Energy poverty influences urban outdoor air pollution levels during COVID-19 lockdown in south-central Chile.

The effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on ambient air pollution levels in urban south-central Chile, where outdoor air pollution primarily originates indoors from wood burning for heating, may differ from trends in cities where transportation and industrial emission sources dominate. This quasi-experimental study compared hourly fine (PM _2.5 ) and coarse (PM ₁₀ ) particulate matter measurements from six air monitors (three beta attenuation monitors; three low-cost sensors) in commercial and low/middle-income residential areas of Temuco, Chile between 2019 and 2020. The potential impact of varying annual meterological conditions on air quality was also assessed. During COVID-19 lockdown, average monthly ambient PM _2.5 concentrations in a commercial and middle-income residential neighborhood of Temuco were up to 50% higher (from 12 to 18 μg/m ³ ) and 59% higher (from 22 to 35 μg/m ³ ) than 2019 levels, respectively. Conversely, PM _2.5 levels decreased by up to 52% (from 43 to 21 μg/m ³ ) in low-income areas. The fine fraction of PM ₁₀ in April 2020 was 48% higher than in April 2017-2019 (from 50% to 74%) in a commercial area. These changes did not appear to result from meterological differences between years. During COVID-19 lockdown, higher outdoor PM _2.5 pollution from wood heating existed in more affluent areas of Temuco, while PM _2.5 concentrations declined among poorer households refraining from wood heating. To reduce air pollution and energy poverty in south-central Chile, affordability of clean heating fuels (e.g. electricity) should be a policy priority.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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