The Impact of the Covid-19 Stay At Home Order on Air Quality In New York City

The purpose of this study was to compare the difference in the air quality of Manhattan vs Queens before and after the stay-at-home order. We hypothesized that following the Covid-19 stay at home order, the levels of PM2.5 and Ozone would show a greater change in the more commercial borough Manhattan compared to the more residential borough Queens. Having used data from a very large Air Quality Index website which collects air quality from stations located all over the city, the particle matter in the air was analyzed by comparing the averages month to month in each location. Our results show that Queens showed a greater decrease in PM2.5 levels from 2019 to 2020 in the months of the Stay-at-Home-order in comparison to Manhattan. This proved our hypothesis wrong and showed that Queens had a bigger change in particle matter due to the stay-at-home order. This shows an inverse relationship to what we originally predicted.

Group members: Daniel Yusupov, Trina Alimi, Nathaniel Grinblat, Shawinderdeep Singh