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The lockdown of COVID-19 pandemic has affected air quality due to the changes in human activities. Researchers worldwide observed reductions in NO2 concentrations due to lockdown and related diminished human activities, notably the reduced industrial and vehicular use. However, limited information was available for the MENA Region. In this study, the impact of lockdown due to COVID-19 on NO2 in two MENA major cities: Cairo, Egypt and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was assessed. NO2 column was retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on Aura for April 2017 to 2020. The monthly mean value of NO2 concentrations of April 2017–2019 was used as a baseline. NO2 concentration in April 2020 was compared to the baseline to assess the impact of lockdown on NO2. The results demonstrated that the lockdown was associated with a reduction in NO2 in both cities. NO2 decreases by 40.3% and 23% in Riyadh and Cairo. By comparing the decrease of NO2 at weekends and weekdays, it was found that in Cairo, the decrease in weekdays (16.3%) was lower than weekends (31.9%). While in Riyadh, the decrease in weekdays (43.9%) was higher than weekends (29.3%). Variation in the reduction rates appears to be related to the different lockdown regimens taken by the two countries, among other factors. The findings of the present investigation alert countries in the region about the impact of human activities on urban air population and urge them to take appropriate mitigation measures to maintain good ambient air quality to protect human health and the environment.

Climate change poses a major threat to vegetation and land cover worldwide. The loss of vegetation as a result of climate change can alter the functions and structure of the environment and its ecological systems. In the first part of this study, Sentinel-2 data, normalised different vegetation index (NDVI), and multiple regression methods were used to examine the impacts of the climatic factors of humidity, rainfall, and air temperature on vegetation dynamics from 2015 to 2021 in Dhofar, Southern Oman. In the second part of this study, random forest regression was employed to model the relationships between the NDVI and temperature, humidity, rainfall, soil map, geology map, topographic wetness index, curvature, elevation, slope, aspect, distance to buildings, and distance to roads. The multiple regression values revealed significant associations between the spatial distributions of the NDVI and the abovementioned climatic factors. The findings also indicated an increase of 1 °C in air temperature fluctuations between 2018 and 2021 over all five sites, with a strong tendency over Qairoon Hairiti Mountain. The rainfall records clearly indicated an increasing tendency from 2018 to 2020 due to the impact of frequent cyclones. Therefore, the results revealed a significant increase of 0.01 in the vegetation cover trend in 2018, 2019, and 2020 along the Sadah Mountain range and the eastern part of the Jabal Qara Mountains under the areas directly impacted by the cyclone, whereas there was a decrease along the western mountain range consisting of Jabal Qara and Jabal Qamar Mountains due to the impact of warm, dry air. The results revealed that NDVI values were sensitive to heavy rainfall over Jabal Samhan Mountain. The 12 variables that influenced NDVI levels had different levels of importance. Soil types, elevation, slope, rainfall, curvature, humidity, and temperature had the highest importance, while topographic wetness index, distance to urban area, aspect, distance to roads, and geology map had the lowest. The findings provide a significant foundation for Oman’s planning and management of regional vegetation, water conservation, and animal husbandry.