In the News
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Utah Public Radio Thursday, Mar. 26, 2020
COVID-19 Quarantine Reduces Emissions, Improves Air
While there are many economic concerns about business shutdowns related to the coronavirus, Utah State University professor Randy Martin said one positive outcome has been the reduction in emissions, leading to better air quality throughout the world. “We know that in the last few weeks, the vehicle count, at least along the Wasatch Front, has dropped to about 75% of what it normally is," Martin said. "And just doing some really rough, back of the envelope calculations, that suggests that we're putting about 2,000 tons less per day of pollution in the air. And that's not accounting for businesses that are closed or reductions in air travel or train travel, because I just don't have those numbers.” Will this emissions reduction have long term impacts on air quality? According to Simon Wang, a USU climate change professor, that may not be determined for another five years. “It's similar to just the virus itself, right? You'll note that the people who contracted wouldn't have a response right away, I mean, you can you can wait from three days to up to two weeks," he said. "So, the atmosphere functions like that.”