New Study: Air Pollution Reduced by 10 Percent in Istanbul

According to the research conducted by Istanbul Technical University (ITU), air pollution decreased by 10% in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak compared to the previous year.

Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Aeronautics and Astronautics Faculty Meteorological Engineering Department academic staff member Prof. Dr. Under the coordination of Hüseyin Toros, a research was conducted by students of the department on the rate of air pollution in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to the results, the air pollution rate in Istanbul decreased by an average of 10% in the first year of the epidemic compared to the same period of the previous year.

According to the results, the air pollution rate in Istanbul decreased by an average of 10% in the first year of the epidemic compared to the same period of the previous year.

Compared to the same period, air pollution in the city increased by 1% only in Esenler.

Esenyurt was at the top of the districts where air pollution decreased the most compared to a year ago, followed by Başakşehir with 21%, Ümraniye with 18% and Fatih with 15%.

ITU Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Toros said that air pollution, along with industrialization, is one of the greatest dangers to humanity.

Stating that 7 million people die every year in the world due to air pollution, Toros said, “Air pollution also negatively affects many diseases”.

Recalling the measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, Toros said: “The reduction of people’s effectiveness has reduced air pollution all over the world. As ITU, we evaluated the air pollution rate in the first year of the coronavirus epidemic compared to the previous year. We looked at the nitrogen dioxide values ​​of the stations in Istanbul. According to the measurement values, in the first year of the coronavirus epidemic in Istanbul, the rate of air pollution decreased the most in Esenyurt and Başakşehir compared to the previous year. Air pollution rate increased only in Esenler. Decrease in air pollution has reduced carbon emissions into the atmosphere. It is extremely important to use resources efficiently and stop waste in order to reduce air pollution. “