Lower air pollution during COVID-19 lock-down: improving models and methods estimating ozone impacts on crops.

ABSTRACT: We suggest that the unprecedented and unintended decrease of emissions of air pollutants during the COVID-19 lock-down in 2020 could lead to declining seasonal ozone concentrations and positive impacts on crop yields. An initial assessment of the potential effects of COVID-19 emission reductions was made using a set of six scenarios that variously assumed annual European and global emission reductions of 30% and 50% for the energy, industry, road transport and international shipping sectors, and 80% for the aviation sector. The greatest ozone reductions during the growing season reached up to 12  ppb over crop growing regions in Asia and up to 6 ppb in North America and Europe for the 50% global reduction scenario. In Europe, ozone responses are more sensitive to emission declines in other

SUBMITTER: Dentener F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7536037 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature