Environmental Satellite Applications - Understanding Societal Changes due to COVID-19

NOAA scientists identified signals of decreased Nitrogen Dioxide emissions and atmospheric aerosols this spring by using instruments on NOAA JPSS and ESA Sentinel-5P satellites, as the COVID-19 pandemic created an economic and societal slowdown. Nitrogen Dioxide emissions and atmospheric aerosol observations have been compared between spring 2019 (pre COVID-19) and spring 2020 (during COVID-19). Also compared are differences between weekdays versus weekends during the same time period. While there can be changes in pollution associated with weather patterns, the reductions in 2020 were likely caused by a combination of both COVID-19-reduced emissions as well as differences in weather. This work is in conjunction with NOAA research labs monitoring the changing air quality conditions on the ground and studying relationships among different types of pollutants. NOAA satellites have even observed changes in nighttime lights during the societal disruptions this year. Motivating this work is the goal to provide new and important evaluations of the scientific understanding underpinning air quality, weather forecasting and climate projections, which can improve the quality of forecasts and provide valuable information to decision makers going forward. NOAA's environmental data has wide applications to public health, such as for identifying questions about the potential seasonality of disease transmission and potential comorbidities associated with other environmentally-linked respiratory diseases. The pandemic has highlighted the need for facilitating interdisciplinary understanding and access of these environmental datasets, including coordination with other agencies, across the scientific community.