Get ready for some fresh air

Here’s a bit of good news: The air in Connecticut is cleaner.

Earlier this year, NASA released images showing the reduction in pollution this

March compared to last year, and the difference is clear (just like the air).

“NASA satellite measurements have revealed significant reductions in air pollution over the major metropolitan areas of the Northeast United States,” the space agency wrote, though it’s not just here. “Similar reductions have been observed in other regions of the world.”

To quantify the difference, NASA said that March 2020 “shows the lowest monthly atmospheric nitrogen dioxide levels of any March” since they started keeping such records in 2005.

“In fact, the data indicate that the nitrogen dioxide levels in March 2020 are about 30 percent lower on average across the region of the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to Boston than when compared to the March mean of 2015-19,” NASA said.

We all know why pollution has decreased so dramatically. “These recent improvements in air quality have come at a high cost, as communities grapple with widespread lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders as a result of the spread of COVID-19,” NASA wrote.

There are fewer flights (commercial flights globally decreased 55 percent in March 2020 compared to 2019, according to FlightRadar24) and significantly less car travel (some travel in Connecticut is down as much as 65 percent, according to Google’s community mobility reports)