A significant reduction in air pollution prices has been observed in Athens since the government took precautionary measures to counter the spread of coronavirus. According to data from the directorate for Climate Change and Atmospheric Quality, the values of the concentrations of pollutants have fallen since last Wednesday, and have been significantly affected, particularly in the last three days of 16, 17 and 18 March, when the measures escalated.

In particular, based on a comparison of the average daily concentration values per day for the period March 11, when schools were closed, until March 18, 2020, with the corresponding period of 2019, an overall decrease of 11.4% was observed for them. nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollutants, while for particulate matter the reduction is 6.1%.

Specifically, for the three-day period from March 16-18, when the government's precautionary measures were tightened, nitrogen dioxide pollutants decreased by 48.5% compared to the same period last year, while particulate matter emissions decreased by 48%. , 8% for the same period.

The good thing is that in the near future we will have pollutants far below the precarious limits, "says Mr. Aravossis, General Secretary for Natural Environment and Water at Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy.