Coronavirus: Copernicus Sentinel-5P reveals nitrogen dioxide emissions drop over Italy

Data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite have revealed that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions have dropped in Italy, especially in Northern Italy. The drop seems to coincide with the nationwide lockdown implemented in Italy to combat the new coronavirus (COVID-19). 

Animation available on our YouTube channel.

The animation shows the fluctuation of nitrogen dioxide emissions across Europe from 1 January 2020 until 11 March 2020, using a 10-day moving average. 

Claus Zehner, ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission manager, noted that: “Although there could be slight variations in the data due to cloud cover and changing weather, we are very confident that the reduction in emissions that we can see, coincides with the lockdown in Italy causing less traffic and industrial activities.”

These data were obtained through the Tropomi instrument on board Sentinel-5P. The Sentinel-5 Precursor – also known as Sentinel-5P – is the first Copernicus mission dedicated to monitoring our atmosphere.

The satellite carries the Tropomi instrument to map a multitude of trace gases such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, sulphur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide and aerosols – all of which affect the air we breathe and therefore our health, and our climate.

To learn more about this, you can check out the full story here.