Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

As much of the world's economy shut down in March and April because of the coronavirus pandemic, daily greenhouse gas emissions dropped by more than a billion tons, a new study has found.

Daily carbon dioxide emissions plunged 17% in early April compared with the mean 2019 levels, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Climate Change. Some countries saw daily CO2 emissions fall by as much as 26% on average.

For the entire year, the study predicts, CO2 emissions will be down between 4 and 7%. That's in line with how much emissions would have to fall each year over the next decades to limit climate change to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5°C) of warming.

"These numbers put in perspective both the large growth in global emissions observed over the past 14 years and the size of the challenge we have to limit climate change in line with the Paris Climate Agreement," the study said.

But experts say emissions will rise again as the world gets back to work.

"History suggests this will be a blip," Rob Jackson, a Stanford professor and one of the authors of the peer-reviewed study, told the Washington Post. "The 2008 [financial] crisis decreased global emissions 1.5 percent for one year, and they shot back up 5 percent in 2010. It was like it never happened."

The death toll from the pandemic has surpassed 91,000 in the U.S., and more than 1.5 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the nation, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, total infections have reached 4.9 million, and more than 321,000 people have died.

Latest Developments

United States:

-By Wednesday, every U.S. state will be partially reopened. Connecticut is the only state that hasn't moved in some way toward reopening, and it is set to begin its first steps Wednesday. Gov. Ned Lamont said the state is "taking baby steps." Restaurants, offices, retail stores and outdoor museums and zoos in the state will reopen with certain restrictions.

-White House aides took pains Tuesday to explain that people should not take hydroxychloroquine unless they are under a doctor's care after President Donald Trump said he had been taken the anti-malaria drug. It has the potential to cause significant side effects in some patients and has not been shown to combat the coronavirus. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday that "any use of hydroxychloroquine has to be in consultation with your doctor. You have to have a prescription. That’s the way it must be done."

-In an appearance before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned that the economy may never fully recover if states extend their shutdowns for months, the New York Times reported.

-At that same hearing, Jerome H. Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said states and businesses may need more fiscal help. He also said, "The number one thing, of course, is people believing that it’s safe to go back to work, and that’s about having a sensible, thoughtful reopening of the economy, something that we all want – and something that we’re in the early stages of now. It will be a combination of getting the virus under control, development of therapeutics, development of a vaccine."

-Health officials have begun to identify food facilities other than meat packing plants where the coronavirus is being spread. According to the New York Times, clusters have emerged in a Tennessee mushroom farm (50 cases); the Birds Eye vegetable processing facility in Darien, Wisconsin, (100 cases); the AbiMar Foods bakery in Abilene, Texas, (52 cases); the Leprino Foods dairy facility in Fort Morgan, Colorado, (80 cases); another Leprino facility in Greeley, Colorado, (20 cases); and the SunDate date packinghouse in Coachella, California (20 cases).

-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said visitors will be allowed at 16 hospitals across the state, nine of which are in New York City, as part of a pilot program. Visitors will be required to wear personal protective equipment, including masks, and will be subject to temperature checks.

-Ford Motor Co. has said it will require Trump to wear a face covering when he tours the carmaker’s plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on Thursday, Crain’s Detroit Business reported. "Our policy is that everyone wears PPE [personal protective equipment] to prevent the spread of COVID-19," Ford spokeswoman Rachel McCleery told Crain’s. "We shared all of Ford’s safety protocols, including our manufacturing playbook, employee pamphlet and self-assessment survey with the White House ahead of time and in preparation for this trip."

Worldwide:

-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada and the U.S. have agreed the border will remain closed to nonessential travel until at least June 21. He did not rule out a further extension of the border closure. The border has been closed since March 21.

-World Bank Group President David Malpass warned in a statement that "the pandemic and shutdown of advanced economies could push as many as 60 million people into extreme poverty – erasing much of the recent progress made in poverty alleviation."

For the latest coronavirus information in your county and a full list of important resources to help you make the smartest decisions regarding the disease, check out our dedicated COVID-19 page.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.