Did Humans Change the Moon’s Temperature During the Covid Lockdown? Here’s What Really Happened

Last year, several researchers suggested that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic extended beyond Earth, claiming that the Moon’s temperature dropped due to the global lockdown. However, a new study has now debunked this claim, clarifying that the cooling of the Moon and the lockdowns are unrelated.

Scientists re-examined the earlier study to analyse whether the sudden pause in human activity on Earth caused the Moon’s temperature to dip in April and May 2020. The latest research, conducted by Missouri S&T and the University of the West Indies (UWI) in St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, challenges the theory.

Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the new study analyzed lunar temperature trends and found that a similar dip occurred in 2018, with a steady decline continuing into 2019. This timeline does not align with the Covid-19 lockdowns, suggesting other factors were responsible.

“The decline to the minimum observed during April-May 2020 actually began in 2019, long before the Covid-19 pandemic and global lockdown,” the researchers stated in their paper.

Debunking the Lockdown Impact Theory

The initial study used data from NASA’s Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to analyze lunar surface temperatures from 2017 to 2023. Researchers noted a significant drop during the Covid-19 lockdown, leading to speculation about a connection to reduced human activity.

However, the new study rejects this link, concluding: “We cannot attribute the observed changes in lunar surface temperature during April-May 2020 directly and unambiguously to reduced human activity during the Covid-19 lockdowns.”

One of the study’s authors, Schonberg, emphasized that while temperature fluctuations were observed, linking them to human activity is a “stretch.”

“We’re not disputing that the temperatures fluctuated at different times within the studied period. However, it seems premature to state with certainty that human activity was the primary cause of this,” Schonberg said.

Could Earth’s Heat Affect the Moon?

The researchers acknowledged a slight possibility that heat and radiation from Earth could have a minimal effect on the Moon’s surface temperature during its nighttime. However, they noted that this influence would likely be so insignificant that it would be difficult to measure or even notice.

“During the Moon’s nighttime, there is a small possibility that heat and radiation from Earth might have a very minor effect on lunar surface temperatures,” Schonberg explained.

“But this influence would probably be so minimal that it would be difficult to detect,” he added.

The new findings reinforce the idea that while human activity significantly impacts Earth’s climate, its effects do not extend to the Moon’s temperature in any measurable way.