'Write an essay on the topic lockdown and its effect on pollution.' You can give me value points also.
Answers
Answer:
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused industrial activity to shut down and cancelled flights and other journeys, slashing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution around the world. If there is something positive to take from this terrible crisis, it could be that it’s offered a taste of the air we might breathe in a low-carbon future.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that about 3 million people die each year from ailments caused by air pollution, and that more than 80% of people living in urban areas are exposed to air quality levels that exceed safe limits. The situation is worse in low-income countries, where 98% of cities fail to meet WHO air quality standards.
Measurements from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P satellite show that during late January and early February 2020, levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) over cities and industrial areas in Asia and Europe were lower than in the same period in 2019, by as much as 40%.
Answer:
The coronavirus pandemic has lead to an increase in air quality all around the world. Lockdowns have resulted in factories and roads shutting, thus reducing emissions.
These 11 visualizations, using data from NASA’s Global Modeling and Data Assimilation team, show the dramatic impact lockdown measures have had on pollution levels.
To contain the coronavirus pandemic, billions of people have been told to stay at home. In China, authorities placed almost half a billion people under lockdown, the equivalent of nearly 7% of the world’s population. Many other countries have since taken similar measures, initially in hard-hit Italy and Spain, and more recently in the United States and India.
The restrictions have sent financial markets into free fall. But they have also given residents in some of the world’s most polluted cities something they have not experienced in years: clean air.
Reuters visualisations, based on data from NASA’s Global Modeling and Data Assimilation team, show how concentrations of some pollutants fell drastically after the lockdowns started.
Satellite observations record information on aerosols in the atmosphere. NASA’s model is then able to provide estimates of the distribution of these pollutants close to the Earth’s surface.
China
The maps below show how levels of PM2.5 nitrate fell in China’s Hubei province after the government imposed travel restrictions. Nitrate is one of the components that make up PM2.5, tiny particles, about 3% of the diameter of human hair, that can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, leading to heart disease, strokes or cancer.
Nitrate aerosols are formed from nitrogen compounds, which can be emitted by human activities, especially burning fuel and diesel.
We may soon learn how much of an impact this temporary pause in pollution has had on human health and the environment, but the clearest takeaway from this event is how satellite measurements of nitrogen compounds can be used as an indicator of economic activity,” said Ryan Stauffer, a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
Ground station metrics from Wuhan, where the pandemic originated, show how certain pollutants including nitrogen dioxide were at record lows during the first few months of the year.
Some of the major sources of nitrogen dioxide are vehicle exhausts, power plants and wastewater treatment plants.
Scientists say nitrogen dioxide pollution has been steadily decreasing over the last few years. However, the lockdown may have contributed to this year’s drop.
The following charts show monthly averages of pollutants over the last seven years.
India
Every winter, New Delhi and other big cities in the north are enveloped in a blanket of smog as farmers burn crop residue. The air tends to clear a little in spring.
Lockdown has visibly changed India's air quality.
Image: Bhushan Kumar, Sunil Kataria / Reuters.
However, in the first few months of this year, India experienced a significant decline in some pollutants. The lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the country’s 1.3 billion people could be a major contributing factor. However, there may also be other factors impacting air quality, according to Pallavi Pant, an air quality scientist at the Health Effects Institute in Boston.
“Air pollution levels are often influenced by local meteorology, like temperature or wind speed. Several early analyses are showing declines in air pollution in regions where shutdowns have taken place. However, any such analyses should consider all relevant factors.” Pallavi Pant told Reuters.
Ground stations in northern India also show a downward trend in overall PM2.5, according to data from local authorities.
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