The coronavirus pandemic has led to both positive and negative environmental changes.
On a normal day, a number of China’s 400 million registered car drivers wake up, grab their keys, and start their commute, according to Statista.
Earthday.org found One million plastic water bottles are purchased around the world every minute, and less than 23% of them are recycled.
In 2019 alone, beaches along the coasts of Florida saw more than 130 million visitors, according to visitflorida.org.
But once COVID-19 — an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 — made its debut, those numbers decreased drastically.
Fewer people left their houses, resulting in fewer cars on the road, less plastic was recycled, and Florida’s beaches completely closed to the public for a period of time. These changes led to both positive and negative impacts on the global environment.
It’s an argument that has been beat to death in the media already — COVID-19 is “good” for the environment. The pandemic is “improving environments” and “reversing climate change,” but how many of these claims are true, and what evidence is there to prove it?
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Air Pollution
The first day of 2020 followed the same trends as years past in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. January 1 looked like any other — steady inclines of emissions at approximately 1% per year and consistent numbers when compared to the past decade. But as countries around the world began implementing strict stay-at-home orders and limiting public transportation and travel, global CO2 emissions began to decline at a fast rate.
According to a study published by Nature Climate Change, daily CO2 emissions hit their peak drop in early April 2020 and had, in comparison to 2019’s data, decreased by 17% when compared to 2019’s average CO2 emission levels. The report states these changes occurred because people were forced to use less energy, therefore demand decreased. This was as a result of COVID-19 safety protocols.
This sudden drop in driving, flying, and other types of public transportation led to a decline of more than 1 billion tons of carbon emissions, which improved air quality in more than 30 countries around the world. A study conducted by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America concluded worldwide lockdowns were responsible for a 60% reduction of air pollution, largely due to less cars being on the road.
Emissions in individual countries at this same time decreased by 26% in comparison to their April 2019 numbers. But this is not all due to a reduction in transportation.
A study led by Manuel A. Zambrano-Monserrate stated that in China’s Hubei province, strict social distancing protocols not only reduced travel, but simultaneously affected the area’s main industrial and economic activities. As a result, power plants and industrial factories across the province shut down for a period of time, halting production and therefore reducing the overall amount of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and other particulate matter in the air surrounding China’s major cities.
And these changes are seen across the world. The same study states that air pollution across Europe dramatically decreased in areas like France, Italy, and Spain as factories halted production and normal day-to-day activities have decreased substantially.
Noise Pollution
Environmental noise — any unwanted noise generated by human activities — saw a decline as more people stayed home and continued to socially distance. Measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 caused a drop in human activity. This sudden pause resulted in a months-long reduction of environmental noise of up to 50%. The “2020 quiet period” is the longest and most prominent global anthropogenic environmental noise reduction ever recorded.
While a world of silence may be one’s worst nightmare, a decrease in environmental noise has positive health benefits and can improve overall well being. The World Health Organization and study for IOP science led by Lauren Smith show environmental noise has been linked to cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance, tinnitus, and annoyance around the world. After COVID-19, health issues related to environmental noise decreased.
CARDIO
The auditory system is continuously analyzing the sounds around you. The increased arousal of your auditory system stresses the nervous system, which regulates bodily functions. Side effects of this stress can affect your homeostasis due to changes in the amount of sound your auditory system analyzes, therefore resulting in high blood pressure, ischaemic heart disease, and hypertension.
COGNITIVE
For decades, it has been argued that noise negatively affects children’s learning abilities and memories. Studies have shown that exposure to noise causes trouble in children’s reading comprehension and attention span. Exposure during critical learning periods can impair educational development for life.
SLEEP
Sleep disturbance is the most widely-complained about negative effects of environmental noise, and lack of proper sleep can result in major health problems and a lower quality of life. Environmental noise causes unwanted arousal responses, awakenings, and sleep stage changes. Lack of sleep can negatively affect overall performance, memory, and creativity and increase the risk of accidents.
