The UN weather agency says the world -- and especially urban areas -- experienced a brief, sharp drop in emissions of air pollutants last year amid lockdown measures and related travel restrictions put in place over the coronavirus pandemic.
The World Meteorological Organization, releasing its first ever Air Quality and Climate Bulletin on Friday, cautioned that the reductions in pollution were patchy -- and many parts of the world showed levels that outpaced air quality guidelines. Some types of pollutants continued to emerge at regular or even higher levels.
"COVID-19 proved to be an unplanned air-quality experiment, and it did lead to temporary localized improvements," said Petteri Taalas, the WMO secretary-general. "But a pandemic is not a substitute for sustained and systematic action to tackle major drivers of both population and climate change and so safeguard the health of both people and planet."
The WMO study analyzed changes in air quality around the main pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and ozone. The Geneva-based agency noted an "unprecedented decrease" in pollutant emissions as many governments restricted gatherings, closed schools, and imposed lockdowns.
Oksana Tarasova, head of WMO's atmospheric environment research division, said the impact of such measures on major pollutants was short-lived. When measures to reduce mobility mean "there are no cars on the street, you see the improvement in air quality immediately. And of course, as soon as the cars go back on the street, you get the worsening back."
That compared to "long-lead greenhouse gases" behind global warming like carbon dioxide, whose atmospheric levels can take many years to change.
WMO cited declines of up to nearly 70% in average nitrogen oxide levels and up to 40% drops -- recorded in southeast Asia -- of average levels of tiny particulate matter in the air during full lockdown measures last year, compared to the same periods from 2015 to 2019.
But ozone levels, for example, stayed at similar levels or even rose in some places. Carbon monoxide levels fell in all regions, especially South America.
One conundrum for policy makers is that some pollutants like sulfur dioxide in the air actually help to cool the atmosphere, partially offsetting the impacts of climate change.
Tarasova said air quality was "very complex" and noted that events like wildfires in Australia, smoke from biomass burning in Siberia and the United States, and the "Godzilla effect" -- in which sand and dust drift from the Sahara Desert across the Atlantic to North America -- also had effects on air quality last year.
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
Progress has been made on a new compensation model for family doctors, with the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) hopeful for a fall rollout.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is at the forefront of European Union citizens' minds, with defence and security seen as key campaign issues ahead of the June elections, according to a study published Wednesday.
An Oklahoma man was arrested Wednesday after authorities accused him of throwing a pipe bomb at the Massachusetts headquarters of a group called The Satanic Temple.
Scientists say it's highly unlikely cloud seeding is responsible for the heavy rains that have caused flooding in the United Arab Emirates this month, and that climate change is the more likely culprit.
The U.S. Senate killed the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday as the historic trial of the Cabinet secretary barely got underway.
The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately US$100 million to settle claims with about 100 people who say they were sexually assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
California regulators voted Wednesday to establish a drinking water limit on hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical compound made infamous by the movie 'Erin Brockovich.'
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
Progress has been made on a new compensation model for family doctors, with the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) hopeful for a fall rollout.
Public Health Ontario workers say the potential closure of six laboratories across the province would be dangerous and increase inequity in northern Ontario.
California regulators voted Wednesday to establish a drinking water limit on hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical compound made infamous by the movie 'Erin Brockovich.'
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
There are a lot of risks when it comes to adolescents using screens — and a new multinational study shows weight-related bullying may be among them.
An experimental error led a team of scientists researching bumblebees to make a startling discovery: the insects’ remarkable ability to survive underwater for up to a week.
Congratulations are in order for singer Ashanti and rapper Nelly. The reunited couple have gone public with both a pregnancy and their engagement.
The Sundance Film Festival may not always call Park City, Utah, home. The Sundance Institute has started to explore the possibility of other U.S. locations to host the independent film festival starting in 2027, the organization said Wednesday.
Eight-year-old songwriter Zuri Hamilton from Miramichi, N.B., got to show off her talent on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show' on Monday.
A National Public Radio editor who wrote an essay criticizing his employer for promoting liberal views resigned on Wednesday, attacking NPR's new CEO on the way out.
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Boeing was the subject of dual Senate hearings Wednesday as Congress examined allegations of major safety failures at the embattled aircraft manufacturer, which has been pushed into crisis mode since a door-plug panel blew off a 737 Max jetliner during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
Ten beagles rescued from animal testing in the United States arrived in Alberta on Wednesday, thanks to a Canadian charity.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Caitlin Clark's salary compared to top National Basketball Association players is drawing attention to Women's National Basketball Association players' pay and the often massive gender gap in professional sports salaries. The highest-paid WNBA player made a US$242,000 salary, while the league minimum salary in the NBA is over a million dollars in 2023.
Former football star and celebrity criminal defendant O.J. Simpson was cremated Wednesday, the lawyer handling his estate said following his death last week at home in Las Vegas at age 76.
Tesla will ask shareholders to reinstate a US$55 billion compensation package for CEO Elon Musk that was rejected by a judge in Delaware this year and to move the electric car maker's corporate home from Delaware to Texas.
Tesla has hit a series of roadblocks, including increased competition and declining sales. The company announced Monday it is slashing 10 per cent of its global workforce.
A driver from London will have to find alternative transportation after an OPP officer clocked them travelling nearly 200 km/h on Highway 401 over the weekend.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
A popular highway in Alberta's Banff National Park now has a 'no stopping zone' to help protect two bears.
B.C. resident Robert Conrad spent thousands of hours on Crown land developing an unusual bond with deer.
A Sudbury woman said her husband was bringing the recycling out to the curb Wednesday night when he had to make a 'mad dash' inside after seeing a bear.
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
A social media daredevil has been doing death-defying stunts in the Vancouver area, prompting safety concerns and at least one police investigation.
The driver of a pickup truck was airlifted to hospital after a head-on collision with a school bus outside Mission on Wednesday afternoon, according to authorities.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
Calgary has a new brand and it's looking up.
It took four years in court, but a group of Eastern Slope ranchers will finally get access to thousands of pages of documents outlining when and how the province decided to tear up 44 years of coal policy.
Ottawa motorists are being warned to expect a big hike in gasoline prices this week, as prices rise to the highest level since August 2022.
Talk of transitioning federal buildings into housing has been in the works for a couple of years and it's a move that business leaders in Ottawa say can't come soon enough.
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
François Legault still doesn't know the price of a 4 1/2 apartment in Montreal, three years after getting bogged down on the issue.
In the latest example of the confusion surrounding Quebec's new language law, the education ministry has confirmed that a presentation delivered only in French to English-speaking parents last week could have been done in English after all.
Quebec's police watchdog has opened an investigation into a Montreal police (SPVM) intervention in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough that ended with one person seriously injured.
More than 150 people have reported vehicle crashes in Edmonton on Wednesday.
In at least a couple of ways, it's fitting the Edmonton Oilers will be the Arizona Coyotes' final opponent before the Desert Dogs shed their Kachina-styled uniforms for whatever hues and themes may await them in Salt Lake City.
While snow and ice aren't ideal weather for hitting the links, a local golf course said it's happy to see some April precipitation.
The RCMP says it is investigating a sudden death in Nova Scotia’s Colchester County.
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
A Winnipeg man is raising a red flag after his landlord said no to health-care equipment that could change his life – a problem he believes is a human rights issue.
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
RCMP say they are concerned for the wellbeing of a missing 35-year-old woman.
After two days of negotiations, the province has presented the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) a final offer, which will go to members for a vote.
A Regina man who says he was given two hours to vacate the seniors' home he lived in after being evicted should not have been forced to move in the first place.
The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) conference wrapped up on Wednesday with educational sessions in the morning, followed by a bear pit session for delegates to speak directly with the provincial government.
The Waterloo Region Police Services Board wants to explore new ways of dealing with an annual unsanctioned St. Patrick’s Day street party in Waterloo’s University District.
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Despite being at the top of the Basketball Super League standings, the KW Titans are struggling to make ends meet.
The woman accused of hitting and killing a child while driving under the influence of THC was called to the stand on Wednesday.
After two days of negotiations, the province has presented the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) a final offer, which will go to members for a vote.
A former massage therapist who pleaded guilty to a string of sexual assaults has had his day parole revoked.
In a lengthy council meeting Tuesday night, city council in Sudbury unanimously voted to build a new arena and events centre downtown.
A former girlfriend of a murder suspect in Sudbury testified Wednesday that he talked about his role in the deaths a day after a firebombing that killed three people.
The body of a missing man has been found after his vehicle was pulled into a northern creek on Saturday morning, Ontario Provincial Police say.
The hockey community in Chatham-Kent and beyond is mourning the sudden death of a player caught in a highway crash this week in London.
It’s not every day that a new washroom becomes the talk of the town. But in the Lake Huron tourist community of Grand Bend a new so-called smart washroom has many residents and business owners flush with joy.
The Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council has named Western University an academic partner.
Provincial police are investigating after a man's body washed up on the shores of Lake Couchiching in Severn Township.
Tim Hortons Roll Up The Rim contest may be in hot water yet again after several customers received emails falsely congratulating them on winning the Tracker boat worth nearly $60,000.
A multi-vehicle collision involving a semi-truck snarled traffic in Barrie on Wednesday afternoon.
Many made a dash to the pumps because experts say the price of gas is set to rise Thursday.
The hockey community in Chatham-Kent and beyond is mourning the sudden death of a player caught in a highway crash this week in London.
Parents of children with learning disabilities are seeking 'certainty' on the long-term status of a program that provides tailored special education support in language and math within schools.
The British Columbia government is encouraging anglers to pack their tackle boxes and head out to a remote lake on Vancouver Island as the province attempts to eradicate an invasive population of sport fish.
Evan Jamieson’s nine-year-old son Oliver has thrived at Mill Bay Nature School in Mill Bay, B.C., despite all of his challenges.
B.C.'s police watchdog has finished its investigation into an incident on Vancouver Island, concluding the actions of officers weren't connected to a man's death.
Nurses held a rally Wednesday at a hospital in the B.C. Interior that closed its emergency department more than a dozen times last year due to insufficient staff.
British Columbia is planning to add 240 new units to its complex-care housing program, providing homes for people with mental-health and addictions challenges that overlap with other serious conditions.
More than 80 residents from a low-income apartment building in Kelowna, B.C., have learned they won't be able to return to their homes for at least another two weeks.
Three men who helped lead and co-ordinate the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta., have been found guilty of public mischief.
Lethbridge police have arrested a Vermilion, Alta., man in connection with a 'grandparent scam' that took aim at a local senior.
An Alberta woman was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on a highway north of Coaldale, Alta., on Wednesday morning.
For the next several months, the City of Sault Ste. Marie will be cracking down on people who improperly use accessible parking spaces.
A suspect riding a bicycle on Gibbs Street in Sault Ste. Marie this week has been charged with assaulting police, along with drug-related offences.
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 26-year-old woman with several offences following an incident Monday morning.
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
A pricing agreement has been reached between crab fishers and seafood processors that will allow for Newfoundland and Labrador's annual crab fishery to get started.
Longliners across Newfoundland and Labrador are tied up once again, as a new protest by the province's fish harvesters threatens to derail the crab fishery for a second straight year.
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