Lockdowns & Better Air

30 seconds

Researchers from the University of Notre Dame have found that lockdowns intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus in China and Europe averted tens of thousands of deaths due to air pollution, the leading environmental cause of death. The investigators reported an estimated 24,200 premature deaths were averted in China compared to 3,309 COVID-19 fatalities. In Europe an estimated, 2,190 deaths were avoided during the lockdown compared to deaths during the same period between 2016 and 2019. Notre Dame assistant professor Paola Crippa, Ph.D., corresponding author of the study, said the “unique, real-world experiment shows us that strong improvements in severely polluted areas are achievable even in the short term, if strong measures are implemented.”

Source:
Paola Crippa et al, “Short-term and long-term health impacts of air pollution reductions from COVID-19 lockdowns in China and Europe: a modelling study”. The Lancet Planetary Health, September 22, 2020, DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30224-2