For example, China’s stay-at-home orders in early February 2020 produced a 50% drop in NOx emissions in some cities within a few weeks most U.S. The more stringent the lockdown a nation imposed, the greater the reduction in emissions. They charted the chain of events from reduced fossil fuel burning during lockdowns to reduced local NOx emissions and finally to reduced global tropospheric ozone pollution. A team of international researchers led by JPL scientist Kazuyuki Miyazaki used this opportunity to research the two main oxides of nitrogen: nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide, collectively called NOx.

When the world went into lockdown, scientists had an unprecedented opportunity to study how human activity interacts with natural Earth system processes at regional and global scales. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio And at the top of the troposphere, it’s a potent greenhouse gas, increasing global temperatures.Īs the coronavirus pandemic slowed global commerce to a crawl in early 2020, emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) – which create ozone, a danger to human health and to climate – decreased 15% globally with local reductions as high as 50%, according to a study led by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Similarly, it damages the breathing systems of plants – their ability to photosynthesize – reducing plant growth and crop yields. Ozone at the surface was estimated to cause 365,000 deaths globally in 2019 by damaging the lungs of vulnerable people, such as young children and those with asthma. Closer to the ground, though, it has other lasting impacts. Ozone protects us from destructive solar radiation when it’s high above Earth in the stratosphere. Get NASA's Climate Change News: Subscribe to the Newsletter » The study shows that innovative technologies and other solutions intended to decrease NOx locally have the potential to rapidly improve air quality and climate globally. As a result of the lower NOx emissions, by June 2020, global ozone levels had dropped to a level that policymakers thought would take at least 15 years to reach by conventional means, such as regulations. According to data from the International Energy Agency released this week, global carbon dioxide emissions have already rebounded to prepandemic levels.When lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic cut local nitrogen oxide emissions, the effect on ozone pollution was global and unexpectedly rapid.Īs the coronavirus pandemic slowed global commerce to a crawl in early 2020, emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) – which create ozone, a danger to human health and to climate – decreased 15% globally, with local reductions as high as 50%, according to a study led by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the report is “ a red alert for our planet,” adding the governments are “nowhere close to the level of ambition” required to meet the agreement’s goals. Last month, the United Nations warned that the most recent reduction targets submitted by Paris Agreement member states would result in less than a 1% decline in global carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, when a previous report projected emissions would have to drop by 45% to meet the Paris Agreement. The emissions drop from coronavirus lockdowns last year will have virtually no long-term effect on the fight against the imminent climate crisis, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s annual report released in November.

It may be a long-shot goal, recent evidence suggests. “Every strategy and every plan from every government must be consistent with tackling climate change.” Key BackgroundĪccording to the Paris Agreement, earth temperatures should stay within 1.5 degrees celsius or 2 degrees Celsius of preindustrial levels to prevent climate catastrophes caused by warming temperatures, like natural disasters and food insecurity. It can’t be about one law or policy, it has to be put at the heart of all policy,” the study’s lead author, Corinne Le Quéré, told The Guardian. “We have failed to understand in the past that we can’t have tackling climate change as a side issue. Researchers wrote the course of global emissions could be redirected if world governments invest in green energy and divest from fossil fuels in the years after the pandemic.

Climate lockdown