Environmental Effects of COVID-19 Between January and April:As cars vanished off the roads and people closed doors upon first notice of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, less pollutants were emitted into the air. China emits 50% of the gases emitted in Asia, so this unprecedented period has created a dent in regular emissions in the region. The NO2 emissions in China during the months of January and February declined 40%, which is equivalent to removing 192,000 cars from public roads. Similarly, China experienced the greatest decline in CO2 emissions globally, which was up to 10.3% with Europe and the United States following behind with 4.3% and 4.2%, respectively. Ground transport emissions, which make up 19% of the world’s CO2 emissions, declined 22.8% in Europe in the month of March. Italy and Spain were hit the hardest with percent drops of 48.3% and 37.6%, respectively. To everyone’s surprise, sightings of endangered animals in urban areas also increased. The question that we must ask ourselves here is: how do we make sure these environmental effects last longer? Environmental Conditions Between April and June:Data shows that there has been a spike in monthly emissions after the lockdown in China. The high rates of these pollutants most likely exceed those of last April. The percent decrease in emissions in China between February 2019 and February 2020 is 19.3%, which is greater than the percent difference, 7.8%, between March 2019 and March 2020. Other countries experienced a greater difference in March due to later lockdown periods. Littering has also been on the rise due to large deposits of plastic masks, gloves, and grocery bags in our ecosystems. Environmentalists have also been urged to stay at home, which means that many instances of unlawful hunting and deforestation have recently occurred. This is relevant information because it provides insight into what can occur in the near future when the lockdown ceases. Efforts Toward a Better Environment:With efforts from Donald Trump and other politicians to maximize economic benefits from industries, pollution and plastic production will most likely increase, which would result in current statistics reversing back to their original values. Single-use plastic has been encouraged for less transmission of the coronavirus, which means it will most likely continue to rise in popularity. This outcome has occurred in the past when China increased CO2 emissions after the 2008 financial crisis in efforts to benefit their industries. As Lauri Myllyvirta, the lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, explained that, “the overall impact was to nudge China on a more carbon-intensive, fossil fuel-intensive economy path.” The European Union plans to decrease emissions by 2030 using the Green Deal, which is a promising plan. Ma Jun, founder of IPE (Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs), have also considered pushing companies to allow their employers to work from home longer to decrease traffic and vehicle transport in large cities. References:
“After the Coronavirus, the Climate Crisis Will Remain. What Have We Learned?” KQED, 22AD, www.kqed.org/science/1962524/coping-with-the-coronavirus-applying-it-to- climate-change. Accessed 21 May 2020. Denne, Luke. “Coronavirus Lockdowns Have Sent Pollution Plummeting. Environmentalists Worry About What Comes next.” NBCNews.com, NBC Universal, 7 Apr. 2020, www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/coronavirus-lockdowns-have-sent- pollution-plummeting-environmentalists-worry-about-what-n1178326. Accessed 21 May 2020. Hamwey, Robert. “Environmental Impacts of Coronavirus Crisis, Challenges Ahead.” United Nations Conference on Trade and Development/Prosperity for All, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 20 Apr. 2020, unctad.org/en/pages/newsdetails.aspx?OriginalVersionID=2333. Accessed 21 May 2020. Liu, Zhu, et al. ArXiv.org. Cornell University, 2020, ArXiv.org, arxiv.org/pdf/2004.13614.pdf. Monks, Paul. “Here's How Lockdowns Have Improved Air Quality around the World.” World Economic Forum, 20 Apr. 2020, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-lockdowns-air-pollution. Accessed 21 May 2020. Qi, Grace. “Air Pollution Is Already Spiking in China with the Virus Lockdown Lifted.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 19 May 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-china- lockdown-over-air-pollution-already-spiking-industry-dirty-economic-rebound/. Accessed 21 May 2020. Kienapple, Bronwyn. “The Coronavirus Pandemic's Impact on the Environment.” The Coronavirus Pandemic’s Impact on the Environment [Infographic], Venngage, 14 Apr. 2020, venngage.com/blog/coronavirus-impact-on-environment-infographic/. Accessed 21 May 2020.
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Viktoriya KalininaClass of 2021 |