One of the main environmental problems in large cities is the high concentrations of NO2, a toxic gas that is attributed with problems for humans such as asthma, eye irritation, allergies, bronchitis and a decrease in the quality of life in general.
Countries such as China or large cities such as Madrid and Barcelona already had serious problems with their air quality, as polluting gases can kill up to 10,000 people a year.
The reduction in the level of economic activity in these places as a result of the coronavirus crisis has produced a drastic change in the levels of CO2 and NO2.
In China, air pollution levels have decreased by almost 25%, which represents 6% of global pollution as the Asian country is at the top of the list of the most polluting countries in the world. Beijing in recent years has experienced several red alert crises due to pollution issues.
The fight that we are doing in our country against this pandemic has reduced the levels of pollution by more than 60% in general, and this decrease reaches 83% in Barcelona, 76% in Castellón, 73% in Madrid and 65% in Gijón.
These changes would be very good news if it were not for the fact that the measures to stop this pandemic are temporary and logically economic activity will have to be resumed when the Covid-19 has been defeated.
But beyond seeing it as a temporary improvement, we have the opportunity to change things, a virus cannot be responsible for eliminating pollution from our cities, in any case we must take advantage of this to build from now on the cities of the future, greener, more sustainable and where air quality is a factor that is cared for and protected.
We need to commit ourselves to renewable energies, increasingly replace fossil fuels, increase the percentage of recycled products and promote proactive behaviour by both citizens and governments towards the circular economy in general.
From Graphenstone we want to convey the message that painting can generate healthier spaces through the generation of “green” paints, which in addition to not emitting harmful compounds to the environment, purify our air generating healthier spaces and improving our quality of life.
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