Why is this important you may ask? World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 4 million people die every year from diseases caused by air pollution and that residents of many urban areas are constantly exposed to air quality that far exceeds the safe limits of WHO air quality standards. ![]() This image of the capital city Delhi is a witness to the difference. With businesses across the country closed and public and private transport suspended, the particulate matter in the air, dropped by a whopping 71% in just a week’s time. One such drastic reduction was seen in my home country, India, where the lockdown brought 1.3 billion people to a grinding halt. The same is the case for countries in Europe and Asia. Source: NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Image 2: The India Gate war memorial in New Delhi, India, on Octo(top) and on Ap(bottom), after a 21-day nationwide lockdown. Left: Map showing NO2 density across China from January 1-20, 2020 (before the quarantine) Right: February 10-25 (during the quarantine). One particular fact that intrigued me was that NO2 levels dropped by 40% in China, which is roughly equivalent to the removal of close to 200,000 cars from the roads. Satellite images released by NASA and the European Space Agency show striking differences in NO2 levels in China (below). Many researchers have been studying the impact of COVID–19 lockdown on the environment and it is definitely looking very good! In China, where strict lockdown procedures were implemented to curb COVID–19, there has been a significant reduction in the pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Though all these sound like a massive disruption of plans, there is a silver lining to it: the positive impact the lockdown has on the environment. The scare of the spread of coronavirus has also gotten us re-thinking our travel decisions such as the local or international flights or long road trips that we once did without hesitation. Either way, people commuting less to work can mean many different things: fewer cars on the streets, fewer factories, office and school buildings utilizing electricity. ![]() For some of us, this meant working from home, and for others, it meant traveling to their workplace fewer days of the week. Since the coronavirus outbreak, many of us had to shelter-in-place or practice social distancing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |