Better air in lockdown may have saved hundreds of lives in Europe, study finds

More than 800 lives may have been saved in Europe due to better air quality in the first phase of Covids, according to research.

The study led by experts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that measures to stem the rise in infections resulted in fewer cars and trucks on the roads.

Paris, London, Barcelona and Milan were found to have the highest number of avoided deaths. The study found that closing schools and offices in European cities reduced levels of air pollution because of less traffic and movement.

Spanish, French and Italian cities experienced the biggest decreases in NO 2 of 50% to 60% during the period.

Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM10), which are also produced by natural sources such as wildfires and dust, and other emissions, decreased in the wake of strong decreases in NO 2.

The first wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic created immense health and social costs, according to the senior author of the study. It has offered unique conditions to investigate the effects of strict policies on pollution levels in urban areas.

This natural experiment has given us a glimpse of how air quality can be improved by drastic public health measures that would be difficult to implement in normal times. The problem of pollution in our cities can be tackled with the help of information.

The research was funded by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. It compared government policies from the 47 European cities from February to July 2020 and estimated the changes in pollution levels and deaths.

Rochelle Schneider is the first author of the study and is an assistant professor of data science.

Government policies decided during the spring and early summer of 2020 gave us a unique opportunity to study a scenario with lower air pollution levels.