The air quality in the Californian city of Los Angeles made a dramatic turnaround in the first weeks of the lockdown response to coronavirus – making it a bold illustration of just how much human activity usually pollutes the atmosphere. Because of the city’s residents’ famous habit of driving everywhere, it is well known for its traffic-induced smog – a stark contrast to the clear skies seen in March 2020 as most people stayed at home under social distancing measures.
The data shows that in the month, Los Angeles had the longest stretch of good air quality since at least 1995, with an estimated 20% improvement (and a 40% reduction in microscopic pollutants) thanks to the city’s 40 million residents being ordered to stay at home. With travel only allowed for key workers and essential shopping, traffic fell by 80% in Los Angeles in March – the likely biggest contributor to the reduction in pollution.
Because of the direct link to the lockdown, Los Angeles’ air quality – like that for all major cities across the world – is bound to decline once social distancing measure are eased and people return to work and their normal leisure activities. However, LA, and the others, are stark reminders of what could be achieved by hugely reducing the burning of fossil fuels.
“From the society level, I think we need to think really hard about how to bring about a more sustainable world, where technologies and policies come together to bring us cleaner energy,” said Dr. Yifang Zhu at the University of California.
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The air quality in the Californian city of Los Angeles made a dramatic turnaround in the first weeks of the lockdown response to coronavirus – making it a bold illustration of just how much human activity usually pollutes the atmosphere. Because of the city’s residents’ famous habit of driving everywhere, it is well known for its traffic-induced smog – a stark contrast to the clear skies seen in March 2020 as most people stayed at home under social distancing measures.
The data shows that in the month, Los Angeles had the longest stretch of good air quality since at least 1995, with an estimated 20% improvement (and a 40% reduction in microscopic pollutants) thanks to the city’s 40 million residents being ordered to stay at home. With travel only allowed for key workers and essential shopping, traffic fell by 80% in Los Angeles in March – the likely biggest contributor to the reduction in pollution.
Because of the direct link to the lockdown, Los Angeles’ air quality – like that for all major cities across the world – is bound to decline once social distancing measure are eased and people return to work and their normal leisure activities. However, LA, and the others, are stark reminders of what could be achieved by hugely reducing the burning of fossil fuels.
“From the society level, I think we need to think really hard about how to bring about a more sustainable world, where technologies and policies come together to bring us cleaner energy,” said Dr. Yifang Zhu at the University of California.