Positive Impact of Covid-19 Lockdown on Environment - gorteria
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GORTERIA JOURNAL ISSN: 0017-2294
Positive Impact of Covid-19 Lockdown on Environment
Satya Ranjan Das
Assistant Professor
Vivodhananda Saraswati Teachers’ Training College
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic situation has caused a worldwide reduction of economic activity
and although this is the cause for concern, the decline ofdifferent humanactivity appears to have had
a positive impact on the environment. From industrial sector and transport sector emissions and
effluents have reduced, and measurable data supports the clearing of pollutants in the air, soil and
water. In the month of May, which usually records highest carbon emissions due to the decomposition
of leaves, hasrecorded what might be the lowest levels of pollutants in the air since 2008 financial
crisis. In this pendamic time all countries have recorded significant reductions in their different
pollutants.Some sources suggest that there has been a 25 percent drop in energy use and emissions in
China over two weeks which is likely to reduce the overall annual carbon emissions of the country by
1 percent. In India the results were similar too; during lockdown time, significantly decrease in air
pollution levels was measured across the country. Cities likeKolkata, Delhi, Mumbaiand Chennai saw
their average Air Quality Index (AQI) staying within two digits during COVID-19 pandemic
situation.Water bodies have also been clearing and all the rivers of India mainlyGanga and Yamuna
river have seen significantly decreases of water pollutants since the enforcement of a nationwide
lockdown. According to the real-time water monitoring data of the Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB) of India, the average water quality of 27 points of the Ganga seen in the lockdown time
which, is suitable for bathing and propagation of wildlife and fisheries.
Keywords: COVID-19, Environment, lockdown, pollution
1. INTRODUCTION
The outbreak of COVID-19 first flourished at the end of December 2019, from the Hunan seafood
market in Wuhan City of China, and declared as an international public health emergency in a couple
of weeks by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020a). It is an contagious disease caused by
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Islam et al., 2020; Nghiem et al.,
2020; Wang et al., 2020). Genomic analysis revealed that SARS-CoV-2 is phylogenetically related to
SARS viruses, and bats could be the possible primary source (Chakraborty and Maity, 2020).
Although the intermediate source of origin and transfer to humans is not clearly known, the rapid man
toman transmission capability of Covid-19 virus has been emerged (Hui et al., 2020). The
transmission of the virus mainly emerged through man-to-man via direct contact or droplets produced
by coughing, sneezing and talking (Islam et al., 2020; Li et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020). As of
September 06, 2020; the virus has claimed to spread 216 countries, areas or territories with the death
of 876, 616 humans from 26,763,217 confirmed cases (WHO, 2020a), and the number is increasing
rapidly. All the public transport sector (e.g., bus, truck, train, aeroplanes etc.) were suspended, with
exceptions of the transportation of essential goods and emergency services (Tripathi, 2020).
The worldwide disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has resulted in numerous
impacton the environment. In theCOVID-19 pandemic situation, worldwide reducedthe human
activity such as the considerable decline in planned travel and has caused many regions to experience
a large drop in air pollution and water pollution. As industries, transportation and companies have
closed down, it has brought a sudden drop of greenhouse gases emissionscompared with this time of
last year, levels of air pollution in Ney York has decrease by nearly 50% because of measures taken to
control the virus (Henriques, 2020). It was estimated that near about 50% reduction of Nitrous Oxide
(N2O) and Carbon monoxide (CO) occurred due to the shutdown of heavy industries in China (Caine,
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GORTERIA JOURNAL ISSN: 0017-2294
2020).The level of NO2 demonstrated a reduction across Ontario (Canada) and found to be decrease
from 4.5 ppb to 1 ppb (Adams, 2020). Up to 54.3% decrease of NO2 was observed in Sao Paulo of
Brazil (Nakada and Urban, 2020). It was also stated that, the levels of NO2 and PM2.5 reduced by
almost 70% in Delhi, the capital of India (Thiessen, 2020). Overall, 46% and 50% reduction of PM2.5
and PM10 respectively, was reported in India during the nationwide lockdown (IEP, 2020).The amount
of greenhouse gases(Carbon dioxide, Methane, Ozone, Nitrous oxide, Chlorofluorocarbons etc.)
produced since the beginning of the industrialization era caused average temperatures on the Earth to
rise, and results of the globalinclude the melting of glaciers and rising sea levels. It is also found that,
the concentration of pH, electric conductivity (EC), DO, BOD and chemical oxygen demand (COD)
has reduced almost 1–10%, 33–66%, 45–90%, and 33–82% respectively in different monitoring
stations during the lockdown in comparison to the pre-lockdown period (Arif et al., 2020). Besides,
due to imposed a ban of public gathering and number of touristswere reduced in many places (Cripps,
2020; Zambrano-Monserrate et al., 2020). It is stated that, due to the lockdown of COVID-19
Pendamic situations, the Grand Canal of Italy turned clear, and reappearances of many aquatic species
(Clifford, 2020). Water pollution are also reduced in the beach areas of Bangladesh, Malaysia,
Thailand, Maldives, and Indonesia (Kundu, 2020; Rahman, 2020). Jribi et al. (2020) reported that, due
to the COVID-19 lockdown, the amount of food waste is reduced in Tunisia, which ultimately reduces
soil and water pollution. However, the amount of industrial water consumption is also reduced,
especially from the textile sector around the glove (Cooper, 2020).Human activity
caused environmental degradation.Outbreak of the COVID-19, many countries had adopted lockdown
procedures that stopped people from moving out and for shops and other establishments to close
down. Before the COVID-19 pandemiclockdown, the air around us had been deemed very toxic to
breathe in due to the amount of greenhouse gases that had been emitted over the centuriesbut after the
lockdown commenced, there have been slight changes in the environment. While these improvements
in environmental pollution are considered to be temporary, the current level of pollution in
theatmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere could be much lower than the pre-COVID-
19pandemicsituation.
2. TITLE
“Positive Impact of Covid-19 Lockdown on Environment”
3. Studying the impact on air quality using Air Quality Index (AQI)
Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on air quality was also studied through Air Quality index (AQI).AQIis
one of theimportant measurement toolswhich easily measurethe air pollutants. It is an overall scheme
proposed by Central Pollution Control board (CPCB)which transforms the weighted values of seven
air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, NH3 SO2 and Ozone) in to a single number or set of numbers.
VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2 - 2021 Page No:113GORTERIA JOURNAL ISSN: 0017-2294
Table 1. AQI values and it’s Impact
Source: National Air Quality Index – CPCB, 2020 (app.cpcbccr.com)
It categorizes the air quality into six categories from Good (with AQI ranging from 0 to 50) to Severe
(with AQI more than 401). To analyze the effect of lockdown caused by COVID-19, AQIs before and
during lockdown for 4 Indian cities were compared the following table-2.
Table2. AQI value of Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Chandigarh before lockdown and after
Cities/Towns AQI Value before AQI Value during lockdown
lockdown
January2020 February March April May
Kolkata-WBPCB 229 189 83 53 33
Mumbai- MPCB 235 177 138 54 14
Delhi- DPCC 448 236 83 77 130
Chandigarh- CPCC 128 94 50 30 59
lockdown.
(Source: https://app.cpcbccr.com/AQI_India/)
VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2 - 2021 Page No:114GORTERIA JOURNAL ISSN: 0017-2294 Figure 1.NO2 emission over India before (January 1- April 20, 2019) and during (January 1- April 20, 2020) lockdown period. (Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) Table 2. showed that the air quality in India has been significantly improved during COVID-19 lockdown. At the time of COVID-19 lockdown was put in place in many countries, there was lesser travelling done by people, whether it be by their own cars, or by trains and flights even industries also closed down. This in turn led to the pollution in the air significantlyreduce.It is evident that various preventive measures with social distancing norms have been taken to regulate the transmission of corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic, whereas these preventive measures directly affect the growth of global economy, environment and human health (Sarkodie and Owusu 2020). Similarly, another study established that social distancing rule is one of the most effective way for administration to regulate the contagious nature of COVID-19 pandemic in India (Bherwani et al. 2020). It is significantly observed that, per day emission rate from road transport sector was the lowermost on the day of national Janta Curfew in India (CPCB 2009, 2020). After the initiation of lockdown, the average concentration of PM2.5 was reduced up to 26 μg/m3 on March 27, 2020, from 91 μg/m3 on March 20, 2020, in Delhi and it is also indicate that around 71% reduction of this particulate matter in the atmosphere (CPCB 2020; Mate et al. 2020; Mitra et al. 2020). The long-term pendamic lockdown system becomes effective to diminish the materialistic consumption and renewable energy(coal, petroleum etc.) usage (Jribi et al. 2020). VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2 - 2021 Page No:115
GORTERIA JOURNAL ISSN: 0017-2294
There is a prominent decline in utilization of non-renewable energy source, i.e. coal and petroleum
and other fuel consumption during the first half of 2020 in comparison with the preceding years
(Eroglu 2020). Subsequently, it has been recorded that the pollutants in the major metropolitan cities
of India (namely Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai) have been tremendously decreased during the
lockdown phase (CPCB 2020; Sharma et al. 2020; Lau et al. 2020). It is evident that there is an inter-
relation between the ambient air quality indicators and different climatic factors, e.g. temperature
(Bashir et al. 2020). The contemporary research on bio-aerosol reflects the hazardous impact on
human health in international and regional as well as local level (Humbal et al. 2020, 2018). It must
be mentioned that the share of earlier fatality caused by life-threatening air pollution is substantially
decreased in India due to enormous depletion of aerosol accumulation duringCOVID-19 lockdown
phase (Gautam 2020b). The largely concentration of greenhouse gasses controls the temperature
variation in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) whereas lower accumulation of NO2, CO2, SO2,
PM10 and PM2.5 may modify the intensity of surface air temperature.
4. Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on water quality
Water systems are complex andefficient water improvements depend on the level of highly
urbanization of an area, and on the physical characteristics of the soil that filters most of the pollution
and where pollutants can be stored for months before pouring into the waterways. A flood or heavy
rain can facilitate the sudden release of these substances. For this reason, many scientists believe that
water improvements also associated with Corona virus (COVID-19). This is in accordance with the
results recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, where the authors showed
that the satellite data, that the concentration of pollutants in Vembanad Lake, the longest lake in
Kerala, India, decreased by an average of 16 percent compared to the values of the previous year.
Similarly, water pollution in San Francisco Bay, California has reduced significantly due to the
reduction in traffic, according to experts. The toxic particles emitted by cars, in fact, fall into the
surrounding waters, inlets and on the coast for miles. The water pollution levels in the Yamuna have
registered a significant decline due to closure of industrial sector during 1st lockdown period imposed
to down drop the COVID-19pandemic situation.Vice Chairman of Delhi Jal Boardsays that, people
who have been monitoring the situation of the Yamuna river over the years also claimed that there is a
definite improvement in water quality.
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Table3. Water quality of Ganga river before lockdown and during lockdown (January2020-
may 2020).
Parameter Test Result Unit
2nd January 4th 3rd March 7th April 18th
February May
Phosphate- P 0.16 0.09 0.09 0.2 0.19 mg/l
BOD 4.00 2.85 2.90 4.00 3.10 mg/l
COD 10.00 15.00 10.00 15.00 12.39 mg /l
Chloride 21.99 18.99 23.99 21.00 15.99 mg/l
pH 6.77 7.28 7.98 7.72 7.75 Unit
Total Suspended 16.00 8.00 70.00 109.00 26.00 mg/l
Solids (TSS)
(source: http://emis.wbpcb.gov.in/waterquality/viewsampledatacitizen.do)
From this above table(table-3) we can easily understand thatthe water quality of Ganga riverhas
beenchanged before and afterCOVID-19 lockdown. The Central Pollution Control Boardanalysis of
pollution loads in Ganga pre-lockdown and during lockdown period shower that Ganga water was
found suitable for bathing at most monitoring centers. On April 27, the Central Pollution Control
Board said that the Ganga water can support aquatic life but it certainly is not clean enough for
drinking. It also pointed out that the nitrate concentration of the Ganga water reduces too. Dr PK
Mishra, professor at Chemical Engineeringand Technology at IIT-BHU, Varanasi, said there has been
a 40 to 50 per cent improvement in the quality of water in Ganga.
5. Impact of COVID-19lockdown onwildlife
There is no doubt the evidence for some positive changes for the environment with the most
noticeable effect, at the national level as well as global level, being the reduction in greenhouse gas
andair pollutant signatures detectable from different satellites (BBC, 2020; Gardiner,
2020).TheCOVID-19 lockdown time has seen a decline in over fishing, which means that the fish
biomass will increase after over-fishing almost depleted it.Most scientist has said the fish biomass
will increase due to the sharp decline in fishing, and projected that in European waters, some fish such
as herring could double their biomass.As of April 2020, signs of aquatic recovery remain mostly
anecdotalapart from that, animals have been spotted moving about freely where once they would
not dare to go. Even sea turtles have been spotted returning to areas they once avoided to lay their
VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2 - 2021 Page No:117GORTERIA JOURNAL ISSN: 0017-2294
eggs, all due to the lack human interference. In this lockdown time, Govt. Of Myanmar allowed
breeding of endangered animals such as tigers, pangolins, and elephants. In protected ad reserved
areas, declines in visitor numbers caused by travel restrictions and park closures have reduced stresses
on sensitive wildlife animals.Related reports of wild species venturing into rural and urban areas,
including beaches and national parks, where they have not been seen for many years, as traffic and
other human activity declines. In areas where travel is still possible and protected areas remain open,
visitation has often greatly increased, reflecting a widespread feeling that activity in a natural setting
is both the physical andmental antidote to the stress of theCOVID-19 pandemic. This year will very
likely see a globally decline in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as large reductions in other drivers
of global warming, such as the contrail cirrus from high-flying aircraft. In one hand it is like short-
term improvements, but they dramatically underline the pervasiveness and severity of anthropogenic
impacts worldwide.
Due to COVID-19 lockdown, a large number of birds including vultures are clearly startedto appear.
Insect pollinators like flies, wasps, bees, butterflies, and mothshave appeared in abundance on crops
and other plants and this is good indication for ecological balance and biodiversity. Almost total
lockdown due to COVID-19 outbreak has decreases the human activities including overexploitation
of natural resources and industrial work. In the COVID-19 pandemic time, major human population is
bound to live in their homes, automatically prevented to cause various types of pollution. The
surrounding environment is reflecting clean and green during pendamic situation. We all are
observing a clean environment where almost all animals including birds, insects, wild animals etc.
have stated to flourish. Authors observed that during present lockdown period, the water ofGanga and
Yamuna rivers in cities also became clear and transparent due less deposition of domestic and
industrial effluents. DuringCOVID-19pandemic lockdown it was not possible to estimate the water
quality parameters but the transparent condition of water of these rivers clearly indicate that pollution
level definitely reduced to a great extent and these reductions in pollution level help in flourishing the
aquatic organisms including fishes.COVID-19 lockdown alsoeffects on natural vegetation. In this
pendamic situationplants are growing better becausethere is cleaner air and water, and because yet
again there is less human interference.
6. Conclusion
The Corona virus (COVID-19)has proved that, nature has provided us with all the resources for
leading a beautiful life and naturealways nourishes us like a mother, humans should respect and
nurture her. Indiscriminate development and overexploitation of natural resources should be
minimized at the level of sustainabilityCOVID-19 lockdown timeand lockdown has given us a rare
opportunity to step back and assess our impact on the environment. We are witnessing clean water air
and liveable cities that we have demanded for so long precisely because we have been shut away.
COVID-19 lockdown situation in almost the entire world has shown the importance of nature in our
day to day life and gave a true picture of the overexploitation of the natural resources and proved that
we are responsible for the degradation of nature and putting risk to our wellbeing as well. This
lockdown showed that the solution for natures cleanliness lies in our hands goes through the path of
preservation of natural resources and sustainable development. There are several issues due to the
lockdown at the front of social and economic wellbeing which cannot be appreciated at all but some
positive lessons related to nature gave us a way forward for restraining from the natural calamities if
care for nature is established with honesty.
VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2 - 2021 Page No:118GORTERIA JOURNAL ISSN: 0017-2294 6. Reference Acharya. S, Jena.RC, Das.SJ, Pradhan. C,and Chand.PK, “Assessment of air pollution tolerance index of some selected roadside plants of Bhubaneswar city of Odisha State in India”, Journalof Environmental Biology. Vol.38, (2017). pp. 1397–1403. Bherwani. H, Gupta. A, Anjum. S, Anshul. A,and Kumar.R,“Exploring Dependence of COVID-19 onenvironmental factors and spread prediction in India. Research S(2020).10.21203/rs.3.rs- 25644/v1. Chakraborty. I and Maity. P,“COVID-19 outbreak: Migration, effects on society, global environment and prevention”,Science of the Total Environment (2020). CPCB. (2009). Comprehensive industry document stone crushers, Central Pollution Control Board, Govt. of India. CPCB. (2020). Impact of lockdown (25th March to 15th April) on air quality. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India, Delhi, 162. https://cpcb.nic.in/latest- cpcb.php. Dhar. I,Biswas. S, Mitra. A, Pramanick. P,and Mitra. A,“COVID-19 Lockdown phase: A boon for the RiverGanga water quality along the city of Kolkata. Journal of the Centre for Regulatory Studies, Governance and Public Policy”, (2020). pp.53-57. Gautam. S, “COVID-19: air pollution remains low as people stay at home. Air Quality Atmosphere Health”,(2020a). Goswami.K and Mazumdar. I, “How Idol Immersion is Polluting The Ganga River in Kolkata, West Bengal: An Overview”, Indian jourip between Coronavirus (COVID-19) Spread and the Weather; Berkeley Earth,Berkeley, CA, USA. (2016). Kulshrestha. UC. “Environmental Changes during COVID-19 Lockdown: Future Implications”, Current World Environment. Vol.15(1), (2020). pp. 01-05. Mitra. A, “Estuarine Pollution in the Lower Gangetic Delta”, Springer International Publishing, ISBN 978-3-319-93305-4. Vol.16,(2020). Mukherjee. P, Pramanick. P, Zaman. S, Mitraan. A, “Eco-restoration of River Ganga water quality duringCOVID19 lockdown period using Total Coliform (TC) as a proxy”, Journal of the Centre for Regulatory Studies,Governance and Public Policy, (2017). pp.75-82. Prakash. S, and Srivastava.S, “Impact of Climate Change on Biodiversity: An Overview” International Journalof Biological Innovations, (2019). Strauss. M,“Health (pathogen) considerations regarding the use of human waste in aquaculture”,Environmental Research Forum. Vol. 5 (6), (1996). pp. 83-98. Kumar, “Sustainable Development and Environmental Ethics”, International Journal onEnvironmental Sciences, Vol. 10(1), (2019). pp.1-5. https://www.coronavirus.gov/ https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-12/documents/9131.pdf VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2 - 2021 Page No:119
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