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Biggest Fall in Global Emissions Shows the Limits of Individual Action

Drop in pollution highlights extreme difficulty in limiting global warming to acceptable levels. 

Men walk in front of smoke rising from chimneys at factories at dusk in Kamisu, Ibaraki, Japan. 

Men walk in front of smoke rising from chimneys at factories at dusk in Kamisu, Ibaraki, Japan. 

Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images AsiaPac

Grounded flights, emptied highways and shuttered factories caused global carbon-dioxide emissions to fall to levels not seen since 2006 as stay-at-home orders peaked last month.  

On April 7, global CO₂ emissions were 17% lower compared to the same time last year. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis by climate researchers who estimated this year’s CO₂ data across 69 countries, covering 97% of global emissions.