Rigorous quantification of statistical significance of the COVID-19 lockdown effect on air quality: The case from ground-based measurements in Ontario, Canada.

Environmental and health significance Results presented here are highly significant because (1) quantifying the significance of short term events on pollutant levels through statistical rigor is essential for well-informed policy decisions and public confidence, (2) our analysis provides numerical evidence of the effect that large scale lockdowns have on air quality in Southern Ontario, since worsening air quality is one of the impacts of climate change ( von Schneidemesser et al., 2015 ), and (3) policy makers would be better informed when planning for mitigation and adaptation for long-term and lasting positive effects of reducing air pollution ( Ching and Kajino, 2020 ).

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