Coronavirus lockdowns give Europe's cities cleaner air

[webfact]

Coronavirus lockdowns give Europe's cities cleaner air

By Kate Abnett

 

A general view shows the South Tower during the lockdown imposed by the Belgian government to slow down the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Brussels, Belgium, March 27, 2020. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Air pollution has decreased in urban areas across Europe during lockdowns to combat the coronavirus, new satellite images showed on Monday, but campaigners warned city-dwellers were still more vulnerable to the epidemic.

 

Cities including Brussels, Paris, Madrid, Milan and Frankfurt showed a reduction in average levels of noxious nitrogen dioxide over March 5-25, compared with the same period last year, according to the Sentinel-5 satellite images.

 

That coincides with lockdowns in many European countries which have curbed road transport – the largest source of nitrogen oxides - and slowed output at gas-emitting factories.

 

The new images, released by the European Space Agency (ESA) and analyzed by the non-profit European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), show the changing density of nitrogen dioxide, which can cause respiratory problems and cancer, like heat maps.

 

Daily weather events can influence atmospheric pollution, so the satellite pictures took a 20-day average and excluded readings where cloud cover reduced the quality of the data.

 

Data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) showed a similar trend over March 16-22. In Madrid, average nitrogen dioxide levels decreased by 56% week-on-week after the Spanish government banned non-essential travel on March 14.

 

The EPHA said people living in polluted cities may be more at risk from COVID-19, because prolonged exposure to bad air can weaken the immune system, making it harder to fight infection.

 

"That connection is very likely," Zoltan Massay-Kosubek, policy manager for clean air at EPHA, told Reuters. "But because the disease is new, it still has to be demonstrated."

 

Air pollution can cause or exacerbate lung cancer, pulmonary disease and strokes.

 

China also recorded a drop in nitrogen dioxide pollution in cities during February, when the government imposed draconian lockdown measures to contain the raging epidemic.

 

In some regions of Poland, however, nitrogen dioxide levels remained relatively high during the period despite its lockdown, perhaps due to the prevalence of coal-based heating.

 

Countries that went into lockdown later - such as Britain, which did so on March 23 - look set for a pollution reprieve in coming weeks, EPHA said.

Air pollution causes around 400,000 premature deaths each year in Europe, EEA data show.

 

(Reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels; Additional reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in Warsaw; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-30

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[gk10002000]

Back in 1978 in Rhode Island here in the USA we had a big blizzard.  It shut down the entire Interstate 95 and all local traffic.  54 inches of snow in my home town of East Providence.  State was literally shut down to car traffic for an entire month.  When the snow stopped, they had to start with bucket loaders, flat beds and one by one by one went down I 95 removing cars.  The air was never cleaner.  Not really a big surprise.  Our family restaurant and lounge stayed open around the clock in downtown providence.  I walked across the Washington bridge from my home, and through the bus tunnel in college hill instead of going up and down.  Kind of fun.  But would not want a shut down or lock down for much more than a week or two in this day and age.  I can afford it, but most people can not

[christophe75]

... And the virus... saves lives !

 

A counterintuitive and very interesting article.

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/health/covid-19-saving-lives

[Sweet Swede]

City dwellers in Europe and maybe here in Thailand in Bangkok, but you cannot say the same about Northern Thailand.

[marko kok prong]

That's great,so if every one die's better air,global warming may stop,wow,it will be a paradise for the few who are left,but maybe not,no electric,no water supply,no food,hmmm,wonder what Greta is thinking?