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COVID-19 Clean Air Gains Won't Last, Experts Say

Steve Baragona

   WASHINGTON - From a hill four miles outside Boston, World Resources
   Institute economist Michelle Manion says she can read the letters on
   top of the Prudential building, a city landmark.

   "I've never been able to do that," she said. "It's really amazing."

   Since [1]Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker began ordering schools and
   businesses to close on March 24 to staunch the spread of COVID-19,
   traffic on area highways is down by roughly two-thirds.

   The air pollution that goes along with it is down, too.

   "People are not commuting," Manion said. "It's a huge difference."

   From Boston to Washington, DC, levels of nitrogen dioxide, one form of
   air pollution, are down by roughly 30% compared with the previous five
   years, according to [2]NASA satellite data.

   Skies have been clearer this year from [3]Boston to Paris to
   [4]Beijing. Weather plays a part. But the shutdown of most of society
   from COVID-19 is a major factor.

   Dramatic drops in road traffic and air travel have slashed oil
   consumption worldwide. In the United States, the world's largest
   consumer, demand is down by a record-shattering 31% from the average
   for January to mid-March, according to the U.S. [5]Energy Information
   Administration.

   The drop in fossil fuel use may lower greenhouse gas emissions by 5.5%
   this year, according to an estimate by [6]Carbon Brief. It would be the
   largest reduction ever by far, more than four times greater than the
   decrease during the 2008-2009 Great Recession. The global oil crash
   accounts for more than half of the drop.

References

   1. https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/04/19/traffic-massachusetts-covid-19-drivers-highway-checkpoints-restrictions
   2. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4810
   3. http://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-5P/Coronavirus_lockdown_leading_to_drop_in_pollution_across_Europe
   4. http://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-5P/COVID-19_nitrogen_dioxide_over_China
   5. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=43455
   6. https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-coronavirus-set-to-cause-largest-ever-annual-fall-in-co2-emissions

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