Table 1.
Environmental effects observed in Southeast Asian countries due to COVID-19
| Southeast Asia countries | Measures taken by the Government | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brunei | Measures implemented locally (travel ban, restrictions on public gatherings, work from home) | No changes in terms of air pollution levels | NA |
| Cambodia | National Emergency Declaration | No changes in terms of air pollution levels | NA |
| Timor-Leste | National State of Emergency | No changes in terms of air pollution levels | NA |
| Indonesia | Partial shutdown and Large-Scale Social Restrictions (LSSR) |
Improvement of air quality (The Jakarta Post 2020) Reduction of 33% of PM2.5 concentrations in Jakarta (The Jakarta Post 2020) 40% drop in NO2 levels in Jakarta (The Jakarta Post 2020) |
Total of 247 tonnes per day medical waste in Jakarta (Asian Development Bank 2020) |
| Laos | Lockdown and Travel Restrictions | No changes in terms of air pollution levels | NA |
| Malaysia | Movement Control Oder (MCO) by phases |
Decreased concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, and CO between 23 and 64% at industrial, suburban, and rural sites from urban areas across the country (Kanniah et al. 2020) Reduction of PM2.5 concentrations up to 58.4% during the MCO in Malaysia (Abdullah et al. 2020) Improvement of Air Pollutant Index (API) levels (Raman 2020) Real-time improvement in river water quality index (WQI) (Teoh 2020; Raman 2020) Decreased in total suspended solids and increased in dissolved oxygen and chemical oxygen demand (Babulal 2020) Reduction of land surface temperatures in cities (Raman 2020) |
Waste spillage (Yuen et al. 2020) Increased household and plastics wastes (Teoh 2020) Total production of 180 tonnes per day medical waste in Kuala Lumpur (Asian Development Bank 2020) |
| Myanmar | Community/partial lockdown, banned gatherings and flights | No changes in terms of air pollution levels | NA |
| Singapore | Circuit breaker lockdown |
Increased air quality with decreased PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, and CO2 between 8 and 43% (Christopher Tan 2020) 30% of NO2 reduction (Kanniah et al. 2020) |
Increase extra plastics waste of 1334 tonnes (TodayOnline 2020) |
| Thailand | Nationwide lockdown | PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, and O3 decreased between 9.7 and 44.6% in general areas in Bangkok (Fatima Arkin 2020; Jack Board 2020) |
Increased on plastic waste volume (The Japan Times 2020) Increase food waste and contaminated medical waste (Jack Board 2020) Decrease municipal waste in urban areas (Jack Board 2020) Total production of 245 tonnes per day medical waste in Bangkok (Asian Development Bank 2020) |
| The Philippines | Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) |
Reduction of PM2.5 concentrations up to 71–80% (Fatima Arkin 2020) 34% reduction in the NO2 levels in Manila (Kanniah et al. 2020) 40% decline in the country’s power demand |
Total production of 327 t per day medical waste in Manila (Asian Development Bank 2020) |
| Vietnam | National lockdown |
Reduced PM2.5 and NO2 emissions in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities (Le 2020; Suarez and Myllyvirta 2020) Improved AQI levels in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh (Le 2020; Suarez and Myllyvirta 2020) Less noise level (Le 2020) |
Total production of 187 tonnes per day medical waste in Hanoi (Asian Development Bank 2020) |
NA not available