To curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the Indian government strictly locked his 1,3 billion citizens on March 25, 2020. The nationwide measures reduced the activities in factories and significantly reduced the car, bus, truck and air traffic.
Aerosols are tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in the air that can reduce visibility and damage the human lungs and heart. Some aerosols have natural sources, such as dust storms, volcanic eruptions and forest fires. Others come from human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and farmland.
Human-made aerosols contribute to unhealthy levels of air pollution in many Indian cities every year.
Human-made aerosols tend to have a greater potential for harming human health than natural aerosols.
Scientists expect aerosol levels to rise again slightly in parts of India in the coming weeks as seasonal dust storms begin. Dust concentrations are typically low in March and early April, before temperatures rise and strong westerly winds blow sand from the Thar desert and the Arabian Peninsula. The question will then be whether the values will remain below normal value.
COVID-19 has certainly played a big part in making the air cleaner. How strong this is the case, will be shown in future observations and measurements.
Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov
