Coronavirus | Due to quarantine, air pollution fell by half in the city of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires honors its name these days. Due to the mandatory isolation by the coronavirus and the consequent decrease in vehicle circulation, the air quality in the city improved. The polluting particles that we breathe daily decreased by 50 percent, according to a report made by the Buenos Aires Department of the Environment, to which he had access TN.com.ar.

Through the Environmental Protection Agency (APrA) a survey of air pollution parameters between March 20 and 25, that is, from the start of the mandatory quarantine until the day after the long weekend.

For the study, measurements of Carbon Monoxide, Total Nitrogen Oxides, Nitrogen Dioxide and Particulate Material less than 10 microns were taken from the atmospheric control stations located in La Boca, Rodríguez Peña and Avenida Córdoba and Parque Centenario.

The survey indicated that the values ​​fell by approximately 50 percent compared to the same period in 2019. “This sharp reduction in all parameters is especially due to the decrease in vehicular traffic “, explained the report.

“Beyond the atypical situation we are going through globally, it is important to highlight that reducing the use of means of transport that emit polluting gases it is the way out to improve the air quality of big cities ”, expressed Eduardo Macchiavelli, Secretary of Environment of the City.

The official added: “The replacement of this type of transport should be one of the great actions that will have to be carried out once we have been able to overcome the pandemic.”

In addition to monitoring substances that are especially related to emissions of polluting gases, the report proposed measure the impact on health.

In this sense, they highlighted that all the values ​​were below the admissible limits established by the City and even well below the maximum levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The values ​​of pollutants in the air of the City

Monitoring between March 20 and 25 offered the following results:

– The moving average value taken during 24 hours. from Particulate Material less than 10 microns throughout the period it was less than 26 ug / m3 while the guideline level established by the WHO is 50 ug / m3 for this same period.

– The hourly average value for Carbon monoxide throughout the period it was less than 1.4 PPM and the WHO guideline level is 26 PPM. In turn, the 8-hour moving averages were less than 1.1 PPM and the WHO guideline for this average is 9 PPM.

– The hourly average value for the Nitrogen dioxide it was less than 29 PPB and, according to the WHO, the guide value is 106 PPB.

– Although the WHO does not have guide values ​​for Nitrogen oxides since it results from the sum of Nitrogen Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide, its evaluation allows to measure the emissions of polluting gases. At this point, the greatest impact on health is Nitrogen Oxide, whose average these days was 20 PPB; below the average values ​​of the City.