Los Angeles currently has the cleanest air the city has enjoyed since 1980, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Experts attribute this relative lack of air pollution to COVID-19 social distancing regulations.
LA implemented a “stay at home” order last month in response to the ongoing crisis. As all nonessential workers have been instructed to stay home, the infamously clogged I-405 freeway has been eerily clear of traffic. Additionally, most nonessential businesses based in the city have halted operations. These factors have contributed to a drop in greenhouse gas emissions, decreasing smog cover.
Cities worldwide have reported a similar environmental upturn due to the recent quarantine efforts. China and Italy, countries with two of the first extreme breakouts of the virus, have both reported decreased nitrogen dioxide concentrations in the air. Additionally, China has experienced a 25 percent decrease in carbon dioxide emissions since late January. According to Jacqueline Klopp, co-director of the Center for Sustainable Urban Development at Columbia University, government-enforced isolation has halted much of the human activity that contributes to air pollution.
While the current quarantines began to slow coronavirus infection, the positive impact on our planet could serve as a wake-up call to governments and corporations: humans also have the power to slow, if not reverse, climate change.
“As we move to restart these economies, we need to use this moment to think about what we value,” Klopp said. “Do we want to go back to the status quo, or do we want to tackle these big structural problems and restructure our economy and reduce emissions and pollution?”
After lockdowns in LA and elsewhere have “flattened the curve,” our busy lives will return. However, without major environmental policy changes, it looks like air pollution will too.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
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