Nature gets a clean bath amidst COVID-19

As it is popularly said, “Every cloud has a silver lining” and the same is the case with the catastrophic COVID-19 quandary. The year 2020 started with international attention on climate havocs like catastrophic wildfires and floods all over the world. However, the pandemic has overshadowed those issues but with an environmental silver lining. The worldwide lockdown has led to a considerable decline in carbon emissions and air pollution all over the world, awarding us with a cleaner planet to live in. The lockdown has offered a preview of the rate of improvement in the environment that could be achieved by drastic and stricter climate actions.

A drop in air pollution was first observed by NASA in China?s Hubei province, where the first traces of the COVID-19 outbreak began in December 2019. As many countries around the world are under lockdown and almost half of the population worldwide is under quarantine to decelerate the spread of the virus, it has resulted in the cleansing of the atmosphere. With a great deal of flights being cancelled, now there are fewer planes in the sky and no vehicles on the street and thus, air pollution levels and greenhouse gas emissions have reduced substantially and air quality has improved significantly and the earth?s ozone layer is also recovering. Stagnant economic activities have sizeably brought down the GHG emissions.

Another unexpected effect has been seen in Venice, Italy; where due to reduced tourist influx, the waters in Venice?s canals have become cleaner to the extent, that fishes are once again visible in the canals. All the major cities of the world are witnessing a significant drop in air pollution levels as researchers pointed out that there has been a 5-10% drop in air pollutants like methane and carbon dioxide in New York.

Another astonishing fact in India has been that soon after the country journeyed into lockdown, over 475,000 endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles have come ashore to dig their nests and lay eggs, along with the coast of the eastern state of Odisha. The phenomenon of day-time nesting was witnessed after seven years, this time.

Climate experts have claimed that many countries might be able to meet their Paris Climate Accord goals sooner owing to the pandemic. However, this sudden revamp of the environment in only short-termed and the global community could not possibly base their climate rejuvenation regime on pandemics. Rather, what we need is a targeted approach of sustainable development to make the world a better place to live in because as it is rightly said, “We do not inherit the world from our ancestors, rather we borrow it from our children.”