The first lockdown imposed in India last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic led to an improvement in air quality and a reduction in land surface temperature in major urban areas of the country, according to a study. The findings, published in the journal Environmental Research, provide strong evidence for potential environmental benefits through larger-scale policy implementation.

The study found that travel and work restrictions imposed early in the pandemic resulted in a significant environmental improvement, due to an abrupt reduction in industrial activities and a major decrease in the use of land and air transport. The researchers used data from a range of Earth observation sensors, including those from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-5p and NASA's MODIS sensors, to measure changes in surface temperature and atmospheric pollutants and aerosols.

They concentrated on six major urban areas: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, comparing data from the lockdown in March to May last year with pre-pandemic years. The study revealed a significant reduction in nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a greenhouse gas emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels, equivalent to an average decrease of 12 per cent throughout India, and 31.5 per cent over the six cities. There was a 40 per cent reduction over the national capital, the researchers said. In India alone, about 16,000 premature deaths occur annually due to exposure to poor air quality, they said.

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