Take a breath
Going through your socials, you'll likely come across some guru preaching that this quarantine is the ideal moment to pause your busy life and just chill. While it's up to you to decide what's best, few can argue that you shouldn't take every opportunity to stick your head out and suck in a lungful of that fresh(er) air.
Air quality has been an important topic this millennium. There were those who didn't believe we had an impact on it, but these past weeks have proved otherwise.
"Air quality is an important factor in determining our lifespan."
In India, the most air polluted country in the world, the difference is immense. Below, you can see a picture – the left side was taken November 3, 2019, the right side March 30, 2020.
What a difference.
Also in India, people are sharing incredible pictures of their view of the Himalayas. For the first time in 30 years, people can see the mountains with crystal clarity from a distance of 200km.
And the effect of the quarantine on air pollution isn't only visible in India. Across the world, countries are seeing the benefits in air quality:
Exact numbers
As everyone can see, air quality has improved. However, experts find it difficult to express the improvement in numbers. You may have seen several headlines which stated '40% less air pollution', this isn't completely accurate. Overall, the amount of nitrogen dioxide has fallen but the amount of fine dust is still (too) high.
"Maybe, when the crisis is over, we'll work more remotely, which is good news for our air quality."