Air pollution down in Athens from lockdown

Atmospheric pollution in the capital has dropped significantly since a public lockdown was introduced last month to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

According to measurements taken by the Athens National Observatory’s Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development between March 23, when the lockdown came into effect, and April 12, air pollution in Athens linked to car emissions, industry and other sources dropped by between 30 and 40 percent compared to the three-week period from March 1 to 22.

The reduction in air pollution was down by between 10 and 25 percent compared to the same period last year.