Standing up for global air quality – let’s keep our skies clear
As the COVID-19 pandemic shutters the global economy, we’re witnessing a meaningful, albeit unintentional, improvement in air quality. We urge the global community to make it last.
Satellite imagery from the European Space Agency (ESA) paints a new, quite unfamiliar, picture of our skies – a strikingly clear one.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, shutting down economies and impacting the lives of millions, we’ve witnessed one markedly positive consequence: less smog.
In industrial clusters across the world, readings from ESA’s Sentinel-5p satellite illustrate significantly reduced levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a gaseous air pollutant in the nitrogen oxide (NOx) family and a major contributor to the formation of ozone, also known as smog.
In fact, according to NASA, NO2 levels across eastern and central China have been measured 10-30 percent lower than normal. And since Italy went into lockdown on March 9th, NO2 levels in Milan and other parts of northern Italy have fallen by about 40 percent.
“The lapse in traffic and industrial activity due to COVID-19 has offered us a rare glimpse of what cities like LA look like without a thick layer of smog,” said Jonathan Parfrey, Executive Director of Climate Resolve, an organization that builds collaborations to champion equitable climate solutions. “I hope this breath of fresh air can be a catalyst for collective action to protect air quality and the health of our communities.”
Today, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we’re posing a question to spark action from businesses and communities across the globe – what if we kept it this way?
The stakes are high for air quality
The dissipation of smog means much more than just clear skies – it can actually save lives.
Air pollution is the fifth leading risk factor for mortality worldwide. Indeed, calculations of the economic and health benefits associated with reducing NOx and particulate matter (PM) emissions have been found to exceed the economic and health benefits of reducing carbon emissions on a per ton basis.
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According to the EPA, breathing air with a high concentration of NO2 irritates airways in the human respiratory system, aggravating respiratory diseases like asthma and leading to coughing or difficulty breathing in the short-term. In the long-term, it’s much worse. One study found that air pollution may be as harmful to your lungs as smoking cigarettes.
And unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has only further shed light on these detrimental health impacts.
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