Several weeks after the end of lockdown in the UK, studies showed that air pollution remained lower than in previous years, likely due to the continued lessening of congestion on roads as some people carried on working from home or used alternative means of travel such as cycling.
Research at the end of June 2020 revealed that nitrogen dioxide levels in UK towns and cities were 30% below normal, even though HGV traffic had returned to 95% of its pre-lockdown level and private car use was back to 75% of its level before measures were taken to keep people at home to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The small reduction in traffic from the norm is enough to lessen congestion, which means air quality remains greatly and disproportionately improved due to much less inefficient ‘stopping and starting’ of vehicles. The researchers said the data could help towns and cities better manage their pollution, which has been linked to Covid-19’s high infection rate.
The research goes to show that even small changes (in this case, a slight reduction in traffic) can make a big difference to the health of people and the planet.
further reading…
Several weeks after the end of lockdown in the UK, studies showed that air pollution remained lower than in previous years, likely due to the continued lessening of congestion on roads as some people carried on working from home or used alternative means of travel such as cycling.
Research at the end of June 2020 revealed that nitrogen dioxide levels in UK towns and cities were 30% below normal, even though HGV traffic had returned to 95% of its pre-lockdown level and private car use was back to 75% of its level before measures were taken to keep people at home to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The small reduction in traffic from the norm is enough to lessen congestion, which means air quality remains greatly and disproportionately improved due to much less inefficient ‘stopping and starting’ of vehicles. The researchers said the data could help towns and cities better manage their pollution, which has been linked to Covid-19’s high infection rate.
The research goes to show that even small changes (in this case, a slight reduction in traffic) can make a big difference to the health of people and the planet.