Initial Insights into Teleworking’s Effect on Air Quality in Madrid City

Abstract

Commuting to work by private vehicle is one of the main sources of air pollution in cities, mainly from NO2 and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). With the spread of telework, traffic congestion during peak hours is reduced on certain days of the week, improving air quality. This study analyzes the relationship between the improvement of air quality and urban traffic resulting from teleworking activities after the COVID-19 pandemic in Madrid, Spain. This article considers road traffic and teleworking before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018 and 2019), during the pandemic (2020 and 2021) and in the period after (2022 and 2023) in the city center and the influence on certain environmental factors. Daily NO2, PM2.5, PM10, and O3 concentration data were collected at air quality stations in Madrid municipality, and traffic data and some meteorological variables such as wind speed, precipitation and temperature were considered. When conducting correlation and regression analysis among the variables, there is a clear association between NO2 and traffic before the pandemic, which is lower for both PM and O3. This correlation was maintained during the pandemic, except for O3, the association of which increased during this period and then decreased in the later period due to various motives. These results seem to indicate the existence of a relevant relationship between urban mobility and air quality and an especially relevant relationship with telework, suggesting the need for policies aimed at promoting sustainable mobility in the future.