Coronavirus: NASA Reveals How China’s Lockdown Drastically Reduced Pollution

Pollution before vs after Coronavirus quarantine.

Coronavirus: NASA Reveals How China’s Lockdown Drastically Reduced Pollution 960x0

NASA just released satellite images showing the impact Coronavirus has had on dramatically reducing pollution throughout China.
As China first began to battle the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in December it led to an unprecedented drop in pollution. Scientists first noticed the drop in pollution in Wuhan, where coronavirus initially began.
The video below compares satellite images before and after the quarantine in Wuhan. You will notice the absence of vehicles on roads and parking lots and clearer, brighter skies in contrast to the typical hazy smog-filled skies.
As coronavirus spread throughout Wuhan, Chinese officials stopped planes, trains, subways, and heavily limited vehicles. This was the first impact on reducing pollution, which continued to spread as the virus spread throughout China.
NASA and the European Space Agency used satellite images to detect how nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) changed over China since the beginning of the year. Nitrogen dioxide is a gas released by burning fossil fuels, a major pollutant coming from transportation and factories.
Since the outbreak has led to reduced travel and shut down factories, the levels of NO2 have significantly decreased over China.

The map below shows how NO₂ concentration changed from the period right before the Chinese government shut down transportation and factories compared to after the shutdown. The darker red areas show higher concentrations of NO2, centered primarily around Beijing.

Coronavirus: NASA Reveals How China’s Lockdown Drastically Reduced Pollution 960x0

Nitrogen dioxide before vs after Coronavirus.
The first reduction in NO₂ surrounded Wuhan and since then spread across the country. NASA scientists note that this is the most dramatic drop in pollution over a short time period across a county they have seen.
The drop in NO₂ is more significant and rapid than the 2008 recession and during the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
The figure below shows the levels of NO₂ before and after the quarantine in Wuhan. The top row shows 2019 values compared to the bottom row being 2020 levels, significantly lower than the same time a year before.

Coronavirus: NASA Reveals How China’s Lockdown Drastically Reduced Pollution 960x0

Pollution in Wuhan before and after quarantines.

The reduction of NO₂ is an overall benefit to human health, reducing respiratory irritation, coughing, alleviating asthma, etc. according to the EPA. While the pollution reduction is a silver lining, as the coronavirus outbreak eventually subsides NO₂ will likely return back to pre-outbreak levels.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2020/03/03/coronavirus-nasa-reveals-how-cinas-lockdown-drastically-reduced-pollution/#1fbf261c2a75

Coronavirus: NASA Reveals How China’s Lockdown Drastically Reduced Pollution

Coronavirus: NASA Reveals How China’s Lockdown Drastically Reduced Pollution

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