Impact of Covid-19 on the Environment
The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused a worldwide disruption in the everyday life of humans. To limit its spread, various countries have called for solidarity by imposing lockdowns, quarantine, and border closure to restrict human interaction. The coronavirus pandemic has hard hit the world economy but it has surely brought numerous positive changes in the environment.
The considerable decrease in human activity in the last few months has made the planet bloom again. When the majority of the human race is quarantined at their homes, the environment has rebounded to its normal level. Well, we all know how human activities around the world have been degrading the environment but the decreased economic activities & travel restriction have helped in bringing a positive impact on the environment.
Up to 2020, the growing human activities have caused a rise in the average global temperature on the Earth which not only resulted in melting the glaciers but also resulted in environmental degradation, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed the environment to flourish again. The pandemic situation has not only transformed our lives but also the environment around us. It may have brought our lives upside down but it has caused a positive impact on the environment. Before pandemic, the environment around us was severely polluted as the number of greenhouse gases emitted in the environment on the daily basis was too high which resulted in many environmental issues such as climate change, poor sanitation, air & water pollution, etc. The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has made people realize how their carbon footprints are degrading the environment.
Human interaction with the environment should remain balanced otherwise it can cause many environmental issues. Degraded environmental health is also responsible for many health-related problems so to have better health & life, we should be concerned about environmental health. The economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has definitely brought down the pollution level in the environment. With the pictures of clear skies, clean water bodies, wild animals in urban areas, etc floating around the social media platforms, you can easily link the reduction in human interference in the ecosystem has essentially made the environment to flourish.
The month of May 2020 has recorded the lowest level of pollutants in the environment since 2008 which depicts the picture of how the pandemic situation has impacted the environment positively.
In this article, we’ve rounded up some of the positive impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on the environment:
Improved air quality
The air quality has a direct impact on human health as low air-quality has cause major breathing diseases. Around 90% of the world population lives in the areas where the air quality is really degraded. During the global shut down, the govt of all the countries has put restrictions on economic activities & traveling which has significantly cut down the carbon emission in the environment. Before the pandemic, many cities around the world have poor air-quality index due to automobiles & industrial work but with people taken off the roads, the AQI has come back to normal.
Improved water quality
The pandemic outbreak has led marine life to thrive. With no boat traffic on the river & waterways. The water quality has drastically improved and the water has become crystal clear. You must have seen pictures of Venice where water was so clean that fishes were also visible. With reduced human activity, the water bodies are recovering.
Cleaner beaches
Another positive impact of COVID-19 on the environment is the cleaner beaches. With the enforcement of the lockdown & social distancing around the world, you can see the beaches in their best version. People have been exploiting the beaches for years but these few months of lockdown have resulted in cleaner surroundings. People around the world have been staying in social distancing due to which you can witness the serene environment on the beaches.
Reduction in noise pollution
With a cut down in the commercial, vehicular, and commercial work, you will notice a sharp reduction in noise pollution. Due to the lockdown imposed by coronavirus pandemic, all the noises from transportation & industries have dipped significantly in all the countries across the globe.
Better vegetation
With no human interference in the environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the vegetation is flourishing. Everything is standstill due to which vegetation is thriving resulting in making the environment green & clean. Less human activity will result in causing less harm in the environment.
So, these are some positive impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment. The ever-growing economic activity is one of the major reasons behind the degradation of environmental health that is why when the global shutdown was imposed, the health of the environment started recovering. There is a constant fear that the positive impact of COVID-19 on the environment may decrease when the global shutdown will be uplifted. To keep your environment green and clean, you need to ensure that your carbon footprint remains reduced. Economic activity & environmental health are closely related so you need to maintain a proper balance in both of them to help the ecosystem flourish.
To help our environment to restore, we need to be considerate of our carbon footprints. The pandemic situation has shown us that we need to change our ways to keep the environment’s health intact. We all collectively should change as individuals and should approach the growing environmental crisis the same way as we are approaching the COVID-19 crisis.
Final Thoughts
Wrapping it up, we can say that, the COVID-19 crisis has shown us how we all are degrading the environment so we need to stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment to restore the health of our ecosystem.
