Health & Fitness
MA Coronavirus: Air Pollution Declines As Roads Empty
March nitrogen dioxide concentrations were dramatically lower than in March, 2019, as coronavirus forced cars off the road.
Efforts to slow the spread of the new coronavirus have been burdensome, and the health effects are enormous. But there have been welcome consequences: alongside a fall in car crashes and crime, air pollution is significantly down.
The concentration of nitrogen dioxide, one of the five main air pollutants monitored by U.S. environmental agencies, has dropped dramatically in recent weeks. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection data from monitoring sites around the state show declines as much as 30 percent in March, relative to March, 2019.
The chemical, also known as NO2, is produced by burning fossil fuels, including internal combustion engines in cars. Nitrogen dioxide exposure causes respiratory effects, including worsening symptoms in people with asthma. Among the five pollutants monitored, nitrogen dioxide is the most likely to decline rapidly as people stop driving, according to Edmund Coletta of MassDEP.
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"We've plotted data for Boston-Von Hillern St, Boston-Harrison Ave, Chelmsford (near road), Worcester, and Springfield," Coletta said. "All locations are showing a decrease in NO2 levels in March 2020 as compared to those in March 2019."
The steepest decline is at the Harrison Avenue site in Boston. In March 2020, the average daily maximum concentration was 23 parts per billion. A year prior, it was 32 parts per billion.
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Coletta noted that nitrogen dioxide concentrations tend to decline as weather warms, but that tends to occur beginning in April.
Coletta said the next pollutant they expect to decline is particulate pollution, but that has not occurred yet. Carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide levels in Massachusetts tend to be low, he said.
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