Researchers found that the worldwide daily emissions fell by 17% — or 17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide — during the peak of the pandemic confinement measures in early April, compared to average daily levels in 2019.
Pandemic Has Cut Global Carbon Emissions by 17%
TUESDAY, May 19, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- It's not just your imagination -- with everyone avoiding travel, the air is cleaner these days. Daily global carbon emissions fell by about one-sixth during the coronavirus pandemic, researchers say.
But it's not likely to last.
"Population confinement has led to drastic changes in energy use and CO2 emissions. These extreme decreases are likely to be temporary though, as they do not reflect structural changes in the economic, transport or energy systems," said study leader Corinne Le Quéré, of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.