As the world has come to a standstill due to COVID-19, we have all been affected in one way or another. This can be seen with migrant workers having to struggle to go home, people losing jobs, people being stranded in different places away from their loved ones and many others. On a brighter note, the one positive that has come out of this situation is the improvement of the environment.
Air quality has improved as traffic and factory related emissions have reduced, global air traffic has dropped, animals have been noticed to be more comfortable with their surroundings in reserves as no tourists are coming and disturbing the peace of the forest and beaches have seen less littering as they are shut down. With 67 million fewer air passengers, a 75% decrease in Nitrogen dioxide in Spain followed by a 10% decrease in Northern Italy, New York saw a 50% decrease in Carbon Monoxide and Improved air quality in China may have saved the lives of 4,000 children under the age of 5. Although the points mentioned above are fantastic, it is expected that this change will not last very long as once everything opens up- people expect people to go back to their old ways. Already, we see
an increase in medical waste that has not been disposed of properly, an increase in using non recyclable material, a possible increase in Hunting as rangers and wildlife specialists have been forced to stay home due to this lockdown and there is an increase in unshippable agricultural and fishery activities. This virus has also made states ban the use of reusable bags as the virus lives on surfaces for longer periods and has led to 1 billion trees being cut up for packaging purposes as now most things if not everything is bought and sold online, this can be seen with a 111% increase in consumer spend on packaged mandarins.
During this time, I urge you to be environmentally conscious, reach out to your government and ask them to implement more environment friendly laws and please sign petitions , donate and do your part in keeping the environment alive so we can all stay alive.
BY :- ARYA....