The air in Delaware is cleaner this spring, NASA satellite images indicate.
“These recent improvements in air quality have come at a high cost, as communities grapple with widespread lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders as a result of the spread of COVID-19,” the space agency reported.
NASA noted that satellite images have their limitations, since ground-level conditions may not be the same as the conditions detected from space. Cloudy days also limit observations.
The image above shows satellite data from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument over the Northeast in March, comparing the mean of the period from 2015 through 2019 with the mean for 2020.
The data does indicate that the nitrogen oxide levels in March 2020 are about 30 percent lower on average across the region of the I-95 corridor from Washington, DC to Boston than when compared to the mean of 2015 to 2019.
The maps also show that the change in air quality has been more dramatic in areas of New Jersey near Philadelphia and New York City.
Delaware is a traffic magnet on the I-95 corridor. In Delaware, I-95 connects to I-295 which includes the Delaware Memorial bridge crossing and a connection to the New Jersey Turnpike. Also in the mix is I-495, which bypasses Wilmington.
Pollution along the I-95 corridor largely comes from vehicles and fossil-fueled power and industrial plants.
While many coal-fired plants have been retired and vehicle emissions have been reduced, car and truck traffic had been increasing during a period of economic growth that came to a screeching halt last month.
Based on the maps, areas south of the I-95 corridor in Delaware have also seen cleaner air.
