NASA@SC20: Monitoring the Global Decline of Air Pollution During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an important air pollutant formed during the combustion of fossil fuels. The reduced human activities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic led to sharp reductions in surface NO2 around the globe. Near-real-time NASA computer simulations, combined with surface observations, can be used to track the decline and subsequent recovery of NO2 related to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders around the globe. Since NO2 concentrations are a good proxy for industrial, transportation, and domestic activities, the changes in NO2 derived from NASA models during mandatory quarantine correlate well with officially reported changes in economic output. Observations from 4,778 air quality monitoring sites in 46 countries are used to monitor the change in NO2 as a result of COVID-19 containment measures.