Lockdown ensures clean air

The corona pandemic with much less traffic has ensured cleaner air in Hessen. This is good news, especially for cities where driving bans were possible.

In the Corona year 2020, the air in Hesse has become significantly cleaner. This was determined by the Hessian State Office for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG) in a preliminary evaluation of the measured values ​​for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which it reported on Friday.

This is good news, especially for cities where driving bans were possible because nitrogen dioxide levels were well above the permissible limit for years. It is 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air on an annual average. In Frankfurt this value was undercut at all measuring points. At the Mainkai the average decrease was 42 percent. The temporary road closure also contributed to this.

In Darmstadt, a little more than 40 micrograms of NO2 were detected at only one measuring point in Hügelstrasse. In the city, driving bans for older vehicles in Hügelstrasse and Heinrichstrasse have been in effect since 2019 due to the previously significantly excessive pollutant values.

In Offenbach, the most heavily contaminated measuring point was 39 micrograms per cubic meter in Mainstrasse. In Wiesbaden it was the measuring point at the Ringkirche where 37 micrograms per cubic meter of air were determined. The limit values ​​were thus adhered to.

The state office assumes that both the corona lockdowns and the environmental plans have contributed to the positive development. It will have to be seen whether this trend will continue after the Corona crisis.

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