Huge drops in pollution recorded around world
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Around the world, Covid lockdowns have led to improvements in air pollution. In northern India, the Himalayas were visible in the distance for the first time in a generation. And during the first nine weeks of the UK lockdown, nitrogen dioxide along London’s roads decreased by an average of 31% compared with the pre-lockdown period.
Non-essential shops in the capital reopened on 15 June but life and traffic pollution have still not returned to normal. Compared with 2019, decreases of more than 40% have been measured along roads in the City of London and Westminster, including the Strand and West End.