[Methodology note] Air pollution levels are generally determined by two main factors: emissions and weather conditions. The latter are known to affect air quality in various ways: dispersion, precipitation or the facilitation of chemical reactions. This impact of weather creates uncertainty when it comes to understanding the effect of policies on air quality, or, for […]
News
Revealing the Cost of Air Pollution in World’s Cities – in Real Time
Health damage from air pollution cost between 0.4% and 6% of annual GDP in the world’s leading cities on the first half of 2020, due to increased risks of chronic illnesses, asthma, work absences, preterm births and many other health impacts. CREA has worked with AirVisual and Greenpeace to release an online tool that tracks […]
Analysis: China’s CO2 emissions surged past pre-coronavirus levels in May
China’s CO2 emissions have surged back from the coronavirus lockdown, rising by 4-5% year-on-year in May, analysis of new government data shows. Emissions fell an estimated 25% in the six weeks following the lockdown, from early February to mid-March, before bottoming out, as factories and power plants reduced output. Road and air traffic also fell […]
BRIEFING: Coal pollution costs Europeans billions of euros despite drop in emissions
This CREA briefing looks into the five most polluting coal power plant operators in the EU in 2018, the health impacts of each of these as well as the economic losses. Despite air pollutant emissions in the EU being half of what they were in 2010, the effects that the remaining coal power plants have […]
BRIEFING: Air pollution returns to European capitals: Paris faces largest rebound
A new CREA assessment of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution levels in European capitals shows how pollution is rebounding as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Paris has experienced the largest increase in pollution from the cleanest period during lockdown, while Budapest and Oslo have exceeded their pre-crisis levels, when controlling for weather. The return of pollution […]
SPECIAL REPORT: As Metro Manila’s lockdown eases in phases, air pollution rebounds with the return of transport and industry
The ‘Special Report: Managing Air Quality Beyond COVID-19‘ for the Philippines, co-released with Greenpeace, contains CREA analyses that found air quality improvements as a result of the measures to contain COVID-19 rebounded in the country’s capital. The first 30 days of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila saw fine particulate matter (PM2.5) drop to […]
BRIEFING: China’s air pollution overshoots pre-crisis levels for the first time
Levels of health-harming air pollutants in China have exceeded concentrations at the same time last year in the past 30 days, for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. This includes PM2.5, NO2, SO2 and ozone. Air pollutant levels plummeted during the national lockdown in February, bottomed out in early March and […]
COVID19 Lockdowns across Southeast Asia improve air quality – but not everywhere
Isabella Suarez and Lauri Myllyvirta The widespread threat of COVID-19 globally has seen Southeast Asian countries responding with varying degrees of lockdowns and community quarantines. The slowdown in economic and social activity has resulted in an overall reduction in urban emissions and electricity demand. In a region where 7 of the 11 nations are among […]
11,000 air pollution-related deaths avoided in Europe as coal, oil consumption plummet
The measures to combat the coronavirus have led to an approximately 40% reduction in average level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution and 10% reduction in average level of particulate matter pollution over the past 30 days, resulting in 11,000 avoided deaths from air pollution (95% confidence interval: 7,000 – 21,000). This effect comes as power […]
Air Quality before and after national lockdown during Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak across Pakistan
Sunil Dahiya and Dawar Butt (Sunil Dahiya is an Analyst with Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air & Dawar Butt is an Analyst with Pakistan Air Quality Initiative) Coronavirus outbreak has forced nations under lockdowns restricting or putting a halt on transportation, agricultural as well as industrial activities across the globe. These measures […]