Reduced air pollution during COVID-19

Less traffic on the streets, industrial production partially paralyzed, the offices orphaned, many aircraft remain on the ground - how does the Covid crisis affect the environment and environmental health risks? Is the air getting better and maybe even saving the climate? How much does aircraft noise decrease? 

Ground Report | New Delhi: The fight against the Covid-19 virus, which started with the WHO's pandemic announcement in 2019, continues on a global scale. The Covid-19 pandemic has started to change life in every field from education to shopping, sports to entertainment, transportation to international relations, collective rituals to daily routines, production to consumption and therefore to waste, and has affected the whole world.

Thanks to the partial and full shutdown, a decrease in air pollutant emissions in countries, a decrease in city noise levels, a relative improvement in the quality of water resources and the environment began to be seen. On the other hand, personal protective equipment (PPE) used in combating the epidemic.

Since materials such as disinfectants and medicines reach large amounts, the waste of these materials in the environment and water has also increased.

Therefore, the pandemic will have many important environmental impacts, similar to the expected temporary and permanent effects in social, health, industry and economy.

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In general, positive improvements in the environmental effects of Covid-19 will be temporary and Although it is thought that the restrictions will cease once the restrictions are terminated, it is predicted that especially negative and permanent effects will be inevitable if measures are not taken. In this study, the effects of the pandemic on environmental pollution have been comprehensively evaluated by focusing on water, air, noise and visual pollution and pandemic wastes.

There are many reasons related to environmental awareness, but that will be discussed more sometime. Even in the general scenario, for low- or middle-income countries, a large proportion of mortality is associated with air pollution. Air pollution killed 1.2 million people globally in 2017 and this pollution is the third largest cause of deaths in India, indicating the severity of airborne diseases.

Since the outbreak of covid-19, several studies have been conducted to find ways to mitigate the effects of the epidemic. In one such nationwide study conducted in the US, public health officials claimed that the intensity of polluted air and the effects of COVID-19 are positively correlated. The intensity of harmful air pollutants in India is high. Therefore, if the air quality had not improved, the severity of the cases could have been more severe in India due to shortness of breath.

Lack of environmental planning in expanding our economy is already killing millions and it is going to come back in a much worse form unless its seriousness is accepted and communicated.

The lock-down in due to the Covid-19 epidemic has allowed the environment to recover. The poison of the air has waned and the water of the rivers has been purified. The Ganga, which had been running for 45 years in India and was seen to be a modest success even after spending about 20 thousand crores in the last five years, was made clean by the three-week lock-down.

Last year as major cities of the country come under lockdown, the pollution level has come down. The Center for Science and Environment's daily analysis of pollution revealed that the air pollution in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru has so far decreased due to the lockdown.

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The city in Mumbai was locked before other cities. Because of this, the average PM 2.5 level on 22 March last year. Similarly on the same day, it was 26 percent in Delhi, 60 percent in Kolkata and 12 percent in Bangalore. The lockdown in Mumbai lasted between March 17 to 19 and March 22 to 23 in 2020, so it was compared long ago. If we look at the level of nitrogen oxide, it was lower by 42 per cent in Delhi, 68 per cent in Mumbai, 49 per cent in Kolkata and 37 per cent in Bangalore. This change has occurred due to the lack of vehicles on the roads, the closure of factories and the halting of construction works.

Compared to the figures of this day six years ago, the relatively large polluting dust particles of the air are P.M. The volume of 10 was found to decrease by 44%. Micro air particles considered more dangerous Although a decrease of 2.5% was noted as a decrease of 8%, the reason for this can be attributed to the time it takes to settle down on a surface.

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