Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Cleaner Air from COVID-19 Lockdowns May Save Lives

Steve Baragona

   WASHINGTON - Blue skies over Beijing. Unusually clean air in New Delhi.
   Rare views of the hills around Los Angeles.

   One of the few pleasant side effects of COVID-19 lockdowns has been the
   widely observed drop in air pollution because of reduced industrial and
   manufacturing production and auto emissions.

   Those clearer skies may have resulted in more than 7,000 fewer
   premature deaths and nearly 7,000 fewer asthma attacks, according to
   new research.

   "The COVID lockdown is not sustainable and it's not the way we want to
   reduce air pollution," said study co-author KristinAunan, senior
   research fellow at the Center for International Climate Research.

   However, she added, the research helps demonstrate "the large impacts
   of air pollution that we have, all the year through, year after year."

   The research has not yet been reviewed by other experts for accuracy.
   It is available at the [1]online preprint siteMedRxiv.

   "This is by far the most comprehensive and detailed look at the air
   quality impacts of shutdowns related to COVID that I've seen," said
   University of British Columbia environmental health professor Michael
   Brauer, who was not involved in the research.

References

   1. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.10.20060673v1

.