Chossière Guillaume P, Xu Haofeng, Dixit Yash, Isaacs Stewart, Eastham Sebastian D, Allroggen Florian, Speth Raymond L, Barrett Steven R H
Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Sci Adv. 2021 May 21;7(21). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abe1178. Print 2021 May.
Responses to the COVID-19 outbreak resulted in one of the largest short-term decreases in anthropogenic emissions in modern history. To date, there has been no comprehensive assessment of the impact of lockdowns on air quality and human health. Using global satellite observations and ground measurements from 36 countries in Europe, North America, and East Asia, we find that lockdowns led to reductions in NO concentrations globally, resulting in ~32,000 avoided premature mortalities, including ~21,000 in China. However, we do not find corresponding reductions in PM and ozone globally. Using satellite measurements, we show that the disconnect between NO and ozone changes stems from local chemical regimes. The COVID-related lockdowns demonstrate the need for targeted air quality policies to reduce the global burden of air pollution, especially related to secondary pollutants.
对新冠疫情的应对措施导致了现代历史上人为排放量最大幅度的短期下降之一。迄今为止,尚未对封锁措施对空气质量和人类健康的影响进行全面评估。利用欧洲、北美和东亚36个国家的全球卫星观测数据和地面测量数据,我们发现封锁措施使全球一氧化氮(NO)浓度降低,避免了约3.2万例过早死亡,其中中国约为2.1万例。然而,我们并未发现全球范围内细颗粒物(PM)和臭氧有相应减少。利用卫星测量数据,我们表明NO和臭氧变化之间的脱节源于当地的化学环境。与新冠疫情相关的封锁措施表明,需要制定有针对性的空气质量政策,以减轻全球空气污染负担,特别是与二次污染物相关的负担。