The coronavirus has effectively caused the entire world to come to a standstill. In an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, many businesses are requiring their employees to stay home, leading to millions of people facing unemployment. Additionally, students around the world have to utilize at-home learning.
However, people predict that this fiasco will have a positive effect by causing a reduction in greenhouse gases emitted through everyday tasks, thereby reducing climate change. Some go further to say that the coronavirus could be playing a role in protecting the habitats of wild animals.
This is a reasonable prediction to make. Many workers are unable to go out of their homes to tend to their usual tasks, consequentially reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fuel needed for transportation. Additionally, factory are running less efficiently than before, due to workers having to abide to social distancing requirements.
However, it is uncertain whether these changes to our environment will be present in the long run. Once our lives return to normal, will the environment revert as well?
The coronavirus has led to changes in energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions
Changes in greenhouse gas emissions can be observed at the earliest with China, the first country to harbor the coronavirus. Over a four-week period upon the onset of the COVID-19, China’s rate of carbon emission saw a 25 percent decrease, leading to total carbon emissions being down by 18 percent. This came with the cost of the nation’s GDP shrinking by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of the year.
A decrease in greenhouse gas emissions has also led to changes that can be seen with the human eye. The city of Venice’s infamous canals have become far more clear since the coronavirus quarantine has begun. However, the lack of transparency in Venice’s canals beforehand wasn’t due to emissions from boats. Rather, it was due to boat traffic disrupting the sediment on the canal floors.
Air visibility has clearly improved in the city of New Delhi, India. Traditionally having one of the worst Air Quality Indexes of any city in the world, New Delhi skies are now so vividly blue that the Himalayan mountains can be seen in the distance. This is a direct result of a drastic reduction in transportation causing less particulate matter emissions.
Are there any changes in energy usage? Although power plants reliant on nonrenewable energy are facing losses, the same is true for power plants reliant on renewable energy sources. Disregarding self-sufficient energy plants, workers in renewable energy plants are still having to practice social distancing, reducing their efficiency.
Lasting impacts of COVID-19 are questionable
Will the improvements seen with the environment during the coronavirus pandemic have a lasting impact? Some speculate that this will, unfortunately, not be the case. Corporations have large reserves of fuel as a result of a lower demand, and they will likely be hasty to mitigate any losses through increasing fuel distribution.
Another factor that could cause any benefits during the pandemic to fade away is an increased tendency to travel. Since most people are confined to their homes during the quarantine, some predict that people will have an increased drive to travel. This can lead to large amounts of fuel being used for transportation.
While the effects of the pandemic itself doesn’t provide much promise, environmentalists hope that this serves as an opportunity for shifting to cleaner energy sources. If anything, the effects of this pandemic demonstrates the benefits of living in a cleaner world. By taking advantage of the opportunity at hand, nations can begin to make a cumulative effort to save the environment.