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(MENAFN – IANS)
New York, November 18 (IANS) Using computer models, NASA researchers found that since February, the pandemic restrictions of Covid-19 have reduced global concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by nearly 20%.
Nitrogen dioxide is an air pollutant produced mainly by the combustion of fossil fuels used by industry and transport.
Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, space and ground-based observations have shown that Earth’s atmosphere has seen significant reductions in some air pollutants.
However, scientists wanted to know how much of that decline can be attributed to changes in human activity during the pandemic-related arrests, compared to what would have occurred in a pandemic-free 2020.
“We all knew that the blocks would have an impact on air quality,” study lead author Christoph Keller said with the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in the United States.
Model simulation and machine learning analysis took place at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation.
Its “business as usual” scenario showed a 2020 version of the alternate reality, one that did not undergo unexpected changes in human behavior caused by the pandemic.
The difference between the simulated values of the model and the measured ground observations represents the change in emissions due to the pandemic response.
The researchers received data from 46 countries – a total of 5,756 ground-based observation sites – that transmit hourly measurements of atmospheric composition in near real time.
At the city level, 50 of the 61 cities analyzed show nitrogen dioxide reductions between 20-50%.
“In a way, I was surprised at how much he fell,” Keller said.
“Many countries have already done a great job of lowering their nitrogen dioxide concentrations over the past few decades thanks to clean air regulations, but what our results clearly show is that there is still a significant, behavior-driven contribution. human, ”Keller added.
-IANI
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