Coronavirus & Air Pollution – Burning Issues

The sky may be blue, but what does the data tell us about air quality

• NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) pollution monitoring satellites ^{have detected significant decreases in nitrogen dioxide (NO}2^{) over China.}

• ~30% – a dramatic decline over China in February compared to early January.

• Nitrogen dioxide is a pollutant which comes primarily from the burning of fossil fuels.

• ^{The maps show NO}2 ^{values across China from January 1-20, 2020 (before the quarantine) and February 10-25 (during the quarantine).}

The timing of that improvement in air quality coincides with the moment that government officials in China put Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, into lockdown.

• More than 20 provinces and other regions told businesses to not resume work and observe quarantine measures in February.

• In 2019, those parts of China accounted for more than 80% of national GDP, and 90% of exports

• Fewer cars are driving, fewer factories are running Blocked transport and movement and massively disrupted business activity across the country.

• Coal consumption at power plants was down 36%

• Operating rates for main steel products were down by more than 15%.

• Coal throughput at the largest coal port fell 29%

• Coking plant utilization fell 23%

• Utilization of oil refining capacity was lowered by 34%

• Over the same period in 2019, China released around 800m tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2).

• The current estimates are 600MtCO2.

• China’s carbon emissions have dropped by a quarter over the same period.

• While that’s a tiny fraction of its overall annual emissions, it’s substantialin a worldwide context, sinceChina is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

• The virus has disrupted several events.

• The Geneva Motor Show was cancelled, after Switzerland banned all public gatherings of more than 1,000 people.

• In Houston, the giant annual Cera Week gathering of oil and gas executives was called off.

• Formula One grand prix in Shanghai called off.

• The London Book Fair, the Mobile World Congressin Barcelona, the Game Developers Conference in SanFrancisco

• Global air traffic decreased by 4.3% in February

• More carbon savings will come from the cancellations of international conferences.

• Air pollution is estimated to contribute to more than 1 million premature deaths in China each year

• Even a short-term reduction in air pollution can make a difference.

• The shutdown and consequent reduction of air pollution can potentially save thousands of lives.

• Those isolated at home and avoiding crowds may also have been exposed to more indoor air

• A big chunk of population in China still uses traditional wood or coal stoves for heating.

• The drop in air pollution and carbon emissions is likely to disappear as Chinese industry ramps up again in an attempt to offset its economic losses.

• Even during the 2008 global financial crisis, the immediate impact was for China’s emissions to fall.

• But then the government response was to roll out the biggest stimulus package in the history of mankind that then drove China’s emissions and global emissions up for years.