Covid-19 and Air Pollution Impacts at the Beginning of “Confinement” in Paraguay

In December 2019 the world was informed of the first infections with the SARS-COV2 virus, and the crisis spread rapidly, producing a pandemic of the coronavirus disease-causing crises in health, economy, and society. Paraguay decreed strict containment, which was the most urgent and rapid response to the scourge, to minimize the rapid spread of the disease’s contagion, all activities were paralyzed, but satellites continued to exploit data that could reveal connections between the pandemic and the environment. This research focused on the years 2019 to 2021, beginning of the confinement, in certain cities of the country, observing some atmospheric parameters. In 2021, the Paraguayan Chaco had 117,142 fire outbreaks and the Eastern region had 155,402. Fires are the emitters of NOx gases and aerosols to the atmosphere, knowing their distribution is very important because they are the precursors of ozone, a very harmful gas to human health, as well as aerosols. The importance of this lies in the fact that Paraguay has several populations considered vulnerable because they are located in the vicinity of the major recurrent fires in July to September, which with climate change and the outbreak of the pandemic increase the health crisis, which warrants this work.