Effects of Covid-19 on the Environment

“The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.”

— Zeno ~ 450 BC

(From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers)

Ever since the start of mankind, humans have interacted with nature and lived in its sphere. Since then, it has become increasingly important that a balance is maintained between the environment and humans. The balance was questioned and put at stake in the late 18th and early 19th century when the industrial revolution began, at that point in time coal was heavy in use. Humans started using the resources of nature much faster than the rate at which it could replenish them. The effect of humans on the environment has accelerated exponentially in the 20th century. This accelerated progress meant pollution of air, water, and earth and high emissions of greenhouse gases which directly threatened to increase the temperature of the earth resulting in climate change. Climate change in itself is a deadly phenomenon that stands in front of humankind. In the 21st century, the situation of environmental health is as bad as it could be, and then it was worsened with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020.

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly infectious and was first discovered in the city of Wuhan in China in December 2019. Since then, it spread across the world so quickly resulting in many sick patients and deaths. By mid-March 2020, 122 million confirmed cases were reported along with 2.7 million deaths. The fatal and highly infectious nature of the disease forced the entire world to go on a lockdown and severe travel restrictions were put in place all over. COVID-19 drastically changed the fabric of society. Some of the positive impacts of the lockdown were that there was a drastic reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases, improved air quality in different cities, less water and noise pollution, and reduced pressure on the travel industry which helped in getting some of the ecological balance back. While these were the few positive changes that happened, the negatives weighed the positives out, due to the pandemic there was immense pressure on the hospitals and the state. There was an exponential rise in medical waste i.e. masks, gloves, PPE kits, disposal of infected materials and disinfectants, and disposal of untreated waste impacted the environment in an unimaginable way. The effects of COVID-19 on the environment are to be experienced many years after the pandemic is declared to be over.

Before we get into what positive or harmful effects COVID-19 had on the environment, it is essential that how the rise of a zoonotic disease such as COVID-19 is actually related to previous environmental degradation which humans have continued to do so and the interaction of humans with animals in the food industry. Infections that spread from animals to people are referred to as zoonotic illnesses. These viruses have significant global mortality rates such as the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) HIV-1 and HIV-2, bird flu, and swine flu. More than 50 % of zoonotic infectious diseases that have emerged since 1940 have been associated with measures to intensify agriculture. UNEP in its report stated that the cause of the rise of such viruses is the rearing of genetically similar animals in close proximity and it is often done in poor conditions.

With the advent of COVID-19 and the associated restrictions that accompanied social distancing was lockdown inside homes. Schools, offices, and shops were shut down as no public gatherings were allowed to contain the outbreak of the pandemic. Due to the strict lockdown being in place, many factories were shut down, there was a huge drop in vehicular transportation and almost no flights were functioning. The silver lining in the cloud during this lockdown was the impact on greenhouse gas emissions in the environment. This led to a massive drop in the pollutants in the air and the air quality index of several cities increased significantly. The primary pollutant due to vehicle gas combustion, NO2, was seen to be drastically reduced throughout the globe in some of the countries with the poorest air quality index. The reduction of NO2 was felt all over the world in cities such as Los Angeles, Delhi, Paris, London, Berlin, Beijing, etc. The reduced pollution helped in reducing the ozone hole as well. Due to travel restrictions in place, tourist places and the environment was given time to revive and replenish without human interference after a long time period. Over the world, news of beaches being clean and water being crystal clear once again. The Ganga River’s water quality was recorded at 27 points which made it suitable for domestic water use. There was an increased level of dissolved oxygen as well. Wildlife including different birds and animals was flourishing in the environment once again. There was a significant drop in noise pollution levels as well. While it is good that these were the positive effects experienced due to the unprecedented lockdown, these effects proved to be short-term in nature. Now the levels of air, water, noise, and environmental pollutants are on the rise again with the lockdown restriction being pulled back.

Positive effects were short-lived but the negative effects of COVID-19 on the environment are what future generations have to deal with. Given the transmissible nature of COVID-19, strict rules were put out to break the transmission which included washing hands for a longer period of time. This specific rule increased the usage of water per person exponentially depleting the water resources quickly. Due to the fear of infection and most restaurants being shut down because of which home delivery of food items was the only solution, there was a sudden rise in single-use plastic items which added to the existing plastic plethora. The pandemic led to a huge demand for personal protective equipment kits, gloves, masks, sanitizers, etc. The generation of hospital waste had increased massively going up to 10-20 times the pre-pandemic level. At the time of the first phase of the shutdown, the production of medical waste in Ahmedabad surged from 550–600 kg per day to roughly 1000 kg per day. N-95 masks are made of polypropylene, and Tyvek is used to produce protective clothing, gloves, and medical face shields. These materials can last for a very long time and emit dioxin and other hazardous substances into the environment. Disposal of such single-use plastic items and untreated wastage poses a massive challenge for us to overcome. If not treated properly, this leads to increased water pollution, and air pollution more emission of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change. Additionally, increased use of disinfectants on streets, hospitals, and buildings has a high possibility of killing other microorganisms which might cause an imbalance in the ecosystem.

The only way to overcome the challenges posed by COVID-19 on the environment is by adopting ways that are sustainable in nature. It is necessary for the state and municipal authorities to properly treat the wastewater and the waste before releasing it into the environment. Industrialists should adopt ways of production that use much cleaner fuels and focus on using renewable energies. Eco-tourism should be adopted so that different tourist locations are shut down periodically and in this time period, it should replenish itself. We, being a part of society should switch to greener and public transport and bring changes in our lifestyle which reduce the use of single-use plastic items and recycle. There is no planet B and the need of the hour is that sustainable development methods are adopted all over the world so that we can continue peaceful existence in society. COVID-19 while it brought dismal times for mankind, it is important to remember everyone all around the globe came together to fight it and that same level of cooperation will help us also fight climate change.

By

Tanvi Srivastava

I BA. LLB

ILS LAW COLLEGE, PUNE