the spread of COVID hotspot
areas only. In another study by Ilyas et al. (2022) PM2.5 surface mea­
surements were compared with AOD data retrieved by Modern-Era
Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) satel­
lite data and it was deduced that PM2.5 and AOD levels decreased by
50% and 41%, respectively. However, both studies did not cover any
trace gases. Khan et al. (2021) found a 28% decline in PM2.5, 38% in
NO2, 33% in SO2, and 17% in CO in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) during
the lockdown period (March 25, 2020 to May 31, 2020), compared to
the pre-lockdown period (16 January to 24 March 2020). The drawback
of the study is the lack of a reference period, which is crucial for
comparing seasonal changes and determining pollutant concentration
levels. Additionally, it lacks air trajectory analysis for source identifi­
cation. In another study by Ali et al. (2022) no decline in SO2 levels were
noticed during the COVID period (March 23 – April 30th, 2020), how­
ever NO2 and AOD levels were reduced by 42 and 5% respectively. It is
important to identify sources and determinants influencing local
2
Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746
emissions and long-range transport in Pakistan, particularly in major
cities where studies on aerosol pollution are limited.
The objective of this paper is to analyze reductions in anthropogenic
emissions due to the implementation of COVID-19 regulations. In this
analysis we consider surface PM2.5 data, AOD and the column amounts
of six trace gases (NO2, SO2, CH4, HCHO, C2H2O2 and O3) as retrieved by
various satellite platforms. In addition, we perform back trajectory
cluster analysis to account for meteorological conditions and charac­
terize the source region of air masses impacting the air quality of Lahore.
Extended research on sources of PM2.5 and trace gases is important for
understanding urban air quality and exploring potential reduction
strategies.
Study Site Lahore is the second largest city of Pakistan with a pop­
ulation of 11.22 million. It is the provincial capital of Punjab (Fig. 1),
situated in northeast of Pakistan (31.56◦ N, 74.33◦ E) at an elevation of
214 m a.s.l. The topography is flat. According to the Köppen-Geiger
climate classification: Lahore is categorized as hot semi-arid steppe
climate (Bsh), with hot summers, cool winters and short but distinctive
wet season (monsoon)(Sidra et al., 2015; Mokhtari et al., 2022). Indeed
while the annual rainfall is 715 mm/year, the highest rainfall of 575 mm
concentrated in only two months (July–August) during the monsoon
season. A wide temperature range can be observed from as low as 0 ◦ C
during winters to 48 ◦ C during summers (Rana and Bhatti, 2018). The
climate of Lahore can be divided into five-season: winter (15 Nov – 15
Feb) with few western disturbances causing rain; spring (16 Feb – 15
April); summer (15 April − 30 June) when dust storms are a common
(Bilal et al., 2021); monsoon (01 July – 16 September); and dry autumn
(16 September − 14 November) (https://lahoredivision.punjab.gov.
pk/divisionatglance_climate).
COVID-19: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hit Lahore during
the last week of March 2020. The Pakistan government announced a
COVID-19 lockdown (LD) from March 24 to May 30, 2020 (Table 1). For
this study in-situ and remote sensing data was used for (a) concentra­
tions during the Semi Lockdown (SLD) period (1/1/2021 to 2/28/2021)
and compared it to (b) measurements in the Reference Semi Lockdown
(Ref-SLD) (1/1/2020 to 2/29/2020), where sources of emission oper­
ated as normal (c) concentrations during the LD period (March 24 to
May 31, 2020) and compared it to (d) concentrations in reference period
in the subsequent year (March 24 to May 31, 2021). Note: within the LD
of 2020 also the month of Ramadhan occurred (April 23 to May 23,
2020), which included modified restrictions (Table 1). Since Ramadhan
begins 10–12 days earlier each year, the Ramadhan 2021 time period
would not coincide with Ramadhan in 2020 LD period. Hence, we used
the month of Ramadhan from April 12 to May 12, 2021 as another
reference period. The reference periods were chosen based on the data
availability. As it was not before May 2019 that the US consulate Lahore
started collecting PM2.5 data we picked the reference period for the SLD
and LD periods in 2021. After ease in restrictions during the different
reference periods (Table 1), there was concentrated surge in traffic
volume, beginning of enterprise production, resulting in business as
usual anthropogenic emissions. The only period considered as a
business-as-usual period without any restrictions is the time period
before the LD was implemented (i.e. the Ref-SLD period from 1/1/2020
to 2/29/2020. Any other reference period still had some restriction,
albeit drastically reduced. There we would still expect conditions which
did not yet approach full pre-pandemic conditions. Thus results shown
in this paper refer to a minimum emission reduction scenario.
The goal of this paper is to investigate emissions reduction during the
LD period due to reductions in travel, commercial and industrial activ­
ities associated with the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown. We deduce the
contribution of anthropogenic emissions by comparing periods of
reduced emissions (LD period) with periods without emission reductions
(Ref-SLD period) and a reference period for LD and SLD.
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746

Fig. 1. Map of Pakistan showing the location of study area.

Table 1 Table 2
COVID 19 – lock down timelines, Lahore Pakistan. Data source.
Phase Description Data Temporal/ Sources
Spatial
Semi Lockdown (SLD) Flexible reporting time and working hours for offices
Resolution
1/1/2021 to 2/28/2021 from 09:00 - 14:00. Commercial Markets/business
activities needed to close by 20:00. Occupancy level Particulate Matter (PM2.5); Hourly, point https://pk.usembassy.gov/e
of public transport was kept to 50%. Industrial surface in-situ measurement mbassy-consulates/air-quality
activities were exempted from these regulations. -data/
Reference Semi Lockdown Ref-SLD has been defined as pre pandemic, with no Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Daily, (3.5 × https://developers.google.
(Ref-SLD) restriction on business, commercial and routine Column Amount - 5.5 km2) com/earth-engine/datasets/ca
1/1/2020 to 2/29/2020 activities (“business-as-usual"). TROPOMI (L3_NO2) talog/COPERNICUS_S5P_NRTI
Lockdown (LD) All business and commercial activities remain _L3_NO2
3/24/2020 to 5/31/2020 closed. Complete ban on intra city, inter-district and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Daily, (3.5 × https://developers.google.
interprovincial movement of people by public Column Amount - 5.5 km2) com/earth-engine/datasets/ca
transport and gatherings. All the commercial and TROPOMI (L3_SO2) talog/COPERNICUS_S5P_NRTI
industrial activities were banned. _L3_SO2
Reference to Lockdown (Ref- All commercial activities and markets were closed Glyoxal (C2H2O2) Daily, 3.5 x 5.5 https://glyretro.aeronomie.
LD) by 18:00 on weekdays and remained completely (VCD) GLYRETRO km2 be/index.php
3/24/2021 to 5/31/2021 closed on weekends. 50% office Staff to work from (GLYoxal Retrievals from
home. The industrial activities remain exempted TROPOMI)
from the regulations. Methane (CH4) Daily, 7◦ × 7◦ https://eccad3.sedoo.fr/
Ramadhan in LD 2020 (R-LD) Same as LD. However, the Government of Pakistan Column amount CAMS
4/23/2020 to 5/23/2020 allowed prayer congregations of up to five people as from (Copernicus
part of measures imposed to curb Covid-19. Atmosphere Monitoring
Reference Period for Same as Ref-LD. Service)
Ramadhan LD (Ref-R-LD): Formaldehyde (HCHO) Daily, (3.5 × https://developers.google.co
4/12/2021 to 5/12/2021 Column Amount- 5.5 km2) m/earth-engine/datasets/
TROPOMI (L3_HCHO) catalog/COPERNIC
US_S5P_NRTI_L3_HCHO
2. Data sources Ozone (O3) Daily 1◦ × 1◦ https://cds.climate.copernicus
6 km ozone column .eu/cdsapp#!/dataset/satellite
concentration-IASI(L3-O3) -ozone-v1?tab=overview
We utilize eight types of data sets in this study (Table 2): (a) hourly Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) Daily, 1◦ × 1◦ https://lpdaac.usgs.gov
surface PM2.5 concentrations from an air quality site on the properties of (MOD08 D3 v6.1)
the US consulate through the AirNow portal, (b) AOD from AErosol Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) Hourly, point https://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.
RObotic NETwork (AERONET) (c) satellite image data from the Gio­ Aerosol Robotic Network measurement gov/cgi-bin/data_display_aod_
(AERONET) v3?site=Lahore&nacha
vanni, Google Earth Engine (GEE) and ECMWF (d) trajectory analysis
l=2&level=1&place_code=10
based on the hybrid single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory
(HYSPLIT) model. The specific data sets and their usages are presented
in the following sections.

3
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück
2.1. Surface-Based in-situ measurements - (PM2.5)
PM2.5 data in Lahore has been measured since April 2019 at an air
quality site on the premises of the US consulate (Fig. 2) close to the
commercial city center (31.5613◦ N, 74.33603◦ E). The monitoring sta­
tion is surrounded by commercial and residential buildings and is
densely populated (Fig. 2). Major pollutant sources around the moni­
toring station include Davis Road, Durand Road and Abbott Road. Since
all these roads converge at a single roundabout, traffic congestion is
noticeable during rush hours.
The US consulate in Lahore collects PM2.5 continuously using a Beta-
ray Attenuation Mass Spectrometer (BAM) 1020 (Met-One, Oregon,
USA). The BAM is a high precision instrument widely used for real time
measurements of PM2.5. The measurement principle is based on the
relationship between the attenuation of β-rays by particle deposits on a
glass filter tape (Jaklevic et al., 1981). The BAM 1020 has a detection
limit of 4.8 μg/m3 and an uncertainty of ~16% (Kamarul Zaman et al.,
2017). Hourly data for PM2.5 for the year 2020 and 2021 was down­
loaded from the AirNow website (Table 2). OpenAir software (RStudio
2022.02.2 version) was used for data analysis.
2.2. Surface based column measurements – AERONET (AOD)
AERONET is a globally distributed network which provides a data­
base of aerosol optical, microphysical and radiative properties (http
://www.aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html). The measurement system
is based on the CIMEL Electronique CE318 multiband sun photometer
that performs measurements of spectral sun irradiance and sky radi­
ances. AOD is measured at four wavelengths (440, 675, 870 and 1020
nm). There are two AERONET stations in Pakistan, Lahore and Karachi.
As our study focuses on Lahore, we only use data from that site. The
concurrent observations of AOD and MODIS (Terra) were used for
complimenting the PM2.5 in-situ surface dataset.
Fig. 2. Location of the US Consulate monitoring site in Lahore.
4
Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746
2.3. Satellite based column measurements
Multiple satellite datasets were used to for this study (Table 2).
Briefly, sources of remotely sensed data are from MODIS, Sentinel-5P
(TROPOMI), and the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer
(IASI). The remote sensing satellite data used was averaged for the pe­
riods of 1st January to 28th February (Pre - LD period) and 25th March
to 31st May (LD period) to obtain the spatial mean distribution of NO2,
SO2, CH4, HCHO, C2H2O2 and O3.
2.3.1. Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) –MODIS
AOD data was obtained from the MODIS platform. The MODIS Deep
Blue (MODISDB) algorithm provides coverage for all cloud-free and
snow-free land surfaces. In our analysis we use gridded Level 2 data, i.e.
calibrated and georeferenced data, produced daily at 1 km resolution
(Gautam et al., 2011). AOD describes the attenuation of the transmission
of solar radiation through the atmosphere by aerosol and gas scattering
and absorption. Since AOD is dependent on the wavelength, the most
common reference wavelength reported by satellite data products is 550
nm (Remer et al., 2008). Properties of the aerosol particles may hint to
specific emission sources: AOD <1 indicates coarse particles associated
with dust, ash, and sea spray, for instance, while AOD >1 reflects the
dominance of fine particles (e.g., smoke, industrial pollution) (https://e
arth.gsfc.nasa.gov/climate/data/deep-blue/science). For the present
study, AOD data was accessed through the NASA LP DAACwebsite
(https://giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov/giovanni/) and Panoply software (5.1.0
version) was used for map projections.
2.3.2. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) - TROPOMI
The TROPOMI instrument was chosen for NO2 and SO2 measure­
ments in our study due to the high resolution and its wide coverage.
TROPOMI has a wide field of view with a spatial resolution of about 3.5
km × 5.5 km2. NO2 and SO2 daily VCD data were retrieved from TRO­
POMI sensor, onboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) satellite (Table 2).
The TROPOMI sensor maps NO2 and SO2 in molecules per square meter
(mol/m2). For the present study satellite data was accessed through the
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück
Google Earth Engine web site (https://developers.google.com/earth-e
ngine/datasets/catalog/sentinel-5p). For map projections of NO2, SO2
and HCHO, QGIS software (3.28.3 version) was used.
2.3.3. Glyoxal (C2H2O2), formaldehyde (HCHO) and methane (CH4) -
TROPOMI
Glyoxal (C2H2O2) and Formaldehyde (HCHO) data was acquired
from the TROPOMI Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite (Kleipool et al., 2018).
Methane CH4 data was obtained from the Copernicus Atmosphere
Monitoring Service (CAMS). TROPOMI measures glyoxal at a wave­
length range of 435–462 nm (Chen et al., 2022), Formaldehyde between
328.5 and 359 nm (https://sentinel.esa.int/documents/247904/
2476257/Sentinel-5P-ATBD-HCHO-TROPOMI) and methane at 760
nm (https://eccad.aeris-data.fr). It is a passive remote sensing instru­
ment with an orbit at 824 km altitude and an Equator crossing time of
13:30 local solar time. The typical pixel size is 7 km × 3.5 km (near
nadir) for all spectral bands, however the spatial resolution for C2H2O2
and HCHO (3.5 × 5.5 km2) is higher compared to CH4 (7◦ × 7◦ )
(Table 2). CAMS produces global atmospheric inversion for CH4 using
the atmospheric inversion framework. The framework applies a data
assimilation process, or flux inversion, based on which ground-based
and satellite remote-sensing observations are fed into transport models
of the atmosphere to ascertain the surface fluxes of CH4. For the present
study C2H2O2 was accessed through GLYoxal Retrievals from the TRO­
POMI website (https://glyretro.aeronomie.be/index.php) while for
HCHO Google Earth the Engine European Union/ESA/Copernicus
(https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/sentine
l). Daily average data for CH4 was retrieved from CAMS (https://eccad.
aeris-data.fr), and further treated using Panoply software (5.1.0 version)
for map projections.
2.3.4. Ozone (O3) - Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI)
Tropospheric O3 data from AURA OMI/MLS is available only avail­
able until December 2020, so this period does not cover the reference
periods of our study (https://acd-ext.gsfc.nasa.gov/Data_services/c
loud_slice/new_data.html). We also considered TROPOMI to retrieve
the O3 tropospheric column data. However it only covers the tropical
band (20◦ S to 20◦ N), while our study area (Lahore) is located outside
this band (http://www.tropomi.eu/data-products/tropospheric-ozo
ne-column). Due to all these aforementioned reasons, we opted for the
IASI. The data is available on the platform of the ECMWF. The spatial
resolution of the data set is 1◦ × 1◦ with daily temporal coverage. For the
present study the data was downloaded from the Copernicus website
(https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/dataset/satellite-ozone?
tab=overview). For map projection of O3 the Panoply software (5.1.0
version) was used.
3. Trajectory modeling (HYSPLIT)
In order to ascertain air mass origin and source-receptor relationship
72-h backward trajectory analysis was carried out based on the hybrid
single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory (HYSPLIT 4.9 version),
an extensively used atmospheric transport and dispersion model (Stein
et al., 2015). For further analysis and interpretation, grouping and
clustering of trajectories based on spatiotemporal commonalties was
used (Fleming et al., 2012). Backward trajectories were retrieved from
the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Data
Assimilation System (GDAS) archive. The temporal resolution of GDAS
is 3 h, while the spatial resolution is 0.5◦ , which translates into ~55 km
for the area of Pakistan which extends from 24◦ to 37◦ North. We
selected the US consulate in Lahore as the arrival point and chose
different elevation heights, i.e. 200 m, 500 m, 1000 m, and 4000 m
above ground level (agl). The selection of these elevation heights is
based on following assumptions: in the absence of boundary layer height
(BLH) information of Lahore we reviewed BLH information of Delhi
presented in Mehta et al., 2010, and applied the results for our study, as
5
Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746
Delhi is the closest location to Lahore having BLH information and it
resembles Lahore in its flat topography. This BLH information is based
on Tropospheric Ultraviolet and Visible Radiation model (TUV, v5.3.2)
modelling. It indicates highest daytime convective boundary layer
heights (CBLH) in summertime reaching ~2.8 km agl on average. On the
other hand, that study indicates nocturnal stable boundary layer heights
(SBLHs) to be below ~300 m agl. In our study the lowermost back tra­
jectory (200 m agl) would stay within the SBL and the CBL, while the
intermediate elevation heights (500 m and 1000 m agl) would be in the
CBL during the day and within the residual layer (RL) at night. The third
elevation height (4000 m agl) would be above the RL and CBL all times
and would indicate transport mechanisms in the lower free troposphere
(Mehta et al., 2010). While many short-lived pollutants (e.g., NO2, SO2
HCHO, Glyoxal) would be mostly confined to the BL, PM2.5 can be
uplifted above the CBLH, embedded into large scale transport and
transported over longer period in the free troposphere depending on
meteorological conditions. This effect is most prominent in the dry
season with frequent dust storm impacts (Bilal et al., 2021). These ef­
fects are decoupled from the BL. They can lead to dominant signals in
satellite based retrievals and mask surface PM2.5 signals. In order to
address these large-scale impacts we included the 4000 m agl trajectory
for Lahore in this present study. In addition, cluster and residence time
analysis was conducted to study the dominant air pathways reaching the
monitoring site at the US consulate in Lahore and deduce emission
source areas.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. PM2.5 – tracer for combustion
Variations in the day-night PM2.5 concentration are affected by the
diurnal variations of both the emission intensity and atmospheric
physical and chemical processes. The diurnal variation of PM2.5 in
Lahore is illustrated in Fig. 3a–c. Common features include elevated
PM2.5 values in the first half of the day, when also the diurnal PM2.5
maxima emerge, while the diurnal minimum PM2.5 concentration is
usually found between 17:00–18:00. Fig. 3b–c, which present data for
the Lock down (LD) and Ref-Lock down (R-LD) indicate a broad and
pronounced PM2.5 peak during the morning rush hour traffic
(7:00–9:00) starting about 1 h after sunrise. This is different for Fig. 3a,
which reveals some time shifts: here PM2.5 shows traffic rush hour peaks
between 09:00–11:00 for Ref-SLD period, however for SLD period peak
is between 9:00–13:00. The lowest PM2.5 values are generally around
afternoon (17:00–20:00). In all plots the evening traffic rush hour
(17:00–20:00) is not clearly discernible. This period falls into the tran­
sition period from the CBL to the SBL Under CBL conditions PM2.5
emissions would be diluted. Indeed the diurnal minimum PM2.5 con­
centration is usually found in between 17:00–18:00. After about 18:00 p.
m.2.5 concentrations start to increase which is due to the ongoing traffic
emissions and the onset of the SBL, while some of the daytime PM
emissions into CBL would be retained within the RL decoupled from the
surface emissions.
A closer analysis of Fig. 3a reveals that the diurnal variation of PM2.5
in Ref-SLD period is in close agreement with an earlier analysis for
Lahore by Rasheed et al. (2015). In particular, this also includes the
timing of the rush hour peak between 9:00 and 11:00. We therefore
consider this period as a business-as-usual scenario (Table 1) and use it
as a benchmark. However during the SLD period shift in time of traffic
rush hours by 2 h can be observed (11:00 to 13:00) compared with
Ref-SLD. Also, overall higher PM2.5 concentrations occur throughout the
day compared with Ref-SLD. These differences can be explained by
COVID regulations which were in place during the SLD period (Table 1).
These include the flexible reporting timings for offices between
09:00–14:00 (Dawn, 2021) while business and commercial activities
resumed only after 10:00 a.m. so the overall rush hour period shifted
from 11:00–13:00. Contribution of traffic emissions to the ambient PM
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746

Fig. 3. Timeseries (left) and mean diurnal variation of PM2.5 concentrations (right) for (a) Semi Lockdown (SLD) and Reference Semi Lockdown (Ref-SLD), (b)
Lockdown (LD) and Reference Lockdown (Ref – LD) period and (c) Ramadhan Lockdown (R-LD) period and Reference Ramadhan Lockdown (Ref-R-LD) period. For
further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.

levels is expected to be highest during the rush hour, i.e. 9:00–11:00.
During the SLD period the median PM2.5 values in that time window
were about 206 μg/m3, i.e. about 15% higher compared to the Ref-SLD
period. The higher surface PM2.5 concentration in the SLD compared to
the Ref-SLD period also correlates with increased MODISDB over Lahore
(25%; Fig. 4a) and it can be attributed to people switching from public
transport to private vehicles (IEA, 2020). These overall changes between
2021 and the pre-pandemic period 2020 reflect the alteration in
morning commuter traffic and transit pattern, which were imposed by
the government regulations, which included flexible timings for offices,
schools, commercial and industrial activities.
Fig. 3b shows that while for the Ref-LD period PM2.5 concentrations
are elevated between 06:00–9:00 reflecting the morning traffic rush
hour this feature is not visible during the LD period. Instead there is a
decrease during that time period. During the LD period strict regulations
were imposed by the government of Punjab to reduce the spread of
COVID-19 (Table 1). The reduction in traffic flow, ban on commercial
and industrial activities, resulted in a pronounced decline of PM2.5
concentration in LD period 2020 by 38% based on median values as
compared to the Ref – LD period (Fig. 3b). Median PM2.5 values during
the LD period were about 36.9 μg/m3, i.e., about 38% lower compared
to the Ref – LD period. This change also positively correlated with
MODISDB and AERONETAOD data with a decrease of AOD during the LD
period by 42% and 35% based on median values compared to the Ref –
LD period (Fig. 4b and 5a). As religious congregations became hot spots
and super-spreader events for COVID 19 in the LD period, the Govern­
ment of Pakistan imposed additional restrictions which only allowed
prayer congregations up to five people. Hence, these restrictions on

6
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück
Fig. 4. AOD levels obtained from MODIS for (a) Ref-SLD period 2020 (left) and SLD period 2021 (right), (b) LD – period 2020 (left) and Ref - LD period 2021 (right)
and (c) R-LD period 2020 (left) and Ref-R-LD period 2021 (right). For episode acronyms and further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.
Fig. 5a. AOD levels during LD period and Ref - LD period. For episode acro­
nyms and further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.
7
Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746
travel to and from religious gatherings also resulted in further reduction
of PM2.5.
The Ramadhan in LD (R-LD) coincided with the LD period; strict
restrictions were superimposed to bar people from religious gatherings
and Eid shopping (Table 1). Median PM2.5 values during the R-LD were
47.7 μg/m3, i.e. about 27% lower compared to the Reference Period for
Ramadhan LD (Ref-R-LD) (Fig. 4c). Also AOD MODISDB during the R-LD
was lower compared to the Ref-R-LD period (0.4 vs 0.7, respectively;
Fig. 5b). AOD values < 1 suggest an optical dominance of coarse par­
ticles (e.g. dust, ash) which are representative for aerosols originating
from natural dust emission and biomass burning which became more
prevalent during the R-LD. While the aerosol loading during the R-LD
was expected to decrease due to the LD regulations to the transport,
commercial and industrial sectors, emissions from fossil fuel power
plants and agriculture sectors were least affected and contributed to the
remaining aerosol, apart from natural aerosols. PM2.5 concentrations
were 45% lower during the last week of R-LD period compared to the
last week of Ramadhan 2019). This reduction in PM2.5 concentration
coincides with a decline in shopping (sales decline by 75% as compared
to 2020 according to (Dawn, 2020) due to COVID 19 lock down regu­
lations. Since R-LD period fell into the LD period, this period had the
strictest regulations. These restrictions also included the suspension of
intercity and intra provincial traffic movement to control the spread of
COVID 19. To leapfrog these travel restrictions enforced by the Gov­
ernment, people hustled to markets for shopping and tried to travel to
their respective home towns on Eid vacations.
The diurnal variation of PM2.5 concentrations as shown in Fig. 3a–c is
largely modulated by emissions from traffic exhaust, power plants,
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück
Fig. 5b. AOD levels during R-LD period and Ref-R-LD period. For episode ac­
ronyms and further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.
domestic heating and BLH variations. During the LD period both public
and private traffic activity was banned and elevated PM concentrations
were mainly due to heavy trucks, non-road diesel generators, biomass
burning, and cooking activities. During morning hours between 8:00-
11:00 a broad peak can be observed in all the Reference periods
(Fig. 3a–c), which is consistent with morning rush-hour traffic as
pointed out by Rasheed et al. (2015). Night-time elevated PM2.5 con­
centrations are due to a combination of heavy-duty vehicle emissions
(heavy-duty vehicles are only allowed between 22:00–6:00) and a lower
nocturnal BLH. The traffic intensity as well as the contribution from
residential and industrial emissions are lowest after midnight
(1:00–03:00). Biomass burning in inefficient cooking stoves (residential
and commercial) adds to the background PM2.5 night-time (11:00–1:00)
and pre-sunrise (3:00–5:00). Apart from transport processes it is the
variation in the BLH which determines the dilution of aerosol concen­
trations which are emitted near the ground. It can be seen from Fig. 3a–b
that the PM2.5 concentration approaches its minimum between 17:00 to
18:00.
During the month of Ref-R-LD period (Fig. 3c), several pronounced
PM2.5 peaks can be observed from (around 2:00, from 4:00 to 7:00 and
around 8:00). The first two peaks are related to pre-dawn Ramadhan
meals activities. For the pre-dawn meals biomass is burned in residential
and commercial purposes, such as cooking in restaurants and bakery
operation. During Ramadhan the official reporting time is 08:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m. for all the entities; it is shortened by 2 h to compensate for the
early morning and the lunch break. The time period 5:00 to 7:00 is
related to the morning rush hour which is altered by the early reporting
time (8:00) compared to non-Ramadhan rush hours (5:00 to 8:00), while
the afternoon rush hours are 15:00-17:00, which is significantly earlier
compared to non-Ramadhan rush hours (17:00-20:00), in order to allow
for the dusk meal preparation and gatherings. Based on median values
MODISAOD was declined by 42% (Fig. 4c) and AERONETAOD by 35%
(Fig. 5b) during R-LD period compared with Ref-R-LD period. The
decline in AOD during the R-LD period indicates that aerosol loads
attributed to anthropogenic and natural dust emission were reduced due
to COVID related regulations imposed on Transport, commercial and
industrial activities, hence enhanced primary emissions.
8
Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746
4.2. Inorganic compounds (NO2 and SO2) – tracers for vehicular,
industrial and powerplants emissions
NO2 emissions sources are categorized into natural (i.e. biological
sources involving microbial activity in soils and ocean and non-
biological sources associated with volcanic activity, lightning strikes,
and wildfires) and anthropogenic (fossil fuel combustion and biomass
burning). According to Bilal et al. (2021) Lahore is the most polluted city
of Pakistan. For this study, we present the observed changes in the VCD
of NO2 and SO2, detected by the TROPOMI instrument and deduce re­
ductions in anthropogenic emissions due to COVID-19 lockdown regu­
lations. Fig. 6a shows the NO2 tropospheric columns for the Ref-SLD
2020 and the corresponding SLD period 2021. These plots indicate the
highest NO2 tropospheric columns value (0.0002 mol/m− 2) for all pe­
riods shown in Fig. 6. Higher concentration of NO2 during the winters
(DJF) as compared to summer (JJA) are due to emissions from burning
of wood, cow dung and coal for heating and fossil fuel burning activities
in sugar mills. Both SLD and Ref-SLD periods fall in the winter season
(Jan–Feb), which is characterized by more stable atmospheric condi­
tions in Pakistan leading to an accumulation of NO2 in the boundary
layer and in general a diminution of solar irradiance, which in turn
suppresses photochemical reactions; therefore, the atmospheric lifetime
of NO2 is higher in winter than in summer and NO2 concentrations
would reach an annual maximum values in this period. During the
pre-monsoon dry summer period temperature along with actinic flux
increase, thereby decreasing the lifetime of NOx and lowering NO2
concentration. With the onset of the monsoon, wet deposition would
contribute to the reduction of NO2 concentrations. Fig 6b indicates a
NO2 tropospheric column value of about 0.0001 mol/m− 2over Lahore in
the LD period which 50% lower compared to the Ref – LD period. The
decrease in NO2 concentrations reflects the regulations imposed by the
government of Pakistan during the LD period (Table 1), in particular the
strict ban imposed on traffic and industrial activities. As the COVID 19
cases declined during the Ref – LD period, the government of Pakistan
eased the restrictions and the normal activities resumed with reopening
of offices, schools, industries, and other public spaces. As mentioned
earlier, the R-LD period fell into the LD period and included additional
restrictions on religious gathering. This resulted in lower VCD (0.0001
mol/m− 2) over Lahore as compared to higher VCD (0.0001 mol/m− 2)
during the Ref-R-LD period (Fig. 6c).
SO2 is mainly emitted from these point sources and is dispersed over
larger areas of Lahore (Jabeen and Khokhar, 2019). As mentioned in
Table 3, fossil fuel power plants in Lahore are using furnace oil and coal.
This table represents the overall annual energy generation. However
during winters the energy demands decreases as compared to summers
due to domestic and commercial consumers shifting to gas for space
heating and it’s a cheaper option. As a consequence, also the overall
percentage of coal fired plants power generation decreases in winter.
During the winter months from December to March, low wind
speeds, shallow BLHs, and low solar irradiance contribute to high con­
centrations of SO2. Longer SO2 lifetime in winter is caused by reduced
oxidation processes in the aqueous (i.e., H2O2) and gas (i.e., OH) phase,
and slower dry deposition velocities (Chin et al., 1996). Washout would
lead to a decrease in the SO2 VCD via aqueous phase transformation of
SO2 into sulfate and thus shorter SO2 atmospheric lifetime, mainly
during the monsoon season from July to September (Jhajharia et al.,
2012). During winter, elevated concentrations of SO2 are observed along
the foothills of the Himalayas, due to factors such as the albedo effect
caused by low-lying snow (Khokhar, 2006), excessive use of low-grade
fuel, and the lack of gas supply for heating and cooking purposes. This
is generally reflected in Fig. 7a, which shows conditions during January
and February. Here the areas with elevated SO2 largely coincide with the
areas covered with snow and/or along the foothills of the Himalaya as
shown by the MERRA-2 data (not shown). During the SLD period there
was significant reduction about 50% in SO2 concentration as compared
to Ref-SLD over Lahore (Fig. 7a). This reduction in SO2 concentration
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746

Fig. 6. NO2 VCD data obtained from TROPOMI for (a) Ref-SLD period 2020 (left) and SLD period 2021 (right), (b) LD – period 2020 (left) and Ref - LD period 2021
(right) and (c) R-LD period 2020 (left) and Ref-R-LD period 2021 (right). For episode acronyms and further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.

may be attributed to the regulations imposed by government for the SLD
reference period 2021. Coal-fired power stations are major contributor
to SO2 emissions in Lahore (Jabeen and Khokhar, 2019). The relative
contribution of coal based power generation to the total power gener­
ation in Lahore was similar in January 2020 as compared in January
2021 (32% vs 31%, respectively; Dawn, 2021). According to the 2020
economic survey of Pakistan, the share of fossil fuel power plant drop­
ped from 63% in April 2019 to 58.4% in April 2020 while the remaining
37% and 41.6% energy was supplied by hydroelectric, nuclear, wind,
and solar power. As no hydro, nuclear and solar projects were
commissioned in 2020 (Sibtain et al., 2021), it can be concluded that the
absolute emissions by fossil fuel power plants were reduced during the
LD. Also, the SO2 concentrations during the LD period and Ref – LD
period were very different over Lahore (Fig. 7b) indicating that during
the LD period, SO2 was more homogeneously distributed across the re­
gion. In contrast, during the Ref-LD period, SO2 was more concentrated
in isolated spots, suggesting that there were some areas where SO2
concentrations were significantly higher than in others (for further de­
tails see chapter 5).
During the R-LD the SO2 VCD was about ~50% lower over Lahore as
compared to Ref-R-LD (Fig. 7c). Since R-LD period coincided with LD
period, this substantial decline may be attributable to strict lockdown
measures (e.g., travel restrictions, closure of heavy industries and do­
mestic cooking). For example, domestic heating and cooking was
reduced in R-LD period due to the fact that a large population from
Lahore took this opportunity and migrated to their native and rural areas
outside Lahore.

9
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746

Table 3 pyrogenic and biogenic sources compared to other seasons, which points
Fossil Fuel power generation plants in the area of Lahore, Punjab Pakistan to biomass burning and vegetation related HCHO emissions. During the
(Jabeen and Khokhar, 2019). month of R-LD and Ref-R-LD significant HCHO hotspots (300 μmol/m2)
Station Name Coordinates Annual Capacity Fuel Type can be observed in the study area, this may be attributed to high emis­
(MW) sions from vegetation as well as biomass burning in agricultural tracts.
Kohinoor Energy Limited 31.2629N, 131 Furnace In general, the agricultural sector emissions were not affected by LD
74.187E Oil regulations (Fig. 9c).
Nishat Power Limited 31.1389N, 200 Furnace Glyoxal (CHOCHO), an oxidation product of VOCs (Vrekoussis et al.,
73.9125 E Oil
2009). Important glyoxal sources are biomass combustion and biogenic
Southern Electric Power 31.2911N, 135 Furnace
Company 74.2489 E Oil processes (Alvarado et al., 2020). The oxidation of VOCs from anthro­
Saba Power Company 31.7322N, 114 Furnace pogenic sources (e.g., acetylene, aromatics, and ethylene) also contrib­
Sheikhupura 73.8752 E Oil utes to glyoxal levels, in particular in urban areas (Fu et al., 2008;
Faisalabad Sitara Chemical 31.5233N, 40 Furnace Myriokefalitakis et al., 2008). Glyoxal sinks include photolysis, reaction
power plant 73.3886 E Oil
Japan Power Company 31.3255N, 120 Furnace
with OH radicals (Fu et al., 2008; Myriokefalitakis et al., 2008; Tadić
Lahore 74.2617 E Oil et al., 2006), secondary organic aerosol formation (Qiu et al., 2020;
Sahiwal 30.7135N, 1320 Coal Volkamer et al., 2007; Washenfelder et al., 2011), and wet and dry de­
73.2432 E positions (Fu et al., 2008; Myriokefalitakis et al., 2008). In the IGP, there
AES Lalpir Ltd. Mahmood Kot 30.1725N, 362 Coal
are typically two fire seasons in April/May and in October/November
Muzaffargarh 70.993 E
(after the monsoon period), related to agricultural burning of wheat
residue (Kumar et al., 2016). CHOCHO VCD was similar over Pakistan
4.3. Organic compounds (CH4, HCHO, C2H2O2) - tracers for (5.3 × 1014 molec. cm− 2) during the SLD period as compared to the
agricultural, industrial and biomass burning emissions Ref-SLD period (Fig. 10a), although Ref-SLD was the business-as-usual
scenario compared to the SLD period, which had some restrictions.
Methane (CH4) in the atmosphere is a potent greenhouse gas. Major However no noticeable change is observed between both periods. Since
sources of methane emissions are from anaerobic decomposition (e.g. Glyoxal is produced to a large extent by fire emissions in that region
natural wetlands, paddy rice fields, livestock production systems, (Kumar et al., 2011) enhanced concentration can be observed during
organic waste in landfills), and combustion processes (e.g. biomass that spring season (Fig. 10b–c). During both periods, the LD and the Ref -
burning, fossil fuel) (Heilig, 1994). To assess the impact on anthropo­ LD period, no noticeable changes in glyoxal concentrations can be
genic CH4 emissions from the LD regulations, we compare emissions observed in the Lahore region. However, the extent of CHOCHO hotspot
over Lahore from January to May of 2020 and 2021 based on COVID 19 increased in IGP in the Ref - LD period as compared to the LD period.
lock down regulations (Table 1). CH4 emission during the SLD period According to Chan Miller et al. (2016) this glyoxal hotspot is attributed
and Ref-SLD period were similar (1.5 kg m− 2 s− 1) (Fig. 8a), because to VOCs emitted from industries. During the month of R-LD period a
energy and agricultural sector emissions were not affected as those were noticeable decline in the glyoxal hotspot area can be observed compared
business-as-usual months. The impact of the COVID 19 stringent regu­ Ref-R-LD period, this may be attributed to more strict regulations
lations during the LD period subsequently reduced CH4 by about 25% imposed on anthropogenic activities (Fig. 10c).
over Lahore compared to the Ref- LD period (Fig. 8b). Anthropogenic
CH4 emissions are linked with leaks in the natural gas distribution sys­ 4.4. Ozone - tracer for photochemical processes
tem, landfills, and wastewater treatment facilities. It is unlikely that
these sources are affected by the lockdown, so the emission reductions O3 is a well-known compound adverse to public health. Also, it is an
are due to in energy and fuel demand. Moreover, as municipal solid important greenhouse gas in addition to water vapors, CO2, CH4 and
waste collection services were suspended during the LD period, it is N2O (IPCC, 2007). The production of O3 in the troposphere is largely
possible that typical landfill waste volumes were also reduced, and CH4 controlled by photochemical production through the oxidation of CO,
emissions declined. As LD period and R-LD coincided, the reduced CH4, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of NOx
emissions by about 25% (Fig. 8c) compared to Ramadhan 2021. (NO + NO2). Downward transport from the stratosphere can enhance
Assuming no other contributing factors, this implies that COVID 19 the tropospheric O3 concentration under specific meteorological con­
related regulations mainly might have reduced emissions from the en­ ditions, but these events are mostly confined to higher altitudes (e.g., see
ergy sector. discussions in Barrett et al., 2019 and Osibanjo et al., 2021). According
Formaldehyde (HCHO) is the most important carcinogen among the to an earlier study by David and Nair (2013) observed high O3 levels
hazardous air pollutants and cancer risks have been analyzed based on (35–50 DU) over the IGP region is attributed to the high population
satellite data (Zhu et al., 2017). HCHO can be directly formed from fossil density and associated anthropogenic activities, e.g., vehicular emis­
fuel combustion (Ho et al., 2012; Johansson et al., 2014; Rappenglück sions, industrial, agricultural residue burning post-harvest season while
et al., 2010; Schauer et al., 2002), biomass burning (Lee et al., 1997), coal, wood burning for domestic cooking is common in all the seasons.
and vegetation (DiGangi et al., 2011), but is mainly produced from the Enhanced levels of NO2 and O3 correlate well with the location of Lahore
daytime photooxidation of hydrocarbons (Parrish et al., 2012). Ac­ (Figs. 6 and 11). No noticeable decline in the levels of ozone during the
cording to Baruah et al. (2022) the IGP of Pakistan, India and SLD and Ref SLD period was noticed as transport, industrial and com­
Bangladesh persisted are considered HCHO hotspots. High population, mercial activities resumed with flexible reporting time during the SLD
agricultural tracts biomass burning, and dense vegetation (Mahajan (Fig. 11a). However, during the LD phase there is a significant decline of
et al., 2015) are likely underlying drivers. HCHO VCD during the SLD 45% in the tropospheric O3 level compared to the Ref LD period
period and Ref-SLD period over Lahore was similar (230 μmol/m2) discernible. This may be attributed to the reduced activities in transport,
(Fig. 9a) Though Ref-SLD period was business-as-usual scenario industries and commercial activities reducing the emissions of ozone
compared to SLD with restriction however no noticeable change is precursors such as NOx, CO, and VOCs (Fig. 11b). The decline in ozone
observed in both the periods. During the LD and the Ref-Ref-SLD period levels during the R-LD was about 14% compared to the Ref-R-LD. O3
the HCHO levels were about 270 μmol/m2 over Lahore (Fig. 9b), i.e. reduction in R-LD was less (14%) compared to LD (45%) is attributed to
higher than compared to SLD period and Ref-SLD. As pointed out Kut­ the relaxation in COVID regulations by government to allow commuters
tippurath (2022) this increase in atmospheric HCHO concentrations for Eid related activities e.g., shopping and visit to native villages
during the lockdown period suggests higher contribution from (Fig. 11c).

10
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746

Fig. 7. SO2 VCD data obtained from TROPOMI for (a) Ref-SLD period 2020 (left) and SLD period 2021 (right), (b) LD – period 2020 (left) and Ref - LD period 2021
(right) and (c) R-LD period 2020 (left) and Ref-R-LD period 2021 (right). For episode acronyms and further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.

5. HYSPLIT back trajectory cluster analysis source regions.

Figs. 12 and 13 show results for HYSPLIT back trajectories cluster
analysis and residence times for the different study periods. Arrival
location for the HYSPLIT analysis was the location of the PM2.5 mea­
surements on the premises of the US Embassy in Lahore. As a conse­
quence, obviously, local pollution in Lahore plays a major role
throughout all plots. The objective of this analysis is to explore how
much regional and/or long-range transport might have had different
impacts in those periods and what might have been the corresponding
The Ref-SLD and SLD largely show similar meteorological conditions
(for detailed discussion see appendix). Both periods are dominated by
air masses coming from local areas of Lahore and east to northeast of
Lahore. In general these airmasses accounted for 2/3 of the period of
concern, while the 1/3 trajectories indicate movement of air masses
from westerly regions as the main flows completely reversed at levels
above 1000 m agl. The frequency plots for the Ref-SLD period and SLD
period (Figs. S1 a-c) show a more clearly defined northwest–southeast
orientation, with the lowest layer (arrival altitude 200 m agl) having

11
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück
Fig. 8. CH4 emissions obtained from CAMS for (a) Ref-SLD period 2020 (left) and SLD period 2021 (right), (b) LD – period 2020 (left) and Ref - LD period 2021
(right) and (c) R-LD period 2020 (left) and Ref-R-LD period 2021 (right). For episode acronyms and further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.
>100% trajectories confined to local areas while for arrival altitudes
above 200 m agl this area became larges and skewed to the southeast to
east and northeast of the Lahore. Figs. S1 a-c point to source areas in
Punjab and western India. The 4000 m agl plot (Fig. S1 d) shows overall
zonal transport covering broad regions to the west. Due to similar
meteorological conditions it is plausible to assume that any changes in
chemical regimes would be due to changes in emissions. Indeed a sig­
nificant decrease of 25% in the AOD levels can be observed during Ref-
SLD period (Fig. 4a). Similarly, a decline in NO2 (16%) and SO2 (50%)
level, respectively, can be noticed (Fig. 6a–7a). These reductions in
AOD, SO2 and NO2 columns are attributed to cluster trajectories
confined to the Lahore region and reflect reduced emissions from
anthropogenic sources such as traffic and commercial activities due to
COVID regulations. Likewise, aerosol loadings at Lahore mainly origi­
nate from nearby areas to the east including the Punjab western state of
India. No significant reduction in the levels of CH4, HCHO, C2H2O2 and
O3 was noticed during the SLD period compared to the Ref-SLD (Fig. 8a-
11a) as biomass burning for heating, crop residue burning, and biogenic
activities were least affected by the COVID regulations. An earlier
analysis for Lahore by Sarkar et al. (2018) stated that CH4 maximum
12
Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746
emissions in the IGP region were attributed to the burning of agricul­
tural waste.
Also, the LD and the Ref-LD periods largely show similar meteoro­
logical conditions (for detailed discussion see appendix). In summary,
the frequency plots Figs. S2 a-c indicate that major source regions are
local at the three lowest arrival trajectory levels, however cover larger
regions east of Lahore than for the Ref-SLD period and include broad
source areas in Punjab and western Indian states of Rajasthan and
Punjab. Satellite images clearly identify the Lahore region as a hotspot
for AOD and NO2 during the Ref-LD period (Fig. 4b and 6b). This hotspot
has significantly decreases in AOD (by 42%) during the LD period
compared to the Ref-LD period (Fig. 4b). Similarly, a decline in NO2
(50%), CH4 (25%) and O3 (45%)is visible (Fig. 6b, 8b and 11b) and
Lahore as a well-defined hotspot has disappeared, Rather, the NO2
hotspot of the Ref-LD merged into a larger area of elevated NO2 reaching
from India into Pakistan during the LD period. Based on our previous
HYSPLIT analysis the Ref-SLD period is mostly impacted by local air
masses and would explain the hotspot feature, whereas the LD-period
was significantly exposed to boundary layer air masses coming from a
larger area to the east. This would explain the Lahore region appears as a
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746

Fig. 9. HCHO VCD data obtained from TROPOMI for (a) Ref-SLD period 2020 (left) and SLD period 2021 (right), (b) LD – period 2020 (left) and Ref - LD period 2021
(right) and (c) R-LD period 2020 (left) and Ref-R-LD period 2021 (right). For episode acronyms and further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.

continuation of the extended NO2 area over India. These reductions in
AOD, NO2, CH4 and O3 columns reflect reduced emissions from
anthropogenic sources such as traffic, industrial and commercial activ­
ities due to COVID regulations. Likewise, aerosol loadings at Lahore
mainly originate from nearby areas to the east including the Punjab
western state of India. The backward trajectory frequency plot in Fig S2
of the appendix clearly shows that there were significant differences in
the distribution of SO2 during the LD and Ref-LD periods. Specifically,
the region of >100% is larger in the LD period, Further analysis of
Fig. 13 in the manuscript indicates that wind speeds were low within the
boundary layer at least up to the 500 m trajectory during the LD period,
which is different to the Ref-LD, which significantly higher windspeeds
for the 500 m trajectory. Additionally, air masses came from different
directions within the boundary layer during the LD period, indicating
some convergence of these air masses. Also, the 200 m and 500 m tra­
jectories during the LD period were mostly at lower levels compared
with the Ref-LD period, allowing the air masses to pick up surface based
emissions while being less impacted by dilution with cleaner air masses

13
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück
Fig. 10. C2H2O2 VCD data obtained from TROPOMI (a) Ref-SLD period 2020 (left) and SLD period 2021 (right), (b) LD – period 2020 (left) and Ref - LD period 2021
(right) and (c) R-LD period 2020 (left) and Ref-R-LD period 2021 (right). For episode acronyms and further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.
aloft. Taken together, these findings suggest that during the LD period,
there was some accumulation of SO2 coming from combustion processes
in coal power plants. In principle we would expect some similar pattern
for NO2, but this does not show up in Fig. 8b. The reason are the re­
ductions in NO2 emissions due to the traffic lockdown regulations. No
significant reduction in the levels of HCHO and C2H2O2 occur during the
LD period compared to the Ref LD (Fig. 9b and 10b) as fossil fuel
powerplants, biomass burning for heating, crop residue burning, and
biogenic activities were least affected by the COVID regulations. The
Ramadhan period represents a special case, since the Ramadhan in both
Ref R-LD and R-LD coincided with the Ref LD and LD period, respec­
tively. Overall decreased emissions can identified in case of R-LD
compared to Ref R-LD. The overall emission reduction during the R LD
follows the same trend as discussed above for the LD period with the
only exception of SO2 which shows a significant reduction of 50%. This
is attributable to stricter lockdown measures specifically on religious
activities (Table 1). For example, domestic heating and cooking was
reduced in the R-LD period due to the fact that a large fraction of the
population of Lahore migrated to their native and rural areas outside
Lahore during that time. Consequently, residential emissions in Lahore
were reduced.
14
Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746
6. Correlation between PM2.5 and trace gases (NO2, SO2, CH4,
HCHO, C2H2O2 and O3)
PM2.5 and NO2 have a positive correlation, meaning that when the
levels of one pollutant increase, the levels of the other pollutant also
tend to increase. Both pollutants are primarily emitted by vehicular
emissions, burning of fossil fuels and industrial processes, so areas with
high levels of these activities will likely have higher levels of both PM2.5
and NO2. This is also evident in our study where the LD period has lower
PM2.5 and NO2 levels, due to decreased industrial activity and trans­
portation as a result of lockdowns and quarantine measures. During the
COVID-19 lockdown period, there were reductions in the levels of PM2.5
however, it is important to note that the decrease in SO2 levels was not
as significant as the decrease in PM2.5 levels. The majority of SO2
emissions come from sources such as power plants that continued to
operate during the lockdown, so their emissions were not significantly
impacted. Additionally, agricultural waste burning, may also contribute
to SO2 levels in the atmosphere and would not have been affected by the
lockdown. According to a study by Ravindra et al. (2019), the SO2
emissions in India from the burning of crop residues including rice,
wheat, sugarcane, cotton, jute, and coarse cereals are substantial and
were reported to be about 31.97 Gg/yr for the time period 2016–2017.
CH4, HCHO, C2H2O2 are not precursors of PM2.5, however, they can
contribute to the formation of other pollutants such as O3, which is a
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück
Fig. 11. Weighted averaged of the surface-6 km ozone VCD obtained from MISR: (a) Ref-SLD period 2020 (left) and SLD period 2021 (right), (b) LD – period 2020
(left) and Ref - LD period 2021 (right) and (c) R-LD period 2020 (left) and Ref-R-LD period 2021 (right). For episode acronyms and further details on the specific
episodes see Table 1.
surrogate for atmospheric oxidants. Oxidants in turn may lead to the
formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) which is an ingredient of
PM2.5. Thus O3 can also contribute indirectly to the formation of PM2.5
particles through photochemical processes, so we can see a positive
correlation where O3 levels and AOD levels during the LD periods and
respective reference periods. In general, lower levels of regional O3
correspond to lower levels of NO2 and CH4 levels, pointing to an overall
decrease in O3 precursors, considering that CH4 is an important com­
pound which impacts regional background O3 due to its relatively long
atmospheric lifetime. Satellite based HCHO and NO2 measurements
have been used as proxies for VOCs and NOx, respectively (Duncan et al.,
2010). Our findings suggest little changes in HCHO, thus likely little
changes in VOCs, while NO2 levels decreased by 50% during the LD
periods reflecting significant reductions in transportation emissions.
Consequently, the VOC/NOx ratio increased by a factor of 2.5 towards a
more NOx limited O3 formation regime. This finding suggests that
reducing NOx emissions in the Lahore region critically reduces O3 air
pollution.
7. Conclusion
In this study we have examined the impact of the lockdown regula­
tions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on surface PM2.5 con­
centration level and spatial mean distribution of satellite derived AOD,
15
Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746
NO2, SO2, CH4, HCHO, C2H2O2 and O3over the city of Lahore, Pakistan.
We examined different lockdown periods in 2020 and compared them
with corresponding reference periods in 2021.
In a first step, we compared in-situ surface PM2.5 data available from
the US Embassy in Lahore during the pre-lockdown, lockdown and
reference periods for 2020 and 2021 respectively. In a second step - and
for the first time for the case of Lahore, we used a combination of six
trace gases specifically NO2, SO2, CH4, HCHO C2H2O2 and O3 observed
by various satellites, to assess the impact of COVID-19-related lockdown
regulations on chemical regimes. In order to properly evaluate potential
emission changes due to lockdown regulations we also took into account
meteorological conditions. Based on HYSPLIT analysis we found that
regional flow conditions were largely similar between lockdown and
corresponding reference periods. Most air masses within the lowest
trajectory arrival altitudes (200m and 500m agl) indicate impacts on
Lahore air quality through local emissions and regional transport from
the east. With increasing altitude (1000m and 4000m agl) wind flows
turn into large-scale synoptic westerly flow mostly passing tropospheric
levels significantly above the boundary with limited impact on Lahore’s
air quality. Also, there was no evidence of dust storm impacts discern­
ible. We therefore assume that any change in air pollutants abundance
over city of Lahore would be largely due to changes in anthropogenic
emissions.
With regard to surface PM2.5 concentrations we observed that the
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746

Fig. 12. Concentration Weighted Trajectory using HYSPLIT: (a) Ref LD period (left) and SLD period (right) for arrival altitudes (a)200 m, (b) 500 m, (c) 1000 m and
(d) 4000 m agl, respectively. For episode acronyms and further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.

16
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746

Fig. 13. Concentration Weighted Trajectory using HYSPLIT: (a) LD period (left) and Ref- LD period (right) for arrival altitudes (a)200 m, (b) 500 m, (c) 1000 m and
(d) 4000 m agl, respectively. For episode acronyms and further details on the specific episodes see Table 1.

17
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück
various lockdown regulations implemented had a significant impact
(38%) in reduction of PM2.5 concentration levels by median values
during the lockdown (LD) period compared to the reference period. This
change also positively correlated with MODISDB and AERONETAOD data
with a decrease of AOD during the LD period by 42% and 35% based on
median values.
Reductions during SLD period for tropospheric columns of NO2 and
SO2 were about 20% and 50%, respectively, while no reduction in the
CH4, C2H2O2 and HCHO level occurred. During the LD period NO2, CH4
and O3 were about 50%, 25% and 45% lower, respectively, but no
reduction in SO2, C2H2O2 and HCHO levels were noticed compared to
their respective reference period for Lahore. The pronounced decline of
NO2 levels over Lahore city during the SLD and LD periods compared to
respective reference periods is due to large decreases in transport sector
activities. For SO2 we expect no sharp reduction from fossil fuel power
plants due to smaller decreases in energy demand during the LD period,
whereas 50% reduction for the SLD period is related to seasonal changes
as the SLD period falls into the winter season and the energy demand
from fossil fuel drops as people switch from air conditioning to Liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) for space heating. For C2H2O2 and HCHO no sig­
nificant changes were noticed. This is likely due to the fact that biomass
burning for heating, crop residue burning, and biogenic activities were
least affected by the COVID regulations. Significant decline in O3 levels
(45%) during the LD period is consistent with reduction in satellite
measurements of NO2. The COVID 19 regulations, curtailed the
anthropogenic activities e.g., transport, commercial and industrial may
have resulted in decline of ozone concentrations and its precursors
associated with the pandemic lockdown over Lahore.
Our analyses indicate drastic reductions in anthropogenic emissions
due to COVID-19 lockdown regulations, most in the transport emission
sector, less in the industrial emission sector. The sharp reduction in
PM2.5 by 38% based on median values can be due to a combination of 1)
reduced level of traffic volume or 2) closure of industrial and commer­
cial units resulted in a pronounced decline of PM2.5 concentration in LD.
Our analysis proves that anthropogenic emissions are substantial and
the magnitude of these reductions is important with regard air quality
and climate. It is our hope that emerging technical improvements will
help to reduce pollutant emissions without personal restrictions as
imposed during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
I. Karim: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal anal­
ysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft. B. Rappenglück: Concep­
tualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate hourly measurements of PM2.5 at U.S. con­
sulate Lahore, Pakistan, and made available through the AirNow plat­
form maintained by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. The authors acknowledge free
download of satellite data tropospheric MODISAOD from the Giovanni
interface. We are also grateful to TROPOMI for NO2, SO2, HCHO and
C2H2O2 data retrieval, IASI for ozone and CAMS for providing Methane
data. We are also thankful NASA for providing the ground-based
18
Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746
AEORNET data and NOAA Air Recourses Laboratory (ARL) for
providing the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model. Irfan Karim
appreciates support provided by the Higher Education Commission
(HEC) of Pakistan.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2023.119746.
References
Ahmad, M., Cheng, S., Yu, Q., Qin, W., Zhang, Y., Chen, J., 2020. Chemical and source
characterization of PM2.5 in summertime in severely polluted Lahore, Pakistan.
Atmos. Res. 234, 104715 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2019.104715.
Alam, K., Qureshi, S., Blaschke, T., 2011. Monitoring spatio-temporal aerosol patterns
over Pakistan based on MODIS, TOMS and MISR satellite data and a HYSPLIT model.
Atmos. Environ. 45, 4641–4651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.05.055.
Ali, A., Farhan, S.B., Zhang, Y., Nasir, J., Farhan, H., Zamir, U.B., Gao, H., 2022. Changes
in temporal pattern and spatial distribution of environmental pollutants in 8 Asian
countries owing to COVID-19 pandemic. Chemosphere 308, 136075. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136075.
Alvarado, L.M.A., Richter, A., Vrekoussis, M., Hilboll, A., Kalisz Hedegaard, A.B.,
Schneising, O., Burrows, J.P., 2020. Unexpected long-range transport of glyoxal and
formaldehyde observed from the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite during the
2018 Canadian wildfires. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 20, 2057–2072. https://doi.org/
10.5194/acp-20-2057-2020.
Baruah, U.D., Robeson, S.M., Saikia, A., Mili, N., Sung, K., Chand, P., 2022. Spatio-
temporal characterization of tropospheric ozone and its precursor pollutants NO2
and HCHO over South Asia. Sci. Total Environ. 809, 151135 https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151135.
Barrett, B.S., Raga, G.B., Retama, A., Leonard, C., 2019. A multiscale analysis of the
tropospheric and stratospheric mechanisms leading to the March 2016 extreme
surface ozone event in Mexico city. J. Geophys. Res. Atmos. 124, 4782–4799.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029918.
Bauwens, M., Compernolle, S., Stavrakou, T., Müller, J.-F., Gent, J., Eskes, H., Levelt, P.
F., A, R., Veefkind, J.P., Vlietinck, J., Yu, H., Zehner, C., 2020. Impact of coronavirus
outbreak on NO 2 pollution assessed using TROPOMI and OMI observations.
Geophys. Res. Lett. 47 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087978.
Bilal, M., Mhawish, A., Nichol, J.E., Qiu, Z., Nazeer, M., Ali, MdA., de Leeuw, G., Levy, R.
C., Wang, Y., Chen, Y., Wang, L., Shi, Y., Bleiweiss, M.P., Mazhar, U., Atique, L.,
Ke, S., 2021. Air pollution scenario over Pakistan: characterization and ranking of
extremely polluted cities using long-term concentrations of aerosols and trace gases.
Remote Sens. Environ. 264, 112617 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112617.
Chan Miller, C., Jacob, D.J., González Abad, G., Chance, K., 2016. Hotspot of glyoxal
over the Pearl River delta seen from the OMI satellite instrument: implications for
emissions of aromatic hydrocarbons. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 16, 4631–4639. https://
doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4631-2016.
Chen, Y., Su, W., Xing, C., Yin, H., Lin, H., Zhang, C., Liu, H., Hu, Q., Liu, C., 2022.
Kilometer-level glyoxal retrieval via satellite for anthropogenic volatile organic
compound emission source and secondary organic aerosol formation identification.
Remote Sens. Environ. 270, 112852 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112852.
Chin, M., Jacob, D.J., Gardner, G.M., Foreman-Fowler, M.S., Spiro, P.A., Savoie, D.L.,
1996. A global three-dimensional model of tropospheric sulfate. J. Geophys. Res.
101, 18667–18690. https://doi.org/10.1029/96JD01221.
Dawn, 2020. Eid economy recuperates. https://www.dawn.com/news/1559383.
Dawn, 2021. Coal accounts for 32pc of total power generation in January. https://www.
dawn.com/news/1609100.
David, L.M., Nair, P.R., 2013. Tropospheric column O3 and NO2 over the Indian region
observed by Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI): seasonal changes and long-term
trends. Atmos. Environ. 65, 25–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
atmosenv.2012.09.033.
DiGangi, J.P., Boyle, E.S., Karl, T., Harley, P., Turnipseed, A., Kim, S., Cantrell, C.,
Maudlin III, R.L., Zheng, W., Flocke, F., Hall, S.R., Ullmann, K., Nakashima, Y.,
Paul, J.B., Wolfe, G.M., Desai, A.R., Kajii, Y., Guenther, A., Keutsch, F.N., 2011. First
direct measurements of formaldehyde flux via eddy covariance: implications for
missing in-canopy formaldehyde sources. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11, 10565–10578.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-10565-2011.
Duncan, B.N., Yoshida, Y., Olson, J.R., Sillman, S., Martin, R.V., Lamsal, L., Hu, Y.,
Pickering, K.E., Retscher, C., Allen, D.J., Crawford, J.H., 2010. Application of OMI
observations to a space-based indicator of NOx and VOC controls on surface ozone
formation. Atmos. Environ. 44, 2213–2223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
atmosenv.2010.03.010.
Fleming, Z.L., Monks, P.S., Manning, A.J., 2012. Review: untangling the influence of air-
mass history in interpreting observed atmospheric composition. Atmos. Res.
104–105, 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2011.09.009.
Fu, T.-M., Jacob, D.J., Wittrock, F., Burrows, J.P., Vrekoussis, M., Henze, D.K., 2008.
Global budgets of atmospheric glyoxal and methylglyoxal, and implications for
formation of secondary organic aerosols. J. Geophys. Res. 113, D15303 https://doi.
org/10.1029/2007JD009505.
Gautam, R., Hsu, N.C., Tsay, S.C., Lau, K.M., Holben, B., Bell, S., Smirnov, A., Li, C.,
Hansell, R., Ji, Q., Payra, S., Aryal, D., Kayastha, R., Kim, K.M., 2011. Accumulation
I. Karim and B. Rappenglück
of aerosols over the Indo-Gangetic plains and southern slopes of the Himalayas:
distribution, properties and radiative effects during the 2009 pre-monsoon season.
Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11, 12841–12863. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-12841-
2011.
Heilig, G.K., 1994. The greenhouse gas methane (CH4): sources and sinks, the impact of
population growth, possible interventions. Popul. Environ. 16, 109–137. https://doi.
org/10.1007/BF02208779.
Ho, S.S.H., Ho, K.F., Lee, S.C., Cheng, Y., Yu, J.Z., Lam, K.M., Feng, N.S.Y., Huang, Y.,
2012. Carbonyl emissions from vehicular exhausts sources in Hong Kong. J. Air
Waste Manag. Assoc. 62, 221–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/
10473289.2011.642952.
IEA, 2020. Changes in Transport Behaviour during the Covid-19 Crisis. IEA, Paris.
https://www.iea.org/articles/changes-in-transport-behaviour-during-the-covid-19-
crisis.
Ilyas, S.Z., Hassan, A., Hussain, S.M., Jalil, A., Baqir, Y., Agathopoulos, S., ullah, Z., 2022.
COVID-19 persuaded lockdown impact on local environmental restoration in
Pakistan. Environ. Monit. Assess. 194, 272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-
09916-7.
Intergovernmental panel on climate change, 2007. In: Solomon, S., et al. (Eds.), Climate
Change 2007: the Physical Science Basis, Contribution of Working Group I to the
Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, USA.
Jabeen, Z., Khokhar, M.F., 2019. Extended database of SO2 column densities over
Pakistan by exploiting satellite observations. Atmos. Pollut. Res. 10, 997–1003.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2019.01.009.
Jaklevic, J.M., Gatti, R.C., Goulding, F.S., Loo, B.W., 1981. A .beta.-gage method applied
to aerosol samples. Environ. Sci. Technol. 15, 680–686. https://doi.org/10.1021/es
00088a006.
Jhajharia, D., Dinpashoh, Y., Kahya, E., Singh, V.P., Fakheri-Fard, A., 2012. Trends in
reference evapotranspiration in the humid region of northeast India. Hydrol.
Process. 26, 421–435. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.8140.
Johansson, J.K.E., Mellqvist, J., Samuelsson, J., Offerle, B., Moldanova, J.,
Rappenglück, B., Lefer, B., Flynn, J., 2014. Quantitative measurements and
modeling of industrial formaldehyde emissions in the Greater Houston area during
campaigns in 2009 and 2011: industrial HCHO sources in houston. J. Geophys. Res.
Atmos. 119, 4303–4322. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JD020159.
Kamarul Zaman, N.A.F., Kanniah, K.D., Kaskaoutis, D.G., 2017. Estimating Particulate
Matter using satellite based aerosol optical depth and meteorological variables in
Malaysia. Atmos. Res. 193, 142–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2017.0
4.019.
Khan, Y.A., 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on environment: the case of
the major cities in Pakistan. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 28, 54728–54743. https://doi.
org/10.1007/s11356-021-13851-4.
Khan, R., Kumar, K.R., Zhao, T., 2021. Assessment of variations of air pollutant
concentrations during the COVID-19 lockdown and impact on urban air quality in
South Asia. Urban Clim. 38, 100908 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2021.100908.
Khokhar, M.F., 2006. Retrieval and Interpretation of Tropospheric SO2 from UV-Vis
Satellite Instruments. Doctoral Dissertation. Universität Leipzig Leipzig.
Kleipool, Q., Ludewig, A., Babić, L., Bartstra, R., Braak, R., Dierssen, W., Dewitte, P.-J.,
Kenter, P., Landzaat, R., Leloux, J., Loots, E., Meijering, P., van der Plas, E.,
Rozemeijer, N., Schepers, D., Schiavini, D., Smeets, J., Vacanti, G., Vonk, F.,
Veefkind, P., 2018. Pre-launch calibration results of the TROPOMI payload on-board
the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite. Atmos. Meas. Tech. 11, 6439–6479. https://doi.
org/10.5194/amt-11-6439-2018.
Kumar, R., Naja, M., Satheesh, S.K., Ojha, N., Joshi, H., Sarangi, T., Pant, P., Dumka, U.
C., Hegde, P., Venkataramani, S., 2011. Influences of the springtime northern Indian
biomass burning over the central Himalayas. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D19302 https://
doi.org/10.1029/2010JD015509.
Kumar, V., Sarkar, C., Sinha, V., 2016. Influence of post-harvest crop residue fires on
surface ozone mixing ratios in the N.W. IGP analyzed using 2 years of continuous in
situ trace gas measurements: agricultural Fires in N.W. IGP Fuel O 3. J. Geophys. Res.
Atmos. 121, 3619–3633. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD024308.
Lee, C., Martin, R.V., van Donkelaar, A., Lee, H., Dickerson, R.R., Hains, J.C., Krotkov, N.,
Richter, A., Vinnikov, K., Schwab, J.J., 2011. SO 2 emissions and lifetimes: estimates
from inverse modeling using in situ and global, space-based (SCIAMACHY and OMI)
observations. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D06304 https://doi.org/10.1029/
2010JD014758.
Lee, M., Heikes, B.G., Jacob, D.J., Sachse, G., Anderson, B., 1997. Hydrogen peroxide,
organic hydroperoxide, and formaldehyde as primary pollutants from biomass
burning. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 1301–1309. https://doi.org/10.1029/96JD01709.
Mahajan, A.S., De Smedt, I., Biswas, M.S., Ghude, S., Fadnavis, S., Roy, C., van
Roozendael, M., 2015. Inter-annual variations in satellite observations of nitrogen
dioxide and formaldehyde over India. Atmos. Environ. 116, 194–201. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.06.004.
Mehta, S.K., Venkat Ratnam, M., Krishna Murthy, B.V., 2010. Variability of the tropical
tropopause over Indian monsoon region. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D14120 https://doi.
org/10.1029/2009JD012655.
19
Atmospheric Environment 303 (2023) 119746
Mokhtari, R., Ulpiani, G., Ghasempour, R., 2022. The Cooling Station: combining
hydronic radiant cooling and daytime radiative cooling for urban shelters. Appl.
Therm. Eng. 211, 118493.
Myriokefalitakis, S., Vrekoussis, M., Tsigaridis, K., Wittrock, F., Richter, A., Brühl, C.,
Volkamer, R., Burrows, J.P., Kanakidou, M., 2008. The influence of natural and
anthropogenic secondary sources on the glyoxal global distribution. Atmos. Chem.
Phys. 8, 4965–4981. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-4965-2008.
Osibanjo, O.O., Rappenglück, B., Retama, A., 2021. Anatomy of the March 2016 severe
ozone smog episode in Mexico-City. Atmos. Environ. 244, 117945 https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117945.
Parrish, D.D., Ryerson, T.B., Mellqvist, J., Johansson, J., Fried, A., Richter, D., Walega, J.
G., Washenfelder, R.A., de Gouw, J.A., Peischl, J., Aikin, K.C., McKeen, S.A., Frost, G.
J., Fehsenfeld, F.C., Herndon, S.C., 2012. Primary and secondary sources of
formaldehyde in urban atmospheres: houston Texas region. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 12,
3273–3288. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-3273-2012.
Qiu, X., Wang, S., Ying, Q., Duan, L., Xing, J., Cao, J., Wu, D., Li, X., Chengzhi, X.,
Yan, X., Liu, C., Hao, J., 2020. Importance of wintertime anthropogenic glyoxal and
methylglyoxal emissions in beijing and implications for secondary organic aerosol
formation in megacities. Environ. Sci. Technol. 54, 11809–11817. https://doi.org/
10.1021/acs.est.0c02822.
Rana, I.A., Bhatti, S.S., 2018. Lahore, Pakistan – urbanization challenges and
opportunities. Cities 72, 348–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2017.09.014.
Rappenglück, B., Dasgupta, P.K., Leuchner, M., Li, Q., Luke, W., 2010. Formaldehyde and
its relation to CO, PAN, and SO2 in the Houston-Galveston airshed. Atmos. Chem.
Phys. 10, 2413–2424. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-2413-2010.
Rasheed, A., Aneja, V.P., Aiyyer, A., Rafique, U., 2015. Measurement and analysis of fine
particulate matter (PM2.5) in urban areas of Pakistan. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 15,
426–439. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2014.10.0269.
Ravindra, K., Singh, T., Mor, S., 2019. Emissions of air pollutants from primary crop
residue burning in India and their mitigation strategies for cleaner emissions.
J. Clean. Prod. 208, 261–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.031.
Remer, L.A., Kleidman, R.G., Levy, R.C., Kaufman, Y.J., Tanré, D., Mattoo, S., Martins, J.
V., Ichoku, C., Koren, I., Yu, H., Holben, B.N., 2008. Global aerosol climatology from
the MODIS satellite sensors. J. Geophys. Res. 113, D14S07. https://doi.org/
10.1029/2007JD009661.
Sarkar, S., Singh, R.P., Chauhan, A., 2018. Crop residue burning in Northern India:
increasing threat to Greater India. J. Geophys. Res. Atmos. 123, 6920–6934. https://
doi.org/10.1029/2018JD028428.
Schauer, J.J., Fraser, M.P., Cass, G.R., Simoneit, B.R.T., 2002. Source reconciliation of
atmospheric gas-phase and particle-phase pollutants during a severe photochemical
smog episode. Environ. Sci. Technol. 36, 3806–3814. https://doi.org/10.1021/
es011458j.
Sibtain, M., Li, X., Bashir, H., Azam, M.I., 2021. Hydropower exploitation for Pakistan’s
sustainable development: a SWOT analysis considering current situation, challenges,
and prospects. Energy Strategy Rev. 38, 100728 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
esr.2021.100728.
Sidra, S., Ali, Z., Ahmad Nasir, Z., Colbeck, I., 2015. Seasonal variation of fine particulate
matter in residential micro–environments of Lahore, Pakistan. Atmos. Pollut. Res. 6,
797–804. https://doi.org/10.5094/APR.2015.088.
Stein, A.F., Draxler, R.R., Rolph, G.D., Stunder, B.J.B., Cohen, M.D., Ngan, F., 2015.
NOAA’s HYSPLIT atmospheric transport and dispersion modeling system. Bull. Am.
Meteorol. Soc. 96, 2059–2077. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00110.1.
Tadić, J., Moortgat, G.K., Wirtz, K., 2006. Photolysis of glyoxal in air. J. Photochem.
Photobiol. Chem. 177, 116–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jphotochem.2005.10.010.
Volkamer, R., San Martini, F., Molina, L.T., Salcedo, D., Jimenez, J.L., Molina, M.J.,
2007. A missing sink for gas-phase glyoxal in Mexico City: formation of secondary
organic aerosol. Geophys. Res. Lett. 34, L19807 https://doi.org/10.1029/
2007GL030752.
Vrekoussis, M., Wittrock, F., Richter, A., Burrows, J.P., 2009. Temporal and spatial
variability of glyoxal as observed from space. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 9, 4485–4504.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-4485-2009.
Washenfelder, R.A., Young, C.J., Brown, S.S., Angevine, W.M., Atlas, E.L., Blake, D.R.,
Bon, D.M., Cubison, M.J., de Gouw, J.A., Dusanter, S., Flynn, J., Gilman, J.B.,
Graus, M., Griffith, S., Grossberg, N., Hayes, P.L., Jimenez, J.L., Kuster, W.C.,
Lefer, B.L., Pollack, I.B., Ryerson, T.B., Stark, H., Stevens, P.S., Trainer, M.K., 2011.
The glyoxal budget and its contribution to organic aerosol for Los Angeles,
California, during CalNex 2010: glyoxal budget for los angeles. J. Geophys. Res. 116
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016314.
Zhu, L., Jacob, D.J., Keutsch, F.N., Mickley, L.J., Scheffe, R., Strum, M., González
Abad, G., Chance, K., Yang, K., Rappenglück, B., Millet, D.B., Baasandorj, M.,
Jaeglé, L., Shah, V., 2017. Formaldehyde (HCHO) as a hazardous air pollutant:
mapping surface air concentrations from satellite and inferring cancer risks in the
United States. Environ. Sci. Technol. 51, 5650–5657. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.
est.7b01356.