Evaluation of Nigeria's Air Quality and COVID-19 Cases, Recovery, and Mortality Rates

COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to lockdown in Nigeria for months, halting many commercial activities, and had implications on air quality. This study investigated the relationships between COVID-19 cases and air quality, and air quality (AQ) and COVID-19 mortality and recovery in Nigerian cities during the pre-lockdown and lockdown periods. Remote sensing and GIS were employed to collect AQ data, while COVID-19 data were obtained from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control database. Images were analyzed using Panoply and ArcGIS softwares. Datasets were analyzed on SPSS, Python, and R softwares. Findings showed that SO2, NO2, CO, and ultraviolet aerosol levels decreased during lockdown, while O3 levels were not significantly different. Significant (p<0.05) changes were recorded for three AQ parameters in one city (Abuja), one AQ parameter in three cities (Ogun, Kano, and Plateau), and two AQ parameters in the remaining five cities between the pre-lockdown and lockdown periods. Lagos recorded significant values (p<0.05) for all COVID-19 cases, deaths, and recoveries with t-test values of -3.72, -3.83 and -4.31 respectively, while Kano recorded significant values (p<0.05) for COVID-19 cases (t-test value of -3.41) only. The COVID-19 incidences were not significant (p<0.05) in other study locations. There were significant (p<0.05) negative correlation between average AQ parameters and COVID-19 cases, showing higher levels of the air pollutants were associated with fewer COVID-19 incidences in these cities. The study concludes that there is a relationship between AQ parameters and COVID-19 cases, deaths, and recoveries in the study locations.