Abstract
The unequal spatial distribution of ambient nitrogen dioxide ([Formula: see text]), an air pollutant related to traffic, leads to higher exposure for minority and low socioeconomic status communities. We exploit the unprecedented drop in urban activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and use high-resolution, remotely sensed [Formula: see text] observations to investigate disparities in [Formula: see text] levels across different demographic subgroups in the United States. We show that, prior to the pandemic, satellite-observed [Formula: see text] levels in the least White census tracts of the United States were nearly triple the [Formula: see text] levels in the most White tracts. During the pandemic, the largest lockdown-related [Formula: see text] reductions occurred in urban neighborhoods that have 2.0 times more non-White residents and 2.1 times more Hispanic residents than neighborhoods with the smallest reductions. [Formula: see text] reductions were likely driven by the greater density of highways and interstates in these racially and ethnically diverse areas. Although the largest reductions occurred in marginalized areas, the effect of lockdowns on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic [Formula: see text] disparities was mixed and, for many cities, nonsignificant. For example, the least White tracts still experienced ∼1.5 times higher [Formula: see text] levels during the lockdowns than the most White tracts experienced prior to the pandemic. Future policies aimed at eliminating pollution disparities will need to look beyond reducing emissions from only passenger traffic and also consider other collocated sources of emissions such as heavy-duty vehicles.
Highlights
The unequal spatial distribution of ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2), an air pollutant related to traffic, leads to higher exposure for minority and low socioeconomic status communities
The use of only spring 2019 for our baseline period stems from the short data record offered by the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), and the slight increases in NO2 in parts of the Great Plains and Midwest during lockdowns (< 0.5 × 1015 molecules per square centimeter) could reflect differences in natural or anthropogenic sources of NO2 between the baseline and lockdown periods
Given that the largest lockdown-related changes in NO2 occur in urban areas and to avoid urban–rural demographic gradients, we primarily focus on urban NO2 changes and how these changes impact different demographic subgroups in urban areas
Summary
The unequal spatial distribution of ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2), an air pollutant related to traffic, leads to higher exposure for minority and low socioeconomic status communities. We exploit the unprecedented drop in urban activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and use high-resolution, remotely sensed NO2 observations to investigate disparities in NO2 levels across different demographic subgroups in the United States. According to government-reported inventories, roughly 60% of anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx ≡ NO + NO2) in the United States in 2010 were emitted by on-road vehicles [28], and up to 80% of ambient NO2 in urban areas can be linked to traffic emissions [29, 30]. We exploit the unprecedented changes in human activity unique to the COVID-19 lockdowns and remotely sensed NO2 columns with extraordinary spatial resolution and coverage to understand inequalities in the distribution of NO2 pollution for different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic subgroups in the United States. Lockdowns led to sharp reductions in surface-level NO2 [20,21,22,23] and tropospheric column NO2 mea-
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