Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak on NO 2 Pollution Assessed Using TROPOMI and OMI Observations

Abstract Spaceborne NO 2 column observations from two high‐resolution instruments, Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on board Sentinel‐5 Precursor and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on Aura, reveal unprecedented NO 2 decreases over China, South Korea, western Europe, and the United States as a result of public health measures enforced to contain the coronavirus disease outbreak (Covid‐19) in January–April 2020. The average NO 2 column drop over all Chinese cities amounts to −40% relative to the same period in 2019 and reaches up to a factor of ~2 at heavily hit cities, for example, Wuhan, Jinan, while the decreases in western Europe and the United States are also significant (−20% to −38%). In…

• BF
  Belgian Federal Science Policy Office
• NS
  Netherlands Space Office