Air pollution returns quickly after lockdowns end

A study has concluded that a lockdown significantly reduces air pollution from vehicles in a large city like Athens, but the benefits are temporary, as levels quickly revert to normal as soon as the measures are lifted.

The report and its conclusions were drafted by the Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry Group of the National Observatory of Athens’ Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development (IERSD), in collaboration with the University of Crete (Department of Chemistry) and Paris-Saclay University, which analyzed the changes in the levels during the first lockdown in Greece (March 23 – May 10) – which were down by an average of 50% – in relation to the periods before and after, based on data from the observatory’s Air Monitoring Station in Thiseio.