Air pollution level decreases amid the lockdown across the world
- 4 years ago
코로나19의 역설... 중국 이탈리아 반갑지 않은 공기 질 개선
The global COVID-19 pandemic has forced numerous countries into lockdown... closed businesses, cleared once bumper-to-bumper freeways and brought factory operations to a halt.
The economic impact of the outbreak and the resulting job losses are likely to be terrible and will make life very hard for millions upon millions of people in the weeks and months to come, but the forced lack of activity is allowing the environment to breathe a temporary sigh of relief.
Kim Do-yeon reports. This is time-lapse footage of air pollution gradually reducing above China over the past three months.
Satellite assessment of nitrogen dioxide emissions conducted by the European Space Agency shows the dramatic change in air quality of the world's biggest contributor to air pollution.
Factories and cars were big factors in the amount of smog… but with the spread of the novel coronavirus, operations stopped.
Wuhan, an industrial city and ground zero of COVID-19, saw a 30% reduction in nitrogen dioxide concentrations.
According to Reuters, Lunar New Year celebrations usually help to lower emissions around that time of year, but this year saw much less pollution than in previous years.
Another hard-virus-hit country saw a change in air quality. Italy called a state of emergency and has asked people to stay home.
As seen on the satellite image, between January and March, there is a drastic change in the northern part of the country.
The region saw 40 percent less emissions from sources such as factories and automobiles by March.
A popular tourist city in the north east of the country, Venice, saw immediate changes as there's significantly less traffic.
"The canal is definitely clearer, you just have to look at the canal when water is very calm. There are no boats, there is no traffic. Definitely, it is cleaner."
Other places around the world, such as New York, are seeing similar results.
Some experts even claim that New York saw a 50-percent drop in emissions after Governor Andrew Cuomo locked down the whole state.
Although the world may not see this as a silver lining due to the impact COVID-19 is having, many experts claim this could be a simulator for minimizing emission levels throughout the world.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News
The global COVID-19 pandemic has forced numerous countries into lockdown... closed businesses, cleared once bumper-to-bumper freeways and brought factory operations to a halt.
The economic impact of the outbreak and the resulting job losses are likely to be terrible and will make life very hard for millions upon millions of people in the weeks and months to come, but the forced lack of activity is allowing the environment to breathe a temporary sigh of relief.
Kim Do-yeon reports. This is time-lapse footage of air pollution gradually reducing above China over the past three months.
Satellite assessment of nitrogen dioxide emissions conducted by the European Space Agency shows the dramatic change in air quality of the world's biggest contributor to air pollution.
Factories and cars were big factors in the amount of smog… but with the spread of the novel coronavirus, operations stopped.
Wuhan, an industrial city and ground zero of COVID-19, saw a 30% reduction in nitrogen dioxide concentrations.
According to Reuters, Lunar New Year celebrations usually help to lower emissions around that time of year, but this year saw much less pollution than in previous years.
Another hard-virus-hit country saw a change in air quality. Italy called a state of emergency and has asked people to stay home.
As seen on the satellite image, between January and March, there is a drastic change in the northern part of the country.
The region saw 40 percent less emissions from sources such as factories and automobiles by March.
A popular tourist city in the north east of the country, Venice, saw immediate changes as there's significantly less traffic.
"The canal is definitely clearer, you just have to look at the canal when water is very calm. There are no boats, there is no traffic. Definitely, it is cleaner."
Other places around the world, such as New York, are seeing similar results.
Some experts even claim that New York saw a 50-percent drop in emissions after Governor Andrew Cuomo locked down the whole state.
Although the world may not see this as a silver lining due to the impact COVID-19 is having, many experts claim this could be a simulator for minimizing emission levels throughout the world.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News