Over the years, we as humans have been extremely negligent of nature. Can we partially blame it on the endless selfish competitive activities of the capitalist world? From global warming to climate change, all have been resultant of the cumulative increase in carbon emissions over the last century.
As the World Environment Day 2020 knocks on the door amid the worldwide Corona pandemic, let us look into the environmental effects of the phenomenon. Whereas the positive effects of the lockdown induced by the Corona scare include decreasing levels of carbon emissions globally, the cons of the same consist of the concerns over the sustainability of the positive effect.
As per the World Health Organisation, an estimated 3 million people die every year owing to ailments caused by air pollution and 80 percent of the world’s urban population are living under hazardous air quality.
Visible Positive Effects on India
- The Indian capital, New Delhi has been faring poorly in terms of degrading air quality since 2014. But during the country-wide prolonged lockdown, the Air Quality Index levels recorded have fallen below 20. Close to 11 million registered cars have been pulled off the road from the city alone.
- Because of the reduced levels of water pollution in the Ganges water due to the dearth of industrial and agricultural wastes, endangered South Asian River dolphins were spotted at one of the Kolkata ghats. Besides, the water tested in Haridwar’s Har-ki-Pauri ghats by the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board has been declared to be drinkable post-chlorination.
- Flamingoes migrated to Navi Mumbai in an exponential number as compared to their numbers recorded in the previous years due to diminishing pollution levels.
You will be inspired to know how this 24-year-old engineer from Pune has collected over 40,000Kg plastic, adopted a river, and counting. Earlier, we also talked to a 21-year-old who has inspired Mumbaikars to cleanup 360 Tonnes of Dadar Beach Garbage via his initiative Beach Please. Don’t we need more of such environmentally aware and concerned youth for a better and greener world to live in?
Positive Effects Worldwide
- The limited industrial activities, populations majorly staying at home, dwindling road traffic, and significant reductions in aviation functioning between 60 and 95 percent have led to decreased green-house emissions and monumentally improved air quality.
- The air quality improvement in March and April among the major cities across the world is caused due to reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter (PM) as well as decreased ozone (O3) formation around the atmosphere.
- A study reveals the probability of at least 11,000 lesser deaths related to respiratory complications due to the improved air quality in the UK and Europe.
- Between late January and early February 2020, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels over the Asian and European cities and industrial areas have decreased by a whopping 40 percent compared to the same period last year.
Concerns over Sustainability
- Though the significant decrease in carbon emissions induces hope, history has witnessed the rebound effect of such sudden drops in emissions. The tendency of balancing the lost economic activity may very well result in sky-rocketing the levels of emissions in an unprecedented manner and erasing the positive effects of the short-term reduction during the lockdown.
- There has been an unparalleled waste management crisis. The rise in volumes of non-recyclable organic wastes due to the massive dip in agricultural and fishery exports has worsened the situation. Additionally, food retailers and stay-at-home food delivery takers have recommenced the usage of single-use packaging owing to the virus threat instead of using recyclable paper bags. The decomposing waste is also adding to the increasing levels of methane (CH4), a greenhouse gas itself, discharge in the atmosphere.
- Due to one of the biggest drops in oil prices since 1991, caused by the lowering of demands for oil during the worldwide lockdown, there has been a sharp fall in oil prices. If the oil price continues to remain cheap even after the lockdown lifts, the transition towards using renewable cleaner energy will hamper significantly.
- In the face of the largest Arctic research expedition with a budget of $150 million and a rotating cast of 300 scientists on the North Pole being jeopardized, the works on natural and conservatory ecosystems across the world has come to a halt. Due to the absence of environmental protection workers at national parks and conservation zones owing to the lockdown situation, these unmonitored areas are prone to an increase in the number of illegal deforestations, fishing, and wildlife poaching activities.
Though the positive environmental effects of the lockdown are to make us hopeful about a better future, relying on imposed lockdown for decreasing the levels of carbon emissions is not sustainable. The short-term perks of the lockdown may diminish quickly if the approach taken after the lockdown is not placed in the right direction.
For the better future of the generations to come, all we may have to do is to be conscious and extremely sincere about the major environmental concerns of today’s world. Perhaps, all we need to do is to ask our world leaders more difficult questions!
To reiterate Greta Thunberg’s 2019 speech: “The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say- we will never forgive you”.
This World Environment Day, can’t we take the pledge to make the world a better place to live?