Lockdowns give Europe's cities cleaner air

New satellite images have confirmed that the coronavirus lockdown has given Europe cleaner air.

Data analyzed by the European Public Health Alliance showed cities including Brussels, Paris, Madrid, Milan and Frankfurt have reduced average levels of nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant emitted mainly from motor vehicles and power plants.

The satellite pictures took a 20-day average between March 5-25, and compared data with the same period in 2019.

In Madrid, average nitrogen dioxide levels decreased by 56% week-on-week after the government banned on non-essential travel on March 14, according to the European Environment Agency.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN PUBLIC HEALTH ALLIANCE POLICY MANAGER FOR CLEAN AIR AND SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY, ZOLTAN MASSAY-KOSUBEK, INTERVIEWED VIA SKYPE, SAYING:

"If you look at the maps, the most significant changes are the regions which are heavily populated and rely on fossil fuel-based transport. So those are the areas usually around the capitals and then the maps help us see that if transport decreases, then so does air pollution."

But he warned those living in polluted cities may be more at risk from COVID-19 because exposure to bad air can weaken the immune system.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN PUBLIC HEALTH ALLIANCE POLICY MANAGER FOR CLEAN AIR AND SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY, ZOLTAN MASSAY-KOSUBEK, INTERVIEWED VIA SKYPE, SAYING:

"Air pollution causes various chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, lung conditions and if you suffer those conditions, you are more vulnerable to Covid-19 so you are less able to defend yourself against the disease. So that's a very serious risk."

China also recorded a drop in nitrogen dioxide pollution in February when the government imposed lockdown measures to contain the epidemic.

Countries that went into lockdown later - such as Britain, which did so on March 23 - also look set for a pollution dive in the coming weeks.