People across the world have changed their behavior patterns due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The Earth has been changing as well. The changes in human behavior like self quarantining and social distancing have allowed for parts of the Earth to heal. Still, at the same time, parts of the environment are suffering due to adverse effects from the pandemic.
As many are encouraged to practice self-quarantine, air pollution in parts of the world has significantly decreased. While the air pollution has not disappeared entirely, staying home and canceling flights, not taking long road trips, and only using a vehicle for essential means like grocery shopping or getting to a job, have reduced atmospheric nitrogen dioxide in many nations.
China, where the first cases of COVID-19 began to pop up in December of 2019, has seen an improvement in their air quality as the coronavirus swept the country. While the air quality in China is still not entirely ideal, decreased travel has led to a drop in atmospheric nitrogen dioxide levels. According to NASA, there are several factors at play in this situation, including weather patterns.
Meteorological factors, such as wind, may have started to influence the decrease in atmospheric nitrogen dioxide levels before and during the self-quarantine notion in China. NASA also reported that though one air pollutant level dropped, other pollutant levels have increased during this time.
One possible reason for the increase in other pollutants is the buildup of medical waste. The South China Morning Post reported that the buildup of medical debris has quadrupled to more than 200 tons a day in the city of Wuhan alone since the virus outbreak in late 2019.
This buildup is a result of how contagious COVID-19 is. Single-use medical items, like face masks and gloves, along with other medical equipment, have to be burned to eliminate the possibility of the disease spreading by recycling these materials.
Alongside the buildup of medical waste, there is also a buildup of single-use plastic due to companies switching from allowing reusable or recyclable items to prevent the spread of the virus from employees to customers. Starbucks has stopped accepting reusable cups from customers and has turned to single-use plastic only to ensure that the virus is not transmitted in this way.
In addition to companies switching back to single-use plastics, there has also been a switch to more pre-packaged food. Though the CDC stated that there is a low risk that the coronavirus could be transferred through fresh produce, many people have been switching to pre-packaged food to eliminate any risk.
Another positive effect that COVID-19 has had on the environment is that it has led to a reduction in carbon dioxide levels in China. According to the Carbon Brief, because key industries, like the coal and oil industries, have been operating on a much lower scale during quarantine, the amount of carbon dioxide emissions have decreased.
Oil refinery operations have been functioning at the lowest they’ve been since 2015. Alongside the oil refineries, coal consumption at power plants have reached an all-time low, the lowest they have been in the past four years. Though the carbon dioxide emission reductions are being seen on a large scale only in China, this is still a major difference from what they have been in the past.
In other parts of the world, carbon emissions are still declining. The link between carbon emissions and the economy have been tied together for the past few years. The last time carbon emissions in parts of the world were this low was back in 2008 and 2009, which was the last time there was an economic crisis.
With the chance that many more governments will order lockdowns for their countries, the Carbon Brief predicts that there will be another drop in carbon emissions as people stay in their homes. As more restrictions are put in place, carbon emissions will continue to decline.
Though topics surrounding climate change have been the center of media highlights in the past few years, climate change discussions have been set aside as the world continues to fight COVID-19. Climate change is still a pressing matter, but it is currently not the spotlight of world affairs.
With the shift in focus, parts of the Earth have been positively impacted by COVID-19. I struggled with contacting climate change activists due to the coronavirus pushing them out of office spaces or out of work completely; however, these acts of working from home and self quarantining have helped the environment in numerous ways. Many environmentalists are currently working from home to practice these tactics, which have also led to being unable to interview anyone on this matter.
Though medical waste and the buildup of single-use plastic threaten the environment, the effects of COVID-19 have had a few positive impacts on the environment. With more people following government restrictions and stopping travel, there has been a decrease in emissions that contribute to air pollution.
Overall, COVID-19 has led to a change in the environment. While it has had both negative and positive effects on the environment, COVID has had an environmental impact in many parts of the world affected by the virus.
