Air pollution clears in northern Italy after coronavirus lockdown, satellite shows

(Reuters, 13 Mar 2020) With less activity due to the coronavirus outbreak, Italy's air pollution has significantly fallen.

Air pollution over northern Italy fell after the government introduced a nationwide lockdown to combat coronavirus, satellite imagery showed on Friday, in a new example of the pandemic's potential impact on emissions.

China, where the outbreak started, showed a marked reduction in pollution after the government imposed travel bans and quarantines, and the data from Italy, which was hit hard several weeks later, suggested a similar pattern.

The European Space Agency (ESA) said it had observed a particularly marked decline in emissions of nitrogen dioxide, a noxious gas emitted by power plants, cars and factories, over the Po Valley region in northern Italy.

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Reuters, 13 Mar 2020: Air pollution clears in northern Italy after coronavirus lockdown, satellite shows