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| The South Korean environment ministry's climate and air quality research division released data showing that reduced flights across the world due to COVID-19 contributed to lowering the country's average PM2.5 concentration level in 2020 by almost 50 percent from that of 2019. Korea Times file |
By Ko Dong-hwan
2020 was devastating on a global scale as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world. But there were a number of environmental benefits seen as a result of social distancing measures and Korea was no exception, recording the cleanest air the country has experienced since 2015.
The country last year saw the lowest level of average annual concentration of particulate matter with 2.5 micrometers or smaller in diameter (PM2.5), at 19 micrometers per cubic meter, since it began collecting data. Korea recorded 23 micrometers per cubic meter in 2019 and 2018, 25 in 2017 and 26 in 2016 and 2015.
In 2020 there were 27 days with an average level of 36, categorized as "bad" according to government standards, down from 47 days in 2019. There were 154 "good" days, with a level of 15 or lower, an increase of 39 days from 2019. The level of PM2.5 never rose above 75, designated as "very bad," in 2020 but there were six such days in 2019.
The figures, according to the environment ministry's National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), Jan. 4, were based on data from 472 air pollution monitoring devices across the country.
One of the biggest correlating factors to 2020's PM2.5 level was reduced air travel, sea trade and energy consumption throughout local industrial sites, which were largely caused by lockdowns and strengthened border controls across the world due to the pandemic.
The most drastic drop was seen among flights, as many countries restricted operations at airports to prevent both arriving and departing passengers from potentially transmitting the coronavirus, with governments advising people against air travel. The number of flights from January to November in 2020 was down 43.7 percent from the number in 2019 ― from 841,824 to 474,213.
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| Automobiles pack Busan Port, where a car carrier ship is docked. COVID-19's economic blow worldwide has reduced the number of freight ships visiting and leaving South Korean ports, which contributed favorably to improving the country's air quality in 2020. Yonhap |
The number of freight ships entering or leaving Korean ports from January to October was also down 7.6 percent from 2019 ― from 303,568 to 280,437.
Energy consumption across the country's overall sectors from January to September ― from industry to transportation, households, commerce and public services ― was down 3.8 percent from 2019. The biggest energy reduction was witnessed in the transportation sector, from 31,999,000 tons of oil equivalent (TOE) to 28,551,000TOE, or 10.8 percent down. It was followed by the industrial sector, with a decrease of 2.6 percent from 106,849,000TOE to 104,023,000TOE.
The improvement in air quality was also contributed to by national policies, according to the NIER. From December 2019 to March 2020 ― when air pollution tends to be worse than in other months ― the central government enforced stricter air quality monitoring regulations. Industrial emissions were also tackled by the government's strengthened safety standards.
Another contributor to the clean air, according to the NIER, was China's strong clean air acts. Across 337 districts, the PM2.5 concentration level in China recorded 31 from January to November in 2020, a 50 percent drop from 2014.
In China's 10 major cities ― Beijing, Dezhou, Jinan, Jining, Shanghai, Shijiazhuang, Anyang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Xinyang ― in January 2020 when the global pandemic started to intensify, the PM2.5 was almost 10 micrometers per cubic meters higher than that of 2019, before improving in the following months. In South Korea in January, the concentration level was already lower than in 2019 and became even cleaner in the following months.
"It is yet impossible to calibrate COVID-19's precise impact (on air pollution), but I think it is safe to say the disease certainly reduced the country's overall energy consumption, sea trade and flights," NIER climate and air quality research team leader Kim Young-woo said. "But PM2.5 can always worsen anytime as it is easily influenced by the climate and other external factors."
