In Scotland, an investigation into air pollution during the lockdown has led to a striking insight. Despite a drastic decrease in traffic, the concentration of particulate matter in the air remained virtually the same.
The lockdowns earlier this year offered researchers an excellent opportunity to see what happens to air quality when there is less traffic. The University of Stirling decided to throw himself into it. Air quality was monitored at no fewer than 70 locations from March 24 to April 23 of this year. That was the peak (or dip, just how you see it) of the local lockdown. What has turned out; despite a significant decrease in traffic, comparable amounts of particulate matter were still found in the air.
According to the researchers an average of 6.6 micograms of particulate matter was found per cubic meter of air, compared to 6.7 in 2017 and 7.4 in 2018 in a comparable period. So little difference, while there was a traffic decrease of an average of 65 percent. This is an important discovery, given that particulate matter is seen as very harmful to public health and car traffic is often blamed on the major culprits. An important side note to the results, according to the researchers, is that the concentration of nitrogen dioxide did decrease, although despite dangers to health, this is usually not seen as such a major provider of particulate matter.