As fewer drivers make daily commutes, fewer boats take to the waterways and fewer planes take flight, data from a European Space Agency satellite shows a decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels across American cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Traffic and pollution levels across the U.S. have dropped amid the #COVIDoutbreak. @DescartesLabs processed data from #Sentinel-5P satellite and compared it to March 10-22 of last year. Here's what they found: pic.twitter.com/DTk2QSRjLy
— Pattrn (@pattrn) March 24, 2020
Nitrogen dioxide is a pollutant produced from the burning of fuel like that for heating, power generation and combustion engines, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Other images showed a decrease in Wuhan, China, where the virus originated from December 2019 to March 2020.
A new animation showing the variation of nitrogen dioxide emissions over #China (Dec-March) – thanks to @CopernicusEU #Sentinel5P data.
— ESA EarthObservation (@ESA_EO) March 19, 2020
Sentinel-5P currently provides the most accurate measurements of NO2 and other trace gases from space.
ℹ️https://t.co/Gn9mvSnIu6 pic.twitter.com/nDLrboKnXG
Images from Jan. 1 to Jan. 11 also showed the gas decreased across Europe, including in Italy, where more than 8,200 people have died from the virus, leading the world.
Fluctuation of nitrogen dioxide emissions across #Europe from 1 Jan until 11 Mar 2020, using a 10-day moving average & data from @CopernicusEU #Sentinel5P.
— ESA EarthObservation (@ESA_EO) March 13, 2020
The decline in NO2 emissions over the #PoValley 🇮🇹 is particularly evident.https://t.co/MkPuG4IcOi pic.twitter.com/LcNH1QsmaB
Because of less boat traffic, waterways in Venice are also showing signs of less pollution.
According to #Venice's 🇮🇹 citizens, waters have cleared following the #COVID19 lock-down. But what can we see from #Sentinel2 🛰️🇪🇺?
— Copernicus EU (@CopernicusEU) March 24, 2020
A notable difference in boat traffic between 8 February & 19 March, as well as seemingly less turbid/agitated waters. What do you think?#EUSpace pic.twitter.com/HnqmjOdDCN
"This is the first time I have seen such a dramatic drop-off over such a wide area for a specific event," Fei Liu, an air quality researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement earlier this month.
There are more than 520,000 confirmed cases and 23,000 deaths worldwide, according to a Johns Hopkins map.
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