European Environment Agency sees lower air pollution

After Environment Ministry measurements last week pointed to a decrease in air pollution in Greece following the imposition of restrictions on movement, new data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) points to drops in pollutants in major European cities that are under lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The EEA discovered big decreases – especially of nitrogen dioxide concentrations – largely due to reduced traffic in major cities under lockdown.

In some cases, the pollution was half that recorded a year before, it said. The biggest drops last week were in Barcelona (down 55 percent), Lisbon (down 51 pct), and Bergamo (down 47 pct). 

Last week data collected by Greece’s Environment Ministry showed a 48 percent drop in air pollutants the week before last.