JAKARTA - The global corona virus pandemic has caused a number of countries to temporarily lock down their territories. This step is claimed to be able to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
China and Italy were the first countries to lock down their cities from outside activities. This firm step was put in place to reduce the contamination and spread of COVID-19.
The closure of tourist attractions and crowd centers has also been carried out. The government also asks its citizens to reduce activities outside the home, such as work and school, as long as the lockdown policy is enforced.
Although it seems scary, because there are no community activities outside the home. In fact, this activity is able to reduce the pollution rate quite drastically, so that the air in the cities around China and Italy becomes cleaner.
This was disclosed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA using data collected by the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite. Launching the Space page, Copernicus Sentinel-5P functions to monitor air pollution in the atmosphere.
This satellite shows the air conditions in Italy and China that appear to be free of emissions, when viewed from space. The reduction in nitrogen oxide (NO2) emissions occurred during the first two and a half months of 2020.
"This is the first time I have seen a dramatic reduction in a large area for a particular event," said Fei Liu, an air quality researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, in his official statement quoted by NASA Gov.
Usually a city like China has a high level of NO2 pollution compared to other countries. But since the corona virus broke out, to be precise at the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebration, the level of pollution in the Bamboo Curtain country suddenly dropped dramatically.
Likewise, the Italian state has been forced to take such dramatic action that the country's emissions have completely changed, as seen from space.
This latest image, produced by the European Space Agency (ESA), shows a sharp drop in NO2 emission levels. The decline in pollution rates in the country occurred in line with the implementation of a lockdown to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
"While there may be slight variations in the data due to cloud cover and changes in weather, we firmly believe that the emission reductions we can see coincide with the lockdown in Italy leading to less traffic and industrial activity," explained Head of Mission at ESA, Claus Zehner.
Fluctuation of nitrogen dioxide emissions across #Europe from 1 Jan until 11 Mar 2020, using a 10-day moving average & data from CopernicusEU # Sentinel5P. The decline in NO2 emissions over the #PoValley 🇮🇹 is particularly evident.https: //t.co/MkPuG4IcOi pic.twitter.com/LcNH1QsmaB
- ESA EarthObservation (@ESA_EO) March 13, 2020
Researchers believe the more people who stay at home, the emission of nitrogen dioxide will decrease quite drastically. It is hoped that cleaner air will provide some relief in overcoming the coronavirus.
Because nitrogen dioxide or exhaust gas pollution can actually affect air circulation and make it difficult for people to breathe. NO2 pollution also reacts with other chemicals to create soot, smog and acid rain.
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