COVID-19 lockdown lead to largest drop in Co2 emissions in modern history: Study

A new study titled as ‘Near-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic’ published in the journal Nature reveals that the drop in carbon dioxide emissions during lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak is the largest in modern history. As per the study, there was a drop of 8.8 per cent in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. However, by July 1, the impact on emissions significantly reduced as the lockdown restrictions were eased in many parts of the globe, including China and several European countries. 

Decrease in Co2 emissions 

Initial reports based on limited samples of power plants and indirect satellite observations of atmospheric pollutants, there was a dramatic drop in global emissions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) recorded a −5% decline in global CO2 emissions in January–April 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The study did an in depth analysis of ‘the estimates of daily, sector-specific, country-level CO2 emissions from January 1st, 2019 to June 30th, 2020’. The analysis provided a daily, weekly, and seasonal information of CO2 emissions before and after the pandemic struck the globe. The study gives a perfect example as it says, “the emissions effects of major holidays such as Christmas in the U.S. and Europe, the Spring Festival in China, and Holi Festival in India are evident”. 

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(Effects of COVID-19 on global CO2 emissions. Image Credits: Nature.com)

(Effects of COVID-19 on global CO2 emissions. Image Credits: Nature.com)

(Effects of COVID-19 on global CO2 emissions. Image Credits: Nature.com)

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As a part of the study, the carbon dioxide emissions were taken from “hourly datasets of electricity power production in 31 countries, daily vehicle traffic in 416 cities worldwide, daily global passenger flights and distance flown, industry output in 62 countries and fuel consumption data combined with weather information for residential and commercial building emissions in 206 countries. It was concluded that the emissions from transport decreased by 40 per cent in the first half of 2020. Also, energy manufacturing and business emissions also recorded a drop by 22 and 17 per cent respectively.

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(Image Credits: Unsplash)