Researchers from Caltech and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have reviewed satellite and ground observations of the region and performed state-of-the-art atmospheric model simulations.
What they conclude, according to a new study published in the magazine Science, there has been a counterintuitive deterioration in air quality in Beijing and other cities in northern China during the COVID-19 shutdown, even though there was a dramatic reduction in pollution emission.
NO2 reduction
China saw reductions of up to 90 percent of certain types of gas emissions, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2). However, severe haze pollution occurred simultaneously in northern China.
As explained Yuan Wang, research scientist at Caltech and lead author of the cited study where pollutants such as NO2, sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone and fine particles were measured:
The halted human activities during the COVID-19 pandemic in China provided us with a unique experiment to evaluate the efficiency of air pollution mitigation.
A complex interaction between emissions, weather patterns and atmospheric chemistry were responsible for this counterintuitive phenomenon.
All of these factors must be completely untangled to understand severe haze formation. This shows us that future emissions control plans will require not only reducing emissions, but also taking into account meteorological variations.
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The news
Even during lockdown, China's air quality remained poor
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.