Decline in the Outflow of the Aerosol Loading during 2020 from Indian Continent over the Bay of Bengal (Bhola, Bangladesh) Associated with COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract:

The atmospheric pollution over the Bengal Delta is generally higher over the year, because of the outflow from neighboring India. The atmospheric pollutants are transported from the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plains and from the southwestern parts of India. Due to complete lockdown in India, the air quality has improved in general in the month of March 2020. Further, the decline in anthropogenic activities and the transport of aerosol pollutants has reduced over the Bay of Bengal. The detailed analysis of the Bhola AERONET station (January 2019 – June 2020) clearly shows decline in aerosol optical depth and increase in the angstrom exponent. The volume of the coarse particles size has also declined during the lockdown in India and in Bangladesh associated with COVID-19. The AERONET data at Bhola station (Bangladesh) clearly shows decline in the outflow of pollutants associated with the anthropogenic activities from Indian continent. Impact of improvement in air quality will be discussed in view of the low suffering of people living in the Bangladesh Delta region.