The Influence of COVID-19 on Air and Water Quality Levels in the State of New York

Abstract

The overall purpose of this thesis is to examine the changes in air quality and water quality in the state of New York as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the state early in the year of 2020 and as a result any optional human activity was discouraged. In a state such as New York, this meant less travel and ultimately less burning of the fossil fuels commonly used in cars, buses, the subway, and more. Two of the most common air pollutants, Particulate Matter 2.5, PM 2.5, and Nitrogen Dioxide, NO2, are analyzed in this study and used as indicators of overall air quality in the state. In order to analyze how human activity was affected, subway ridership data is used and compared to pollutant levels to determine if the two could be related. While the analysis of two pollutants is not a clear indicator of how overall air quality is affected, it does give a glimpse into how pollution levels changed as a result of the onset of the pandemic. The water quality of the Hudson River will briefly be examined in addition to the analysis above. Through analysis, it was found that PM 2.5 and NO2 levels were only very suddenly influenced by the Pandemic. After the onset of the state-wide lockdown, their levels slowly rose back up. It was also found that water quality of the Hudson was not affected in any significant way as a result of the pandemic.