Special to the Journal
MARQUETTE The same pandemic that restricts travel and manufacturing is having a measurable impact on decreasing air pollution in parts of the Great Lakes region, experts say.
It is an impact that scientists can detect with sensors mounted on NASA satellites and that measure nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant that can exacerbate human respiratory problems such as asthma, cause acid rain and speed the creation of ozone and the pace of climate change.
It’s a tricky impact to measure, experts say. Weather, wildfires and other sources of pollution can mask the air quality effect of an economic lockdown. And clean air gains were reported before the pandemic. The Allegheny County Health Department in Pennsylvania reported that in 2019, nitrogen dioxide levels in Pittsburgh had dropped every year since 1999.