Anomalous increase in global atmospheric ammonia during COVID-19 lockdown: Need policies to curb agricultural emissions.

The restrictions imposed on human activities during the COVID-19 lockdown (LD) period provided a new scenario to identify potential sources of atmospheric pollution. There are several studies that deal with changes in air quality around the world during LD, but very few on atmospheric ammonia (NH 3). Therefore, we examine the changes in global NH 3 during LD (April–May 2020) in comparison to the pre-lockdown (PreLD, April–May 2017–2019) and post-lockdown (PostLD, April–May 2021) periods, and assess the factors responsible for these changes. We observe an increase in NH 3 during LD across the latitudes, with very high values in the western Europe, Eastern China (EC), the Indian subcontinent and the eastern United States of America (USA). However, a decline in NH 3 is observed in some regions of South America (SA) and North America (NA). Similar changes in NH 3 during LD are also observed in smaller spatial scales, as found in 3000 cities across the globe. The reduction of sulphur dioxide (SO 2), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), nitric acid (HNO 3), humidity and cloud cover as a result of restrictions on human activities, particularly in the western Europe and the USA, may have impeded the conversion of NH 3 to particulates, which led to a higher NH 3 there. Nevertheless, agricultural activities and livestock are the most prominent sources of atmospheric NH 3 , and were not under restriction during LD, show an enhancement in terms of the use of nitrogen fertilizer, crop production and area harvested, which also cause a rise in NH 3 in these regions. Therefore, it is evident that the changes in meteorology and atmospheric composition, together with increased agricultural activities, led to the global increase in atmospheric NH 3 during LD. That is, most pollutants show a decline during LD, but NH 3 exhibits a rise due to its sources such as agricultural activities. Henceforth, environmental regulations, policies and advanced technologies are required in the agricultural sector, such as fertilizer deep placement using urea briquettes and restricted application of nitrogen fertilizers, to curb NH 3 emissions. [Display omitted] • The COVID-19 lockdown helped to understand the agricultural sources of atmospheric NH 3. • Most regions across the globe show an increase in NH 3 owing to rise in agricultural activities. • Changes in meterology and atmospheric composition during lockdown further led to high NH 3. • Policies and advanced technologies are needed in agriculture sector to curb the air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]