Among the good news of containment is the decline in pollution. According to maps published Thursday, April 16 by the European Space Agency (ESA), concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), produced mainly by vehicles and thermal power plants, fell by 54% in Paris and by about 45 % in Madrid, Milan and Rome, between March 13 and April 13.
This is a comparison to the averages recorded in March / April 2019. These data include a margin of error of plus or minus 15%.
These sharp declines "coincide with the strict quarantine measures in place across Europe," said ESA in a statement. "This reduction is remarkable," notes Simonetta Cheli, an expert from the European Space Agency.
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NO2, a gas causing significant inflammation of the respiratory tract, is a pollutant with a short lifespan, which makes it a good indicator of the intensity of human activities.
Southern and Northern countries
These maps are based on the work of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, which plans to publish other data for countries in northern Europe.
"We are not sure that this will develop in the same way in the countries of the North, where containment has been managed differently than in France, Spain and Italy," said Simonetta Cheli. "Clouds and weather can also have a big impact on measurements," she adds.
According to the latest report from the European Environment Agency on air quality in 2019, nitrogen dioxide is responsible for 68,000 premature deaths per year in the European Union, including 7,500 in France.
With AFP
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