Currently, the whole world is struggling to cope with the surprisingly fast spread of a deadly pandemic. COVID-19, a virus belonging to the coronavirus family was first found in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December last year. It has now spread to most of the countries around the globe and is responsible for more than 2.4 Million total infected cases with over 165 thousand deaths as of the April 20th[1]. In Europe, although the initial cases were identified in January, the first major outbreak was reported in the Lombardy region in Italy in Mid February. With over 1 Million infected cases and 100 thousand deaths in Europe as of April 20th[2], many other countries have suffered greatly as well since then.

⟶ For an interactive map of the average NO 2 concentration click here (~3MB)

Although COVID-19 is causing fear and concern internationally, the measures taken to address it appear to have a positive impact on the environment. It is apparent that air quality is better due to reduced operations of many industries as well as a reduction in overall transportation.

Various European governments are enforcing social distancing measures to mitigate the growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy, the first European country to be badly hit by the virus announced a nationwide lockdown on March 11th with a halt of all the commercial activities. Many other countries like Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom followed suit with complete or partial nationwide lockdowns.

This has brought life in Europe to a standstill with popular landmarks and streets deserted. Many offices, factories and travel destinations across Europe remain almost entirely closed. The demand for oil has decreased substantially. While countries are still struggling to fight this pandemic, there have been some visible changes in the environment without human interventions.