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Studies find global COVID-19 lockdowns have significantly reduced PM2.5 and NO2 pollution, but ozone up

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Levels of two major air pollutants have been reduced significantly since lockdowns began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a secondary pollutant—ground-level ozone—has increased in China, according to new research. The week of Chinese New Year holiday is indicated by the red lantern shown inset panels (b) and (h).

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Global study links daily exposure to ozone pollution to increased risk of death

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Daily exposure to ground level ozone in cities worldwide is associated with an increased risk of death, according to the largest study of its kind, published in an open-access paper in The BMJ. Ground level ozone is a highly reactive gas commonly found in urban and suburban environments, formed when pollutants react in sunlight.

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Harvard/Nanjing study: China’s war on PM2.5 pollution is causing more severe ozone pollution

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In early 2013, the Chinese government declared a war on air pollution and began instituting stringent policies to regulate the emissions of PM 2.5. Cities restricted the number of cars on the road, coal-fired power plants reduced emissions or were shuttered and replaced with natural gas. Over the course of five years, PM 2.5

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Satellite data show resurgence in NO2 emissions over China

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Data from the ESA’s Tropomi (TROPOspheric Monitoring) instrument on board the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite shows the variation of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) emissions over China from December to March. The drop in emissions also coincided with Lunar New Year celebrations, which usually sees a similar drop in emissions each year.

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Study finds COVID-19 lockdown in China brought only slight reduction in PM2.5 and ozone

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Large improvements of air quality in China during the lockdown have been widely reported, but new research shows that two pollutants harmful to human health—fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and ozone—were only slightly reduced. and ozone were only slightly reduced or barely affected.

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Study: ozone levels higher across China than in other countries tracking the air pollutant

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In China, people breathe ozone-laden air two to six times more often than people in the United States, Europe, Japan, or South Korea, according to a new international study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. 2017 for one ozone metric. The inset shows ozone trends in Beijing (red) and Los Angeles (blue).

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TOAR shows present-day global ozone distribution and trends relevant to health; public database

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Ozone levels across much of North America and Europe dropped significantly between 2000 and 2014. People living in parts of southern Europe, South Korea and southern Japan and China also experienced more than 15 days a year of ozone levels above 70 ppb. Trends in daily maximum ozone levels (known as 4MDA8) at urban and non-urban sites.

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