Scientists have compared the impact of the first and second lockdowns in Europe, which were introduced due to the spread of coronavirus, on the environment. This is reported by the Financial Times with reference to data from the monitoring agency Copernicus.
According to the researchers, during the second lockdown, nitrogen dioxide emissions decreased moderately or even increased, while during the first lockdown they decreased significantly. Thus, during the first wave of restrictions, emissions in major European cities fell by 50 percent. It is noted that these figures are directly related to the level of economic activity.
Previously, scholars from the T.Kh. Chan and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the US have confirmed that people who are exposed to air pollution for extended periods of time are more likely to die from COVID-19. Researchers have analyzed daytime air conditions and mortality rates for those infected with the coronavirus in more than three thousand counties in the United States. It turned out that even a small increase in the concentration of fine particles in the air (PM2.5) by one microgram per cubic meter increased the risk of death by 10 percent.
