
China's air pollutant levels dropped in February as a result of measures taken by the nation's government to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service confirmed on Wednesday.
“The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) observed a decrease of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for February relative to the previous three years,” said the CAMS in a report. It said PM2.5 was one of the “most important air pollutants regarding health impacts,” according to the World Health Organization.
Analysis by the CAMS showed a reduction of approximately 20-30% in air pollutants over large parts of China in February compared with monthly averages in February 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The CAMS said the reduction is a likely side effect of measures taken by the Chinese government, including restrictions on industry and traffic.
Copernicus is the European Union’s flagship Earth observation service, which analyzes temperature data from around the planet.