Seismologists all around the world note a sharp decrease in everyday background seismic noise, that is, vibrations generated by cars, trains and people.

Thus the Earth’s upper crust vibrates a little less, Nat Geo reported.

According to a seismologist Thomas Lecock, there has been a decrease in seismic noise by 30-50 percent in Belgium from mid-March.

Noise reduction creates another interesting effect. Seismologists can now detect small earthquakes and other seismic events that often could not be detected earlier. Seismic stations are located outside the urban environment, as this allows better tracking of various events.

However, the station in Brussels was built over half a century ago, and since then the city has expanded. Therefore, small seismic events were not recorded there, and scientists had to rely on a separate station, which used equipment located deep underground to monitor seismic activity.

According to him, the graphs showing the noise level from human activity indicate that people follow the calls and minimize external activity.