IMPACT OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWN PRECAUTIONS ON AIR POLLUTANTS IN TURKEY

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the precautions taken in the early period of the pandemic have had a significant impact on the reduction of air pollutants. In this research, the changes in the concentrations of some air pollutants (PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, O3) concentrations have been investigated and evaluated between March 15 - May 31, 2019 and March 15 - May 31, 2020 in Turkey. According to the results, PM10, NO2 and SO2 concentrations decreased by up to 75%, 80% and 77% respectively. However, there has been an increase in CO and O3 concentrations in many cities. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that there is a strong relevance between NO2 - CO and O3 - CO concentrations in the lockdown period. In addition, with the precautions, the positive correlation between PM10 and NO2 and between SO2 and CO increased, and the negative correlation between PM10 and O3 decreased.