Increase in Carbon Dioxide Levels in Seoul Drops by 40% Due to 'Social Distancing'

Seoul Metropolitan Government Institute of Health and Environment Analyzes Carbon Dioxide... Up to 42% Decrease Compared to Pre-COVID Period
CO2 Reduction Due to Social Distancing Higher During Level 2.5 Than Level 1

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Since the spread of COVID-19, the increase in carbon dioxide concentration in Seoul has decreased by more than 40% compared to the pre-COVID period due to social distancing measures. In particular, the carbon dioxide concentration decreased more during the period when social distancing level 2.5 was implemented than during the period of level 1.

On the 16th, the Seoul Institute of Health and Environment and Professor Jeong Su-jong’s research team at Seoul National University announced these results comparing the observed carbon dioxide concentrations in Seoul during the pre-COVID period and the periods of social distancing levels 1 and 2.5. This study analyzed changes in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations according to social distancing by utilizing data from the Seoul urban carbon dioxide observation network at three locations?Gwanaksan, Namsan, and Yongsan?jointly operated by the Seoul Institute of Health and Environment and Seoul National University from July 2019 to September 2020.

This study is the first case to reveal changes in urban atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations due to COVID-19 social distancing and was published on August 21 in the international academic journal Atmospheric Pollution Research 12(2021).

The study found that the increase in carbon dioxide concentration caused by human activities within downtown Seoul decreased from 24.82 ppm to 14.36 ppm compared to the pre-COVID period, a 42% reduction. Especially, during the period when the stronger social distancing policy of level 2.5 was implemented, the carbon dioxide concentration generated within downtown Seoul decreased by about 8% more than during the level 1 social distancing period. This indicates that the effect of reducing carbon dioxide concentration can vary significantly depending on the policy intensity.

Shin Yong-seung, director of the Seoul Institute of Health and Environment, said, “This study shows that monitoring greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can not only reveal changes in the concentration of greenhouse gases, which cause climate change, but also serve as a means to evaluate the effectiveness of emission reduction policies.” He added, “Continuous observation of carbon dioxide concentration is expected to play an important role in evaluating greenhouse gas reduction efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.”

Professor Jeong Su-jong of Seoul National University explained the significance of the research results, saying, “The fact that carbon dioxide concentration, which is considered difficult to reduce due to its long atmospheric residence time, varies according to social distancing levels is the world’s first case. It can be seen as providing scientific evidence that climate change can be mitigated through efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the future.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.