Spatial-Temporal Analysis of Nitrogen Dioxide Using Sentinel-5P TROPOMI in Peninsular Malaysia during Coronavirus Pandemic Outbreak

Abstract

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is a highly poisonous gas. Exposure to this gas produces inflammation of the lungs. In the troposphere, NO₂ gases were found, and the accumulation will cause serious air pollution. Due to the technological development of atmospheric satellites, remote sensing methods are becoming important for monitoring air pollution in the global atmospheric environment. Therefore, this study was implemented to see the trend of NO₂ gasses emission before and during the Movement Control Order (MCO) of the Covid 19 outbreak. The main objective of this study is to compare the analysis of the tropospheric NO₂ column spatial configuration over Peninsular Malaysia between similar periods in the year 2019 and 2020 (before and during MCO) based on the ESA Copernicus Sentinel-5P TROPOMI. The study used Air Pollutant Index (API) as the ground data measured by the Department of Environmental (DOE) before and during the MCO of the Covid 19 outbreak. The results show that the NO₂ concentration was recorded high before MCO and low during MCO. The comparison of this correlation analysis between Sentinel 5P image and ground-based data showed that the R² value range is 0.72, indicating a positive relationship with ground data. The study concludes that Sentinel-5P data can provide helpful information for monitoring and mapping air pollution.