With increasing zoom calls from home, and decreasing transportation and economic activity, the coronavirus pandemic has had a considerable impact on climate change. The reduction of CO2 emissions have enabled us to notice details in our views from our windows that used to be hidden by an ugly fog. In India, locals have begun to see the Himalayas for the first time in 30 years, from their houses more than 100 miles away. The concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a pollutant caused by road traffic,has dropped by approximately 20% globally, according to NASA researchers. Drastic changes in NO2 density have been evident in even one of the most heavily air polluted countries, China. As transportation from home to office and state to state has been eliminated, our environment has become clearer, cleaner, and kinder to environmental issues such as climate change.
Image source: CREA
That last statement is true, but not entirely. Meaning the decrease in air pollution by the pandemic is merely a temporary solution. Once vaccines are regulated and we begin our improved lives, the pollution levels will return, possibly with larger consequences than before.
According to Carbon Brief, China’s CO2 emotions have been reduced by a quarter in only a four-week span. However, these low numbers have bounced back quickly as economic activity began to resume and Covid restrictions started to ease. This situation proves the futility of short term decline in economical and industrial activity in terms of solving climate change.
The bigger problem starts here. Other factors that are triggered by the outbreak have an equally large impact on climate change as air quality does. The economic decline has left us with less money to deal with when re-building society to become more eco-friendly. Replacing plastic items with paper, or building solar panels are
Image source: NASA
valuable yet costly solutions. “While U.S. renewable energy generation doubled over the past 10 years, COVID-19 may undo much of this progress—600,000 jobs in renewable energy, energy efficiency, green vehicles and energy storage have been lost since March.”, according to the Earth Institute. Scientific research has been disrupted by the pandemic, which disables researchers to travel for field work. As daft as it may sound in today’s society, not all research can be conducted using a computer alone. Consequently, progress has decelerated for scientists, pushing back deadlines. However, as we all should know, our time to deal with this issue is limited.
From the reduction of CO2 to the delay in scientific research, the effects are countless and contrasting. While it is impossible to hit ‘delete’ on the global pandemic, we can shift the weight of its impact just by practicing personal hygiene, social distancing, and lending a hand to people who need it most.
Sources:
"China’S Air Pollution Has Overshot Pre-Pandemic Levels As Life Begins To Return To Normal". World Economic Forum, 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/pollution-co2-economy-china/.
"Global Air Pollution Has Fallen Due To The Coronavirus Outbreak, But Experts Warn It Isn't A Silver Lining". Time, 2020, https://time.com/5812741/air-pollution-coronavirus/.
"Model Shows Extent COVID-Related Pollution Levels Deviated From Norm". NASA, 2020, https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/nasa-model-reveals-how-much-covid-related-pollution-levels-deviated-from-the-norm.
"World's Most Polluted Countries In 2019 - PM2.5 Ranking | Airvisual". Iqair.Com, 2020, https://www.iqair.com/us/world-most-polluted-countries.
Cho, Renee. "COVID-19’S Long-Term Effects On Climate Change—For Better Or Worse". State Of The Planet, 2020, https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/06/25/covid-19-impacts-climate-change/.
Rob Picheta, CNN. "People In India Can See The Himalayas For The First Time In 'Decades,' As The Lockdown Eases Air Pollution". CNN, 2020, https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/himalayas-visible-lockdown-india-scli-intl/index.html.
Washington, Hannah. "China's Lockdown Cut Some Air Pollution, But Not All - Futurity". Futurity, 2020, https://www.futurity.org/air-pollution-china-covid-19-shutdown-2427862/.
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