Various sources say that about seven million people per year die from atmospheric pollution. We know that a fair bit of the last year has had substantially reduced airline flights, car trips, cruise ship trips (!!), and maybe fewer runs by container & crude oil ships.
Is there likely to be enough of a reduction in pollution from all that to at least partly reduce the deaths from atmospheric pollution to counter a fair few of the deaths from COVID? The numbers are still fluid, of course, especially as time goes by.

Deaths from atmospheric pollution first dropped to zero in the mid 1980s. These days, wood fires indoors are the only culprit.

mollwollfumble said:

Deaths from atmospheric pollution first dropped to zero in the mid 1980s. These days, wood fires indoors are the only culprit.

Nope

Spiny Norman said:

Various sources say that about seven million people per year die from atmospheric pollution. We know that a fair bit of the last year has had substantially reduced airline flights, car trips, cruise ship trips (!!), and maybe fewer runs by container & crude oil ships.
Is there likely to be enough of a reduction in pollution from all that to at least partly reduce the deaths from atmospheric pollution to counter a fair few of the deaths from COVID? The numbers are still fluid, of course, especially as time goes by.

Will be interesting to see what the overall death rate in India’s big cities does.

Although I guess pollution is more of long term thing as far as the death rate is concerned.

Spiny Norman said:

Various sources say that about seven million people per year die from atmospheric pollution. We know that a fair bit of the last year has had substantially reduced airline flights, car trips, cruise ship trips (!!), and maybe fewer runs by container & crude oil ships.
Is there likely to be enough of a reduction in pollution from all that to at least partly reduce the deaths from atmospheric pollution to counter a fair few of the deaths from COVID? The numbers are still fluid, of course, especially as time goes by.

Hard to comment without seeing a paper to analyse but on the face of it it’s absurd to suggest 13% of all deaths are due to pollution.