Abstract

Air pollution harms people’s health. During the first few months of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many countries went into lockdown. Many adults worked from home, children went to school online, and families limited their trips outside of the home. Fewer trips outside meant fewer cars on the road and planes in the air. We wanted to know whether the change in people’s driving and flying habits resulted in better air quality. Using satellites, weather stations, and traffic data, we found out that it did!