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Since New Yorkers have remained homebound to stem the outbreak, carbon monoxide levels have dropped significantly, according to the Daily Mail. The number of vehicles in the streets has indeed drastically decreased.
In China, satellite animations from the European Space Agency (ESA) had shown a drop of nearly 40% in the levels of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere.
In the United States, researchers at Columbia University also found that the level of carbon monoxide in New York City had even fallen by almost 50% year-on-year, with the rate of traffic on the streets having fallen 35% since then. the coronavirus epidemic.
However, as the quarantine slowly begins to be lifted in China, ESA has seen that these emissions are already starting to increase in parts of the country. Scientists explain that once economic activity resumes, pollution levels will return to “normal”.
“As nitrogen dioxide is mainly produced by traffic and factories, it is a first level indicator of industrial activity in the world”, explained Josef Aschbacher, director of Earth observation programs at ESA. “What is clearly visible is a significant reduction in nitrogen dioxide levels over China, caused by reduced activity due to the restrictions, but also the Chinese New Year in January. “
A short respite
According to Professor Róisín Commane of Columbia University, the general economic downturn will have an impact on global emissions. “I expect that we will have the smallest increase in CO2 in the northern hemisphere since 2009, or even before”, she told the BBC.
“It will depend on the duration of the pandemic and the extent of the downturn in the economy, especially in the United States”, added Corinne Le Quéré of the University of East Anglia. “But I think we’ll very likely see something in global shows this year. »
On the other hand, once economies start to recover from the crisis and people come out of their isolation, we should return to pre-virus levels, or even exceed them.
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