Abstract
Using the CAM-chem Model, we simulate the response of chemical species
in the free troposphere to changes in emissions of primary pollutants
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zonally averaged ozone concentrations in
the free troposphere during Northern Hemisphere spring and summer were 5
to 15 % lower than 19-year climatological values, in good quantitative
agreement with ozone observations. About one third of this anomaly is
attributed to the drastic reduction in air traffic during the pandemic,
another third to reductions in surface emissions, the remainder to 2020
meteorological conditions, including the exceptional springtime Arctic
stratospheric ozone depletion. The overall COVID-19 reduction in mean
northern hemisphere tropospheric ozone in June is less than 5 ppb below
400 hPa, but reaches 8 ppb at 250 hPa. In the Southern Hemisphere,
COVID-19 related ozone reductions by 4 to 6% were masked by comparable
ozone increases due to other changes in 2020.