Study finds economic losses due to health burdens caused by in-car PM2.5 exposure inversely proportional to per capita GDP
Some of the world’s cities suffer disproportionate economic losses because of the health consequences of in-car air pollution, according to a new study by an international team led by researchers at the University of Surrey (UK).
Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) set out to investigate whether the amount of PM
2.5 drivers inhaled is connected to the duration drivers spend in pollution hotspots and socio-economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP). For the study, published in the journal
Challenges During Covid 19 Lockdown
Not surprisingly, COVID-19 lockdowns have reduced carbon dioxides, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides, due to reduction in transportation and fuel combustion gases. Along with these findings, a study in China has shown a significant reduction in airborne ammonia as well, though it is strongly believed that this gas is linked agriculture and essentially a rural phenomenon.
The reduction in ammonia in urban Beijing could be from combustion sources rather than agricultural emissions, said atmospheric scientist Dr. Yuepeng Pan of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
However, some researchers are surprised by the substantial decrease of ammonia amid lockdowns, since agricultural activities remained idle during Spring Festival holidays, which coincided with the lockdown in early 2020 in China.