Articles | Volume 21, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3091-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3091-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
02 Mar 2021
Research article |
| 02 Mar 2021
| 02 Mar 2021
Decoupling of urban CO2 and air pollutant emission reductions during the European SARS-CoV-2 lockdown
Christian Lamprecht
Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Martin Graus
Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Marcus Striednig
Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Michael Stichaner
Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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Short summary
The first European SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) wave and associated lockdown provided a unique sensitivity experiment to study air pollution. We find significantly different emission trajectories between classical air pollution and climate gases (e.g., carbon dioxide). The analysis suggests that European policies, shifting residential, public, and commercial energy demand towards cleaner combustion, have helped to improve air quality more than expected.
The first European SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) wave and...
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