To date, we've witnessed many people being bothered about economic breakdown. Economies are social systems. Man has created them, and hence, knows numerous ways to fix them if anything goes wrong. Humans have an affinity towards their own creation. Any person would love the things born out of their imagination and hard work. We certainly are fond of our blog and so is mankind fond of these economies. This is called 'Not Invented Here Syndrome.' Humans were never so worried for the environment than they do now, for the coronavirus and the economies. The world runs on the principles of 'equivalent exchange' i.e. money. If we come to think of it from an economic perception, everything going wrong today is a small price to pay for environmental rejuvenation. However, a great extent of this price is being borne by poor people. This should be an important concern for governments as the lives of these people are at stake.
This post throws some light on one of the positive effects due to the Coronavirus happening i.e. constant decrease in pollution levels in the world. It is true that many organisations and governments have recorded a decrease in pollution in their nations, due to the lockdown announced by Governments. With all factories and industrial units shut, the level of emissions of toxic gases like Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) ans Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) have fell considerably. Also, now that only a fraction of the total vehicles run on the streets, the rate of pollution is further minimized. This news is particularly soothing in countries like India, where in lie 21 of the top 30 most polluted cities in the world.
Talking about other nations, Paris has seen a drop in Nitrogen dioxide(No2) by 54% while Madrid, Manila and Rome saw a drop of nearly 50% according to the scientists from the Royal Meteorological Institute (Source Forbes). NewYork also witnessed a 40% drop in the release of effluents after the lockdown was enforced. In 2019, the number of people suffering from fatal respiratory problems due to air pollution was close to 4 million worldwide. But now, this number is expected to reduce at least by 50% by the end of 2020. Ozone Layer (which has been greatly harmed due to industrial activities) has been observed to be healing in some parts of the world.
As far as the situation in India is concerned, all the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata recorded a sharp drop in the air pollution level after the lock down was imposed. The air pollution in Delhi had reached unbearable heights by the end of 2019, with some areas recording an AQI (Air Quality Index), well above 300. Typically, an AQI above 200 is extremely hazardous (Source: worldaqi). But now, according latest reports, the average AQI of Delhi after 6 weeks of lockdown has dropped well below 90, which is 'moderately polluted air.'
(Image source : cnn.com)
The difference in the pollution in Delhi is quite evident in the picture above. In the past, the Government launched Air Prevention and Contol of Pollution Act in the year 1981 but failed to achieve success because of lack of public cooperation and poor enforcement of rules. Even the Delhi government also announced odd even rule but that too, didn't work out properly. In short, the virus has done something that the Delhi government has been tying to do since years. Of course this level of pollution will rise after industries restart, but its highly unlikely that the pollution levels will touch greater heights as they did in 2019. Thus, the Coronovirus has provided massive support mechanism in fighting air pollution.
Talking about water pollution, the pandemic has been a blessing for marine life. Rumors are that the virus spreads through meat; which considerably decreased fishe consumption and hence millions of fishes were saved. With chemical factories shut, no harmful chemicals are released in water bodies; which, again is a boon for marine life.
In India, the sacred river Ganges had been highly polluted due to industrial waste and human activities like bathing, washing clothes and cattle and various religious offerings made into the river. However, after weeks of lock down, the Ganges is several times cleaner than it was before.
The Ganges river water at Varanasi had the average Dissolved Oxygen Level of about 3.3 mg/L in 2019, which is now close to 8mg/L after the spread of the virus (Source: IndiaToday). Scientifically, water having DOL in the range 6.5-8 mg/L is considered to be safe for aquatic life.
So, the virus has miraculously done many things that the government has been trying to do since 1986, when the then PM Rajiv Gandhi started the GAP (Ganges Action Plan). Similar situation is seen in the other rivers like Yamuna and Satluj.
Now a days, you can hear the birds chirping loudly, can't you? The lock down has silenced the noise coming from factories and honking of motor vehicles, which has reduced the rate of noise pollution. Seismologists are reporting less seismic noise since the lock down, i.e. less vibration of the Earth's crust. Seismic noise caused by human activities in Brussels, for instance, is reported to be reduced by 33% as compared to pre-lockdown levels (Source: Forbes). The benefit of this is that the seismic tools can now detect earthquakes and other seismic activities precisely. As most ships and cruises are on temporary hold, the oceans are more tranquil. Hence there is a decrease in the chronic sounds in the ocean, which, in turn, has lead to the decrease in stress hormone production in aquatic creatures (Source: Forbes). Throughout the world, people like traffic policemen, public transport drivers etc are greatly affected by the noise pollution occurring on streets. This causes conditions like impaired hearing, blood pressure issues and heart problems in people and also causes many premature deaths. The pandemic has surely come as a relief for some of such people who can now experience the peace on the streets or at home.
Due to this pandemic, economies may collapse, depressions might occur, but we ought to redesign policies. And that's where we have the biggest advantage. Economic policies can be redesigned in a way that ensures environmental restoration. We can limit production activities, make use of alternative raw materials, regulate and restrict industries and much more which could've been impossible before this coronavirus made us do so.
Although the decrease in the levels of pollution are fairly temporary at this stage, and are likely to increase in future and hence, doing all those activities that could transform these short-term gains into a permanent system in the long-term; is the only way to ensure a bright aftermath of The Coronavirus Pandemic.
Writers - Ashutosh Gandhe, Tushar Saboo and Yajnesh Gokhale
Publishers - Ashutosh Gandhe and Yajnesh Gokhale
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