The Dimming of Lights in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic
A satellite survey of the cumulative radiant emissions from electric lighting across China reveals a large radiance decline in lighting from December 2019 to February 2020—the peak of the lockdown established to suppress the spread of COVID-19 infections. To illustrate the changes, an analysis was a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-09-01
|
| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/17/2851 |
| _version_ | 1797554760349384704 |
|---|---|
| author | Christopher D. Elvidge Tilottama Ghosh Feng-Chi Hsu Mikhail Zhizhin Morgan Bazilian |
| author_facet | Christopher D. Elvidge Tilottama Ghosh Feng-Chi Hsu Mikhail Zhizhin Morgan Bazilian |
| author_sort | Christopher D. Elvidge |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A satellite survey of the cumulative radiant emissions from electric lighting across China reveals a large radiance decline in lighting from December 2019 to February 2020—the peak of the lockdown established to suppress the spread of COVID-19 infections. To illustrate the changes, an analysis was also conducted on a reference set from a year prior to the pandemic. In the reference period, the majority (62%) of China’s population lived in administrative units that became brighter in March 2019 relative to December 2018. The situation reversed in February 2020, when 82% of the population lived in administrative units where lighting dimmed as a result of the pandemic. The dimming has also been demonstrated with difference images for the reference and pandemic image pairs, scattergrams, and a nightly temporal profile. The results indicate that it should be feasible to monitor declines and recovery in economic activity levels using nighttime lighting as a proxy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:37:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3a338c28d99345af98360ab23e2edee7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:37:38Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-3a338c28d99345af98360ab23e2edee72023-11-20T12:18:26ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-09-011217285110.3390/rs12172851The Dimming of Lights in China during the COVID-19 PandemicChristopher D. Elvidge0Tilottama Ghosh1Feng-Chi Hsu2Mikhail Zhizhin3Morgan Bazilian4Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USAEarth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USAEarth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USAEarth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USAPayne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USAA satellite survey of the cumulative radiant emissions from electric lighting across China reveals a large radiance decline in lighting from December 2019 to February 2020—the peak of the lockdown established to suppress the spread of COVID-19 infections. To illustrate the changes, an analysis was also conducted on a reference set from a year prior to the pandemic. In the reference period, the majority (62%) of China’s population lived in administrative units that became brighter in March 2019 relative to December 2018. The situation reversed in February 2020, when 82% of the population lived in administrative units where lighting dimmed as a result of the pandemic. The dimming has also been demonstrated with difference images for the reference and pandemic image pairs, scattergrams, and a nightly temporal profile. The results indicate that it should be feasible to monitor declines and recovery in economic activity levels using nighttime lighting as a proxy.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/17/2851VIIRSDay-night band (DNB)Nighttime lightsCOVID-19Pandemic |
| spellingShingle | Christopher D. Elvidge Tilottama Ghosh Feng-Chi Hsu Mikhail Zhizhin Morgan Bazilian The Dimming of Lights in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic Remote Sensing VIIRS Day-night band (DNB) Nighttime lights COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title | The Dimming of Lights in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | The Dimming of Lights in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | The Dimming of Lights in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Dimming of Lights in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | The Dimming of Lights in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | dimming of lights in china during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | VIIRS Day-night band (DNB) Nighttime lights COVID-19 Pandemic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/17/2851 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT christopherdelvidge thedimmingoflightsinchinaduringthecovid19pandemic AT tilottamaghosh thedimmingoflightsinchinaduringthecovid19pandemic AT fengchihsu thedimmingoflightsinchinaduringthecovid19pandemic AT mikhailzhizhin thedimmingoflightsinchinaduringthecovid19pandemic AT morganbazilian thedimmingoflightsinchinaduringthecovid19pandemic AT christopherdelvidge dimmingoflightsinchinaduringthecovid19pandemic AT tilottamaghosh dimmingoflightsinchinaduringthecovid19pandemic AT fengchihsu dimmingoflightsinchinaduringthecovid19pandemic AT mikhailzhizhin dimmingoflightsinchinaduringthecovid19pandemic AT morganbazilian dimmingoflightsinchinaduringthecovid19pandemic |