Analysis of Air Quality Index During Lockdown: A Case of Ludhiana District-Punjab

Just after the COVID-19 pandemic, a national lockout is initially enforced in India from March 24 to April 14, 2020, for three weeks and prolonged until May 31, 2020. Because of the mandatory restrictions, emission levels across the country decelerated dramatically during the first very few days. In this paper, the air quality index (AQI) of Ludhiana city, Punjab, has been investigated during the pre- and post-lockdown period. The air quality data of pollutant parameters (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO, O3, and NH3) has been collected from authorized Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana monitoring station of National Air Quality Index (NAQI). A descriptive statistics analysis was applied to check the acceptance level of six significant parameters, including AQI. The sample data was then analyzed using correlation and paired sample t-test to find out the significant level of each parameter under consideration. The results showed that air quality has significantly improved during the lockdown. The paper has suggested adopting such forced periodic alternatives soon to clean the environment.