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On April 19, President Armen Sargsyan announced on RFE / RL’s “Sunday Analytical” show that the air in Yerevan is cleaner now than it was before the coronavirus.
In particular, the President noted “Today I see the distant outskirts of Yerevan from my house. They were not visible before. The traffic was so heavy, and some industrial factories were so heavily polluting Yerevan. This city has 2-3 times cleaner air than before the coronavirus.”
The Fact Investigation Platform decided to find out whether quarantine contributed to clean air in Yerevan.
It should be reminded that a state of emergency was declared in Armenia on March 16. From April 1, the right to free movement has been restricted throughout the country, and public transport has ceased to operate. The operation of some workshops and factories has also been banned.
According to the Environmental Monitoring and Information Center, which monitors environmental pollution in Armenia, there has been a decline in dust concentrations in the air of Yerevan due to restrictions or bans on traffic operation and economic activities.
In March, compared to February 2020, decrease in dust concentrations was observed in 41% of the total number of dust observations in Yerevan.
Moreover, in the period of March 22-31, the dust concentration decreased by about 42% compared to the beginning of the month, and by 31% compared to February.
Studies by Berkeley Earth, a climate research organization, also show a decrease in air pollution. In recent days, the site has assessed the air quality in Yerevan as good.
The monitoring of the site shows that air pollution has dropped sharply in Yerevan since March 16.
Interestingly, the amount of dust in the air has decreased not only in Yerevan. In the first nine days of April, the air became cleaner in Vanadzor, Tsakhkadzor, Hrazdan and Ararat compared to the previous month.
Lusine Voskanyan
