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Coronavirus: less smog in different cities of the world, except Rome

2020-04-24T06:34:13.046Z


Lockdown measures have brought down fine dust pollution in several cities around the world, while in Rome the effect seems to have been the opposite with a 30% increase. (HANDLE)


 Lockdown measures have brought down fine dust pollution in several cities around the world, while in Rome the effect seems to have been the opposite with a 30% increase. This was stated in a report by the specialized company IQAir, which compared the levels of ten cities by comparing them with those of the same period last year. But the Italian data, according to Riccardo De Lauretis, head of the ISPRA national emissions inventory, could have depended on particular conditions of those days also linked to the weather situation. The study examined a three-week period, chosen based on the entry into force of the rules in the country, for Delhi, Los Angeles, London, Madrid, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Wuhan, Seoul, New York and Rome. For Wuhan, for example, the period from 3 to 24 February was chosen, while for Rome from 9 to 30 March.

"Nine out of ten cities have seen a reduction in the level of 2.5 pm - the authors write -. The cities with the historically highest levels have seen the largest declines, including Delhi (-60%), Seoul (-54%) and Wuhan (-44%) ". As for less polluted cities, such as London or Rome, the effect is much less. For the English capital, the calculation of the average value over the period considered saw a -9%, while for Rome even an increase of 30%, which the authors attribute to the fact that in the capital there is a strong contribution to the pollution of domestic heating , which were probably used more during the lockdown, and in the presence of atmospheric phenomena that concentrate the dust. "The effect of a lockout such as that due to the lockdown is much more easily measurable in very polluted cities, just think of Delhi which moreover does not have a contribution from heating, rather than in Rome where the values ​​are low on average - comments Riccardo De Lauretis , Ispra expert - we also saw the arrival of dust from the Caspian Sea at the end of March, which raised the values ​​a lot. Other factors, from weather to humidity, also affect dust. " (HANDLE).

Source: ansa

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