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Lessons learnt from UK's first lockdown on air quality

While vehicular pollution reduced, a hidden rise in more toxic air pollutants occurred

23-Nov-2020

Key points from article :

A new report shows complex & toxic changes in air composition due to the first lockdown.

Data was collected between March to June 2020 in South East UK.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) fell by 14-38% due to decrease in vehicle movements.

NOx and O3(ozone) lie in chemical balance in the air - if you disturb one, you alter the other.

Rapid decline of NOx led to an increase in ground-level ozone.

NOx declined but non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) prevailed & allowed ozone to increase by 15%.

Such an atmosphere increases exposure to Ultra Fine Particulate Matter (UFPs).

This exacerbates the effects of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19.

While a decline in vehicle emissions is positive, decrease in NO2 caused a host of unintended consequences.

We need to understand air quality as a whole to form a proper response to tackle air pollution.

Research by U of Brighton published in Science of the Total Environment.

Mentioned in this article:

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Science of the Total Environment (STOTEN)

Elsevier's weekly leading international peer-reviewed scientific journal covering environmental science

University of Brighton

Public research university.

Topics mentioned on this page:
Air Pollution