By Paul Homewood
h/t In The Real World
Comparison of Nitrogen Dioxide tropospheric column – Mid Feb v End March
https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/52503882
If you watched the BBC Climate Check video the other day, you will have seen the above map of NO2 concentrations over Europe through lockdown. Ben Rich made a point of highlighting the drastic drop over Northern Italy, but was strangely silent about the lack of change elsewhere as lockdown progressed.
One of our readers found an article in the German news website, Online Focus, dated April 20th. The headline translates:
Limit exceeded despite lockdown – State Secretary: "Diesel driving bans are now off the table"
The article, which was originally linked here, has mysteriously disappeared, but can still be found on Wayback.
The article translates:
Proponents of the controversial diesel driving bans are getting a damper: Despite massive reductions in car traffic, nitrogen oxide levels remain high, which virtually refutes the basis of the diesel bans. A clear statement now comes from the Ministry of Transport.
Despite the lower volume of traffic due to the corona crisis, nitrogen dioxide levels in German city centers are still comparatively high. According to a random evaluation of the news magazine FOCUS by air quality data from the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) over the past ten weeks, the nitrogen oxide values at Stuttgart’s Neckartor and Landshuter Allee in Munich initially decreased gradually after the corona shutdown on March 23, but then increased back to.
Limit exceeded despite lockdown
On sunny Maundy Thursday (April 9), according to UBA data, the load on Neckartor was 60 and on Landshuter Allee with 90 micrograms almost six or three times as high as on a windy day in February. In comparison to the previous year, some of the values have risen, as the FOCUS reports. The Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Transport, Steffen Bilger (CDU), told FOCUS: “In my view, the issue of diesel driving bans is now finally off the table. Why the nitrogen oxide values do not decrease despite the rapid decline in traffic raises questions that the responsible environmental authorities have to clarify. "
"The responsible environmental authorities must clarify this"
The environmental policy spokeswoman for the FDP, Judith Skudelny, also criticized driving bans: "What is interesting about the measured values is that less traffic is not a guarantee of clean air." According to FOCUS, the UBA pointed out that wind, temperatures and precipitation also had an impact on air quality. The period was also too short to assess the effects of the shutdown. A decline in emissions due to less traffic and industrial production naturally affects air quality.
This assessment backs up what I found in Sheffield, little change in either NO2 or PMs.
Finally, Adrian Kerton has also been expanding his studies on air pollution in Europe, and keeps coming to the same conclusions too – see here.
With German manufacturers already in revolt against climate policies, one wonders whether the their car manufacturers will pluck up courage and challenge Merkel on this.
via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
May 12, 2020 at 05:21AM
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