Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak on NO2 Pollution Assessed Using TROPOMI and OMI Observations
Abstract
Spaceborne NO2 column observations from two high-resolution instruments, Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on board Sentinel-5 Precursor and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on Aura, reveal unprecedented NO2 decreases over China, South Korea, western Europe, and the United States as a result of public health measures enforced to contain the coronavirus disease outbreak (Covid-19) in January-April 2020. The average NO2 column drop over all Chinese cities amounts to -40% relative to the same period in 2019 and reaches up to a factor of ~2 at heavily hit cities, for example, Wuhan, Jinan, while the decreases in western Europe and the United States are also significant (-20% to -38%). In contrast with this, although Iran is also strongly affected by the disease, the observations do not show evidence of lower emissions, reflecting more limited health measures.
- Publication:
-
Geophysical Research Letters
- Pub Date:
- June 2020
- DOI:
- 10.1029/2020GL087978
- Bibcode:
- 2020GeoRL..4787978B
- Keywords:
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- air quality;
- satellite NO<SUB>2</SUB>;
- coronavirus outbreak;
- lockdown;
- emissions