Significant Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Methane Emissions Evaluated by Comprehensive Statistical Analysis of Satellite Data

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced various aspects of society, including environmental factors such as methane emissions. This study investigates the changes in methane concentrations in Seoul, South Korea, from 2019 to 2023, using TROPOMI satellite data and rigorous statistical analyses. By employing analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc tests (Bonferroni correction, Tukey’s HSD, Scheffe's method), the study identifies significant differences in methane levels across different years. The results reveal no significant difference in methane concentrations between 2019 and 2020, but a noticeable increase in methane levels post-2021, correlating with the "new normal" policy implemented in South Korea. This suggests that changes in industrial activities and transportation patterns due to the "new normal" have contributed to higher methane emissions. Student's t-test and Welch’s t-test validate these findings, indicate the impact of socio-economic changes on methane emissions. Additionally, the results from the Shapiro-Wilk (S-W) and Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) tests indicate that the sample data can be considered to come from a normal distribution confirming the validity of t-tests and ANOVA analyses for these data. The S-W test showing better discriminative power than K-S test. This study provides a robust quantitative assessment of the pandemic's impact on methane levels and sets a methodological statistical approach for future research in the environmental research community.