The COVID-19 pandemic’s ripple effects may have extended far beyond Earth, influencing even the surface temperature of the Moon, according to a groundbreaking study by Indian researchers.
Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the study claims that the Moon experienced a significant decrease in night-time surface temperatures during the strict lockdown period between April and May 2020.
Using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), the researchers observed an “anomalous” temperature drop of 8–10 Kelvin on the lunar surface during this period.
“The Moon has possibly experienced the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown, visualized as an anomalous decrease in lunar night-time surface temperatures during that period,” the study noted.
COVID-19 lockdowns on Earth trigger lunar cooling
The study, led by researchers K Durga Prasad and G Ambily, suggests that this cooling effect was linked to the reduction in Earth’s outgoing radiation during the lockdowns.
With global human activity grinding to a halt, greenhouse gas emissions and aerosols—which trap and re-emit heat—plummeted. This decrease in atmospheric heat radiation could explain the cooler temperatures recorded on the Moon.
To investigate this phenomenon, the scientists selected six distinct sites on the Moon’s nearside, each ranging in size from 900 to 2,500 square kilometres. These sites, chosen for their flatness and optimal location within equatorial or mid-latitude regions, were analyzed using the Diviner Lunar Radiometer (DLRE) instrument aboard NASA’s LRO.
The team compared surface temperature data from 2017 to 2023, focusing on variations before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown. According to the study, 2020 saw the coldest night-time temperatures across most lunar sites, with a warming trend observed in 2021 and 2022 as human activity resumed on Earth.
Potential for moon-based environmental monitoring
The researchers concluded that these findings suggest the possibility of using moon-based observatories to monitor environmental changes on Earth. “Moon-based observatories can become potential tools for observing Earth’s environmental changes, which need to be explored extensively,” the study stated. This remarkable study underscores how human activities on Earth have far-reaching effects, potentially even influencing the temperature of our nearest celestial neighbour.
