BENEFITS OF LOCKDOWN DUE TO COVID – 19 TO ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT

1. Introduction

The outbreak of Corona-virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created a global health crisis and had a deep impact on human life. Around 81 Billion people were affected by Corona-virus, out of which it has claimed the lives of 4.4 billion till June 16, 2020, Besides, it has influenced all the growth of industrial and other developmental activity, which resulted in a huge impact on economic status of more than 198 countries. It is a well-known fact that, though COVID-19 substantially affects the life of humans, it has offered notable benefits to all the ecosystems by reducing the pollutant discharge from industry and automobile sectors due to public curfew. The prominent environmental benefits are reduction of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur oxides and significant amount of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) which contribute to climate change viz. global warming, acid rain and ozone layer depletion to greater extent. The present discussion is mainly focused on the benefits of lock-down towards the conservation of biodiversity and various ecosystems.

2. Pollution assessment during COVID-19

During the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in China, a survey by researchers confirmed that the death rate of the patients infected due to SARS were more than twice from the disease if they came from the place where high air pollution was observed. The same opinion is reported during the present COVID-19 outbreak also, that the people exposed to more air pollution are likely to experience severe problems. The levels of pollutants over the atmospheric region of various countries are presented in Table 1 (based on satellite images). It has been reported that COVID-19 induced lock-down, the water quality of India’s two main rivers has improved significantly with the increase in dissolved oxygen (DO) content and reduced nitrate contamination. The increased DO in aquatic ecosystems has a great impact on the values of chemical and biological oxygen demand.

Table 1: Reduction of pollutant level in various countries

2.1 Air quality monitoring Study

Lockdown due to COVID-19 minimized transport activities and consumption of fossil fuel in industry have resulted in significant reduction of carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides. It is also evident that air quality improved and the emission of NO₂ reduced up to 30% during lock-down period. NASA has released the satellite images of atmospheric conditions of China (refer figure 1), Spain (refer figure 2) and USA (refer figure 3) between January and March 2020. Similarly, the quality of air around Delhi has also improved substantially during the lock-down period. According to Hindustan times report, air pollution dipped by 79% in Delhi (refer figure 4) during the initial phase of the lock-down, mainly owing to no industrial activity, reduced on-road traffic and a pause on construction activities.

Figure 1: Comparison of satellite images of atmospheric NO₂ level in China during Jan- March 2019 and Jan- March 2020

Figure 2: Comparison of satellite images of atmospheric NO₂ level in Spain during Feb- March 2019 and Feb- March 2020

Figure 3: Comparison of satellite images of atmospheric NO₂ level in USA during 2015-2019 and March 2020.

Figure 4: Substantial improvement of air quality in Delhi compared to before lock-down

• Reduced Pollution Level in Aquatic Ecosystems

Benefits of COVID-19 have also been noticed in an Indian sub-continent by monitoring the pollutant level in atmosphere (discussed in section 2.1) and hydrosphere. The notable case study with reference to aquatic ecosystems indicates that there is an appreciable reduction of pollutant level in river Ganga. Our honorable Prime Minister of India, Shree Narendra Modi made his personal agenda of setting a deadline to have ‘Clean Ganga’ before the end of 2020. However, this project did not offer 100% outcome due to the violation of rules either by an individual or industries. But, nationwide lock-down improved the quality of Ganga River’s water to greater extent without spending significant money towards the objective of the project and it can be clearly understood from figure 5.

Figure 5: Pollutants level in River Ganga before and after lock-down

1. Summary

• Though COVID-19 outbreak has claimed many lives, it forced us to reduce the emission of toxic gaseous and liquid pollutants from vehicles and industries.
• A significant improvement of DO level in aquatic ecosystems has extended life of aquatic animals due to the reduced point and non-point sources of water pollution.
• Meanwhile, COVID-19 outbreak has also taught a lesson to all of us towards the conservation of the environment and ecosystem with utmost care.
• The present report indicates that the conservation of natural resource and environment are more important rather than the developmental activity.

Courtesy

1. Susanta Mahato, Swades Pal and Krishna Gopal Ghosh Effect of lockdown amid COVID-19 pandemic on air quality of the megacity Delhi, India, Science of The Total Environment Volume 730, 15 August 2020, 139086.
2. Qiang Wang and Min Su, A preliminary assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on environment – A case study of China, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 728, 1 August 2020, 138915.
3. Ganga water quality improves, thanks to COVID-19 lock-down across India – An article published in The New Indian Express on 28th April 2020.
4. The European Space Agency, Paris, France.
5. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) United States of America
6. Sneha Gautam, The Influence of COVID-19 on Air Quality in India: A Boon or Inutile, The Influence of COVID-19 on Air Quality in India: A Boon or Inutile
7. Centre for Science and Environment, India.