US satellite data confirm effect of Beijing Olympics pollution controls
17/12/2008 16:43
New satellite data revealed that air pollution controls during the Beijing
Olympic Games did have a positive impact, leading to sharp decline in certain
pollutants, US scientists said yesterday.
During the two months when air
pollution restrictions were in place, levels of nitrogen dioxide in Beijing's
air plunged nearly 50 percent, Jacquelyn Witte, an atmospheric scientist from
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), told the fall meeting
of the American Geophysical Union held in San FrancisCo
Nitrogen dioxide is a
noxious gas resulting from fossil fuel combustion, primarily in cars, trucks and
power plants.
Their analysis of data from NASA's Aura and Terra satellites
also showed levels of carbon monoxide in Beijing's air fell about 20 percent
during the period, Witte reported.
Witte and colleagues hoped that
ultimately, they can use satellite data to evaluate and refine local and
regional models to predict how pollution levels respond to changes in
emissions.
Such models are important for understanding the integrated Earth
system and aiding policymakers considering ways to reduce pollution.
Though
their models are far from perfect, the procedures demonstrated in sorting out
what's happening over Beijing during the Olympics offer the capability to detect
emission changes and improve models the world over, the scientists
said.
Xinhua
|
