Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Traffic-related Air Pollution in Florida, USA

To stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of Florida has issued a stay-at-home order for the whole state. This rare incident set the door for research on the lockdown’s impact on traffic-related air pollution. During the lockdown period in Florida’s District 7, this study seeks to analyze changes in traffic volume, mobility, air pollution, and meteorology and identify the link between the aforementioned variables. The study spans the lockdown year and the preceding three years (2017-2019). The data were averaged by month for all variables, and the Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between them. Compared to prior years, the results show a 33% decrease in traffic volume in April 2020. There was also a decline in mobility across several sectors during the same month, with percentages ranging from 10% to 60%. Furthermore, O3 AQI levels fell throughout the pandemic year, PM2.5 AQI levels were unstable, and PM10 AQI levels exhibited a similar pattern to prior years except for a few stations. It was observed that relative humidity increased by 7% during the lockdown month, and traffic volume had a strong negative correlation with the residential category across all counties in District 7.