A significant fall in air pollution values has been observed in Athens since the government took precautionary measures to counter the spread of coronavirus. According to data from the Climate Change and Atmospheric Quality Directorate, it is evident that the values of the concentrations of pollutants have decreased since last Wednesday and have been significantly affected, especially in the last three days of March 16, 17 and 18, when the measures escalated.
Based on a comparison of the average daily concentration, values per day for the period March 11, when schools were closed, until March 18, 2020, with the corresponding period of 2019, saw an overall decrease of 11.4% in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollutants, while for particulate matter (PM10) the reduction was 6.1%.
Specifically, for the three-day period from March 16-18, when the government’s precautionary measures were intensified, nitrogen dioxide pollutants decreased by 48.5% compared to the same period last year, while particulate matter emissions decreased by 48% for the same period.
Secretary-General for the Environment and Water, Konstantinos Arabos, told state-run news agency amna, “we are at war and the government is handling it in the best possible way. The time span, especially in the last three days, is clearly a significant influence on the concentration of pollutants. ”
According to him, “the restrictions on movement have had a significant effect on [pollution] rates”, however, as he pointed out, “in order to have safe results we need to monitor them over a longer period of time.”