Air pollution has fallen in northern Italy following lockdown
Summary
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution over Northern Italy has fallen dramatically following the government introduction of a nationwide lockdown to combat Covid-19. Italy has been hardest hit by the Coronavirus outbreak in Europe, with more than 24,000 confirmed cases and almost 2,000 dead, in response the government has imposed severe controls limiting the movement of people. A similar pattern was also seen in China last month when satellite data showed a sharp fall in emissions of NO2 starting in Wuhan which then spread over other cities. Claus Zehner, ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission manager, said: ‘The decline in nitrogen dioxide emissions over the Po Valley in northern Italy is particularly evident. ‘Although there could be slight variations in the data due to cloud cover and changing weather, we are very confident that the reduction in emissions that we can see, coincides with the lockdown in Italy causing less traffic and industrial activities.’ Josef Aschbacher, director of Earth Observation Programmes, said: ‘Copernicus Sentinel-5P Tropomi is the most accurate instrument today that measures air pollution from space.
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