Air pollution has declined in parts of the US as millions of Americans are forced into lockdown because of the coronavirus outbreak.
California has experienced the biggest improvement in air quality, specifically over the Bay Area and Central Valley where stricter social distancing guidelines have been implemented.
Other metropolitan areas, including Seattle, New York, Chicago and Atlanta, have also showed a decline after residents have been asked to stay at home in order to limit the spread of the virus.
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Air pollution has declined in parts of the US as millions of Americans are forced into lockdown because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The images were designed using data taken over the first three weeks of March.
This pollution stems from the burning of fuel and emissions of vehicles and power plants.
However, over the past few weeks, parts of the US have enforced lockdowns that only allow necessary travel, in order stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The coronavirus that started in Wuhan, China is one which has never been seen before this outbreak.
It began in December 2019 and has since infected more than 164 countries across the globe.
California has experienced the biggest improvement in air quality, specifically over the Bay Area and Central Valley were stricter social distancing guidelines have been implemented
Los Angles enforced strict socializing since the beginning of March and since then, the number of cars on the road has fallen by 40 percent
Most people know how packed the streets of Downtwon Los Angeles can be, but since the lockdown, the area looks more like a ghost town
The death toll from coronavirus has now exceeded 15,000 and the number of cases worldwide has soared past 348,000 since, with more than 40,000 cases and 484 deaths in the US.
And since making is way to the US, officials have began setting strict socializing rules for their state.
Many non-essential businesses have closed and some states have a curfew.
All social gatherings have been canceled until further notice as well.
The image show the nitrogen dioxide drop was create by CNN using Sentinel-5P satellite data.
Fei Liu, an air quality researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said: ‘This is the first time I have seen such a dramatic drop-off over such a wide area for a specific event.’
‘I am not surprised because many cities nationwide have taken measures to minimize the spread of the virus.’
Seattle, which had one of the earliest outbreaks of the coronavirus, has also seen a dip in its nitrogen dioxide levels
The New York Times has also released satellite images show huge declines in pollution over major metropolitan cities.
Los Angles enforced strict socializing last since the beginning of March and since then, the number of cars on the road has fallen by 40 percent – ultimately decreasing the amount of pollution in the air.
Seattle, which had one of the earliest outbreaks of the coronavirus, has also seen a dip in its nitrogen dioxide levels.
Earlier this month, the Washington city requested residents over 60 years old stay home and shortly after, Microsoft and Amazon close the doors to their office and enforced work-from-home for its employees.
New York City is the latest metropolitan area to implement a lockdown, which went into effect on Friday.
Researchers at Columbia University have seen emissions of carbon monoxide over New York City decline more than 50 percent below typical levels over the past week.
New York City is the latest metropolitan area to implement a lockdown, which went into effect on Friday. Researchers at Columbia University have seen emissions of carbon monoxide over New York City decline more than 50 percent below typical levels over the past week
Researchers at Columbia University have seen emissions of carbon monoxide over New York City decline more than 50 percent below typical levels over the past week
Since the lockdown, the once bustling streets, like those around Time Square, are now empty
Levels of carbon dioxide have dropped by up to 10 percent and methane have also fallen ‘significantly’, according to the Colombia team.
Last week NASA and the European Space Agency released a separate set of satellite images that showed a dramatic reduction in the amount of harmful greenhouse gas emissions over China.
Researchers from Stanford University say in places like China the reduction in air pollution has led to fewer premature deaths from breathing toxic air.
The improved air quality around the world isn’t likely to remain long term though, as scientists warn things will likely ‘return to normal levels’ when industry resumes.