Limited Regional Aerosol and Cloud Microphysical Changes Despite Unprecedented Decline in Nitrogen Oxide Pollution During the February 2020 COVID‐19 Shutdown in China

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 47; no. 17; pp. e2020GL088913 - n/a
• Main Authors: Diamond, Michael S., Wood, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 16.09.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: aerosol; Aerosol formation; Aerosols; Aerosols and Particles; Air pollution; Atmosphere; Atmospheric Composition and Structure; Atmospheric Processes; Atmospheric Science; Biogeosciences; Biosphere/Atmosphere Interactions; Chemical interactions; china; Climate change; cloud; Cloud droplet size; Cloud droplets; Cloud microphysics; Cloud Physics and Chemistry; Clouds; Clouds and Aerosols; Contraction; Coronaviridae; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Economic decline; Economic impact; Economics; Electric power generation; Emissions; Evolution of the Atmosphere; Gases; Global Change; Impact analysis; Industrial plant emissions; Industrial plants; Industry; Marine Pollution; Megacities and Urban Environment; Meteorological conditions; Natural Hazards; Nitrogen; Nitrogen dioxide; Nitrogen oxides; Nitrogen oxides emissions; Oceanography: Biological and Chemical; Oceanography: General; Oxides; Paleoceanography; Particulate emissions; Photochemicals; Plant shutdowns; pollution; Pollution: Urban and Regional; Pollution: Urban, Regional and Global; Power plants; Research Letter; Research Letters; Satellites; Secondary aerosols; The COVID‐19 Pandemic: Linking Health, Society and Environment; Thermal energy; Thermal power; Transportation industry; Viral diseases; Weather; China; cloud; COVID‐19; china; pollution; emissions; aerosol

Following the emergence of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China instituted shutdown measures starting in late January and continuing into February 2020 to arrest the spread of disease. This resulted in a sharp economic contraction unparalleled in recent Chinese history. Satellite retrievals show that...