Large reductions in satellite-derived and modelled European lower-tropospheric ozone during and  after the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022)

Pimlott, Matilda A.; Pope, Richard J.; Kerridge, Brian J.; Siddans, Richard; Latter, Barry G.; Ventress, Lucy J.; Feng, Wuhu; Chipperfield, Martyn P.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4391-2025

Articles | Volume 25, issue 8

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4391-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report Phase II (TOAR-II) Community...

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4391-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 25, issue 8

Research article

|

23 Apr 2025

Research article |

| 23 Apr 2025

Large reductions in satellite-derived and modelled European lower-tropospheric ozone during and after the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022)

Matilda A. Pimlott, Richard J. Pope, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Lucy J. Ventress, Wuhu Feng, and Martyn P. Chipperfield

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4391-2025-supplement

Data sets

TOMCAT model data & IASI/GOME-2B satellite data of European ozone between 2008-2023 Matilda A. Pimlott et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10424302

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Short summary

Globally, lockdowns were implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19, leading to a decrease in emissions of key air pollutants. Here, we use novel satellite data and a chemistry model to investigate the impact of the pandemic on tropospheric ozone (O₃), a key pollutant, in 2020. Overall, we found substantial decreases of up to 20 %, two-thirds of which came from emission reductions, while one-third was due to a decrease in the stratospheric O₃flux into the troposphere.