Air quality during COVID in Pittsburgh

The COVID lockdowns provided a natural experiment to examine air quality changes. Scientists around the globe seized this opportunity; some of the most striking comparisons were found in megacities, e.g., Delhi (in The Guardian). But how did the COVID lockdowns change air quality in an industrial city like Pittsburgh? This research used ground-based air quality monitors operated by the Allegheny County Department of Health. This provided data on particulate matter and other critera pollutants.

Publications from this research:

• Lange, C. L., Smith, V. A., and Kahler, D. M. (2022). Pittsburgh Air Pollution Changes During the COVID-19 Lockdown. Environmental Advances 7, 100149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envadv.2021.100149
• Lange, C. L. (2021). Air Pollution in the Steel City: Assessing the Influence of COVID-19 on Air Pollution in Allegheny County (Master’s thesis, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1982