Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC)

Prof. Alex Singleton, Jacob MacDonald and Alessia Calafiore at University of Liverpool has completed a review looking at the impact of changes in mobility patterns as a result of lockdown and how this has impacted air pollution (Decomposing Daily Regional Pollution and Human Mobility Patterns Under UK COVID-19 Stay-at-Home). This work explores the relationship between combustion-based pollution (NO, NO2, NOx) and the relative space-time signature of human mobility patterns under the lens of the recent global COVID-19 pandemic. With mass stay-at-home orders enacted, the movement patterns in and around local points of interest have changed - bringing with it changes in transportation mode use and frequency, among other things. The nature of this shift has led to significant drops in regional pollution levels across the UK, yet quantifying the varying contributions from different human activities to this decrease is challenged by the complexity of pollution patterns across different dimensions.