In this world, where the society has been negatively affected by corona in terms of the economy, we have seen some positive impact that the pandemic has inflicted on the nature. Clean air, pure water and animals on the road have become common sights for the first time since the period when humans were evolving from farmers to capitalists and industrialists.
Given below is a comparison of the river Yamuna in India, before and after the lockdown.
Apart from the positive impact of the pandemic on the nature, the pandemic has also taught us important things. They are:
1)Beautiful Cities
The cities all around the world have become empty, as many people left cities, some suffering from job losses and others trying to find cheaper accommodation as working from home does not require a highly rented apartment in the city. But, along with that, cities look much better due to improving environmental conditions. Have a look at Mumbai:
This is an unusual site in Mumbai.
Though all of this has come at a steep price and cost the economy a lot, it has taught us that the beauty of a city depends on how clean the environment is.
2)There is something more dangerous than corona
The corona-virus pandemic has got all humans locked in their homes, due to which the amount of pollutants in the air has decreased significantly.
Let's take nitrogen dioxide. It is a toxic air pollutant which is released by vehicles. It is the cause of various respiratory problems. It affects our immunity over many lung infections. It is the cause of problems like coughing, colds, flu and bronchitis. Have a look at the nitrogen dioxide levels in China before and after the corona-virus:
Another harmful pollutant is PM 2.5 which causes lung infection and heart attacks. It is the cause of the deaths of 4 million people each year, an average 300,000 per month. And right now, after almost 5 months of lockdown, the number of deaths have touched 450,000, an average of 90,000 deaths per month. Which do you think is more dangerous.
If you are still not convinced, then let's look at a study conducted by a Stanford University professor. The study says that for the one month when China was locked down(in February), about 77,000 lives had been saved due to the reduced contact of people with PM 2.5. At the same time, the number of cases in China had touched just 75000. This means that the number of people whose lives were saved by the reduced PM 2.5 levels was more than those affected by the virus.
This shows us that global warming is much more dangerous than coronavirus. And as all of us know global warming is a result of human activities, we can conclude that the human interference with nature is much more harmful to us than the nature itself.
All this means that we must think of new and innovative ways to protect the nature and conserve it's resources. All of this must begin with a small, but very important step, that is, that we must recognize the environmental problem as a problem. In today's world, everyone is concerned about unnecessary matters such as YouTube vs Tiktok, Ram Mandir, The wall between US and Mexico, and many others.
Conclusion-Once we consider the environmental problem as a serious problem, only then will we able to transform the world from hell to heaven. These tough times need to be taken as a learning, and we must ensure that the mistakes committed before should not be repeated.
Let's take nitrogen dioxide. It is a toxic air pollutant which is released by vehicles. It is the cause of various respiratory problems. It affects our immunity over many lung infections. It is the cause of problems like coughing, colds, flu and bronchitis. Have a look at the nitrogen dioxide levels in China before and after the corona-virus:
Another harmful pollutant is PM 2.5 which causes lung infection and heart attacks. It is the cause of the deaths of 4 million people each year, an average 300,000 per month. And right now, after almost 5 months of lockdown, the number of deaths have touched 450,000, an average of 90,000 deaths per month. Which do you think is more dangerous.
If you are still not convinced, then let's look at a study conducted by a Stanford University professor. The study says that for the one month when China was locked down(in February), about 77,000 lives had been saved due to the reduced contact of people with PM 2.5. At the same time, the number of cases in China had touched just 75000. This means that the number of people whose lives were saved by the reduced PM 2.5 levels was more than those affected by the virus.
This shows us that global warming is much more dangerous than coronavirus. And as all of us know global warming is a result of human activities, we can conclude that the human interference with nature is much more harmful to us than the nature itself.
3)Relation between economy and environment
It appears that whenever there is an economic fallout, the the environmental conditions become better. According to experts, this lockdown has caused the largest drop in carbon dioxide emissions since the second world war(a drop of 5%). This means that the economy and the environment have an inversely proportional nature, which confirms the need for sustainable development. This also proves that the "constant and costly" efforts at achieving sustainable development have failed.
All this means that we must think of new and innovative ways to protect the nature and conserve it's resources. All of this must begin with a small, but very important step, that is, that we must recognize the environmental problem as a problem. In today's world, everyone is concerned about unnecessary matters such as YouTube vs Tiktok, Ram Mandir, The wall between US and Mexico, and many others.
Conclusion-Once we consider the environmental problem as a serious problem, only then will we able to transform the world from hell to heaven. These tough times need to be taken as a learning, and we must ensure that the mistakes committed before should not be repeated.
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