Evaluation of river water quality in a tropical South Sumatra wetland during COVID-19 pandemic period

The COVID-19 outbreak affected the world badly in this 21st century leading to the closure of all types of anthropogenic activities. It is declared that there was an environmental betterment in names of water quality and air quality during the COVID-19 period. In this study, we analyzed the improvement in water quality by evaluating the suspended particulate matter (SPM) using the remote sensing technique in a tropical South Sumatra wetland i.e., Musi River in Southern Sumatra, Indonesia. The SPM values were estimated from Landsat 8 images Level-2 product. A quantitative and spatial analyses of before (20th May 2019), during (22nd May 2020), and after COVID-19 (28th May 2022) periods were also calculated. Results revealed that the mean SPM values during COVID-19 period (4.56 mg/L) were lower than that before COVID-19 period (8.33 mg/L). Surprisingly, SPM showed an increase of 54% in SPM values after COVID-19 period, compared with during COVID-19 period. The role of human activities including industrial and domestic wastes during the restriction period was the main reason for alteration of pollution loads in the river. Outputs of this study can be used to arrange policies for the sustainable management of aquatic environments and water resources.