Clearer skies on Central Coast and in the world provide one benefit of virus lockdown

As humans, most of us feel vulnerable to the coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting countries and industries worldwide and having many local impacts.

People are rightfully concerned about the health and safety of family and friends, the education of their children and their finances as more businesses temporarily close.

My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones and/or livelihoods.

There are a few silver linings associated with this dreadful situation, with considerably fewer vehicles on the roads, less aircraft in the sky and reduced industrial activity, air pollution has been significantly reduced throughout the world, especially in large urban areas.

It was reported that in early April, residents of the ancient city of Jalandhar in the north Indian state of Punjab were able to see the snow-cap Himalayan mountain range, more than 100 miles away. This is something that residents have not been able to for more than 40 years.

In Europe, London has seen air pollution cut nearly in half, according to its air quality monitoring networks. Some of the most extreme improvements in air quality occurred in countries that first imposed lockdowns such as Italy, France and Spain.

Closer to home, NASA reports that the northeastern United States has seen air pollution drop by 30% in March compared with the same period last year.

Along the West Coast, with much less reliance on coal fire plants for electrical generation than the rest of the country, the reduction of vehicle traffic, especially in the Los Angeles Basin, has been even more dramatic.

In fact, in early April, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company, Los Angeles experienced some of the cleanest air of any major city in the world.

Of course, the weather also helped as the “Never Ending Upper-Level Low” produced 3 inches of rain at the Los Angeles/USC Campus Downtown weather station over this period.

The photos this spring of the snow cap mountain ranges that surround the Los Angeles Basin (San Gabriel, Santa Monica and Santa Ana ranges) with the City of Angels in the foreground have been spectacular.

Along the Central Coast, I don’t think I have ever seen our skies so blue or quiet without commercial aircraft continually flying over.

You see, the condensation trails or contrails from these aircraft that fly at an altitude between 28,000 and 41,000 feet, or roughly about six miles up in the sky, where air temperatures are frigid can linger for an hour or more if the relative humidity is high and the upper-level winds not too strong.

After the terrorist attack on 9/11, commercial aircraft were grounded. Due to the lack of contrails, an increase in the diurnal temperature variation was reported. In other words, it was warmer during the day without as much cloud cover to shade the sun and a bit colder at night as the heat emitted from the earth’s surface escape more freely into space.

During this crisis, PG&E employees have this message for our customers: “We’ll keep working safely every day to keep the power on for you.”

Power in PG&E’s portfolio remains readily available and more than 80% GHG-free.

PG&E operates several natural gas power plants, Diablo Canyon Power Plant, a nuclear generating station, and the country’s largest privately held hydropower system. Additionally, the company gets power from solar and wind farms and other renewable sources.

On March 12, PG&E announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has voluntarily implemented a moratorium on service disconnections for non-payment, effective immediately. This suspension will apply to residential and commercial customers and be in effect until further notice.

This story was originally published April 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.