Analysis by Shweta Tyagi, Chief Functionary, India Water Foundation and Amritha J, Intern, India Water Foundation
INTRODUCTION
The COVID 19 virus has caused an unprecedented impact on most of the countries in the world and has spread to 4 million peoples worldwide. It has caused more than 3.5 lakh deaths, as said by the World Health Organisation. It is an undeniable fact that the effects which the world is facing because of the COVID-19 pandemic is due to man’s overarching dominance over the environment. But the correlation between COVID-19 and environmental pollution does not stop at this. It has in fact become even more crucial and all the answers to the questions with respect to tackling the current pandemic and preventing future ones lies hidden behind the analysis of this correlation. The spread of COVID-19 has increased public awareness of the consequences of a lack of resilience and preparedness to deal with such a pandemic. Climate change, water pollution and the drivers of biodiversity loss, such as deforestation and illegal wildlife trade, may increase the risk of further pandemics, such as vector-borne or water-borne infections. A comprehensiveanalysis at this juncture, brings with it, two facets; firstly, how environmental pollution caused because of man’s activities worsens the already dismal conditions plagued by the pandemic and secondly, how the COVID-19 pandemic itself has resulted in both positive and negative impacts on the environment. It seems clear that majority of the governments and private agencies policies revolves around public health, and is lacking other perspectives, mainly environmental issues and because of this, the indirect effect of the coronavirus is explored in this research article, to understand what message the positive impacts are trying to convey andhow to sustain them also to provide suggestions to tackle the negative effects.
THE IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION ON COVID-19
It has been identified in emerging research that air pollution (which is a major constituent of the bigger term environmental pollution) acts as a major contributor to COVID-19 mortality. In fact, in the United States, researchers have concludedthat increased PM 2.5 levels is associated with significant increase in the COVID-19 mortality rate.
[1] According to these data, individuals living in areas where air pollution is high are faced with severe health outcomes and are more likely to die from COVID-19 in comparison to those who live in places which have clean air.[2]A US based study on the exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 mortality came up with a significant finding that a small increase in long-term exposure to PM 2.5 was associated with a significant increase in the country’s mortality rate up to April 22, 2020.[3]
Another recent study focusing on the effects of air pollution on COVID-19 related mortality in Northern Italy[4], showed that the most affected regions in Northern Italy are those which are heavily industrialized and densely populated, thereby being the most populated regions of Italy. This study further confirmed the positive relationship between PM 2.5 concentration and viral respiratory infection and the increase in susceptibility to COVID-19 mortality caused because of long-term exposure to PM 2.5 concentrations in the air. This positive correlation between correlation between COVID-19 death risk and PM 2.5 has also been confirmed in several other studies.[5]
A study conducted by India also showed that larger number of recoveries of COVID-19 patients were reported in areas with better air quality.[6] Another Indian study on the effect of lockdown on air quality in the State of Rajasthan concluded that the lockdown has resulted in a significant reduction in air pollutants along with the finding that Bhiwadi, one of the most polluted cities in Rajasthan, showed a major dip in air pollutants.[7]
It is to be noted that such a relationship between air pollutants and the increase in mortalityrates of COVID-19 patients does not come as a surprise for clinicians and researchers. They have been pointing out to the positive correlation between viral respiratory infection and ambient PM concentration levels in the environment since a long time.[8] Even after the SARS epidemic, researchers had confirmed that there was a strong correlation between air pollution and higher death rate.[9]
Hence, by analysing past literature focusing on the positive correlation between air pollution and respiratory illnesses and the latest literature confirming the positive relationship between air pollution and COVID-19, it is amply clear that air pollution always has devastating impacts.
Environmental pollution in other words is man’s ruthless encroachment upon nature. It was this encroachment which resulted in the planet’s current situation in the very first place. So, it does not come as a surprise that the same residue of man’s activities is further worsening the impacts of the existing catastrophe. Hence, this is a major lesson to mankind that if environmental pollution is not controlled, then this chain reaction of one issue leading to the other will continue to take place until it becomes too late to act upon it. After the current pandemic situation is curbed with the joint efforts of the people of the planet, the only way to prevent other ones from emerging is to mend mankind’s relationship with nature.
THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
While a discussion on how environmental pollution has caused and worsened the impacts of COVID-19 has been done, it is pertinent to note that after the pandemic struck, apart from all the other devastating impacts, it has left several positive and negative impacts on the environment as well.
POSITIVE IMPACTS
It has been estimated that there has been a global daily decrease in the emissions of CO2 by about 17% making the CO2 levels in the atmosphere like those in the year 2006.[10] The reduction of economic activities because of this pandemic has temporarily reduced global warming and air and marine pollution thereby allowing the environment to flourish slowly.[11]
Another important positive impact of COVID-19 is its impact on wildlife. As the number of people visiting national parks have notably reduced, the stress on wild fauna has also diminished.[12] It had been observed that wild animals are returning to the suburban areas which they had fled due to human presence.[13] From this we can reaffirm that humans had been encroaching into the space of wild animals and that reducing such an intervention would enable these animals to exist in peace thus taking the ambience of nature to the way it is supposed to be.
During the recent lockdown periods, people have stopped attending recreation and entertainment areas because of which wastes in public areas have been reduced.[14] However, other forms of wastes have increased amidst the pandemic which would be discussed in detail further on in the article. There has also been a substantial reduction in noise because of the lockdown due to decrease in airflights, traffic congestion etc and this would help birds as noise has been shown to have negative impacts on birds.[15]
In Venice, Italy, improvement in water quality has also been reported as a result of suspended solids because of reduced used of motorboats.[16] The water quality of River Ganga recorded within a few weeks of lockdown was more pronounced than what government policies or regulatory agencies have been trying to achieve for years.[17] Tests conducted on water samples from Har-ki-Pauri in Haridwar by Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board (UKPCB) has revealed that the river water has become ‘fit for drinking’ for the first time in over three decades.[18] Such an improvement in the water quality of Haridwar and Rishikesh has been attributed to the steep reduction in the number of visitors at Ghats and 500% decrease in industrial effluents.[19]
Measures such as the “Next Generation EU” which aims to reserve 25% of EU spending for climate-friendly expenditures,[20] may help sustain the positive environmental impacts of COVID-19. However, some authors also are of the opinion that these improvements during the time of COVID-19 may not help mitigate pollution in the long run.[21]The author believes that if positive interventions in terms of sustaining these appreciable impacts on the environment is planned and executed as early as possible, then restoring our environment permanently back to how it was before would not remain a distant dream. This temporary improvement should be anopportunity given by nature to humans to start over and hence, we must start working towards sustaining these positive impactsin the long run.
NEGATIVE IMPACTS
The impacts of COVID-19 on the environment have negative facets to it as well. There has been a substantial increase in the generation of biomedical waste because of this pandemic. For example, in Ahmedabad, India, the amount of medical waste generation increased from 550-600 kg/day to around 1000 kg/day during the time of the first phase of lockdown.[22] This kind of a sudden increase in hazardous waste and their proper management has become a new and important challenge to the local waste management authorities. Other than adding on to environmental pollution, such wastes can also increase the risk of infection as it has been shownin a recent published literature that the SARS-COv-2 virus can exist a day on cardboard, and up to three days on stainless steel and plastic.[23]
It goes without saying that amidst the pandemic, the use of safety equipment like masks have soared. For instance, in China, the daily production of medical masks increased to 14.8 million since February 2020, which is a significant increase from before.[24] But due to the lack of knowledge of people regarding management of infectious waste, they dump these masks, hand gloves etc., in open spaces or along with household wastes.[25] This leads to clogging in water ways which in turn worsens environmental pollution.[26]
As a result of the restrictions imposed due to the lockdowns, demand for online shopping and home delivery has increased which have led to an increase in household wastes in the form of shipped package materials.[27] Waste recycling, which could have mitigated this problem to a large extent have also been put on hold due to the pandemic in many countries like the USA and UK.[28] This has resulted in poor municipal waste management which could in turn contribute to further worsening of environmental pollution. Such negative impacts perfectly represent the chain reaction which happens when human activities encroach upon and disturb the balance of the environment.
Activities to conserve ecosystems and biodiversity have been restricted leading to an increase in illegal waste-dumping, hunting, and logging, for example. As people lose their livelihoods, increased poverty will likely lead more people to turn to unsustainable harvesting of natural resources. The lockdown has led to the postponement of vital negotiations on global environmental governance in the expected climate change and biodiversity “super year”. Once the pandemic eases, pressure on the environment will resume and risks being less constrained, if recovery investment goes to dirty industries and less finance is available for green investment. If not taken care of right now, these negative impacts will become the next major concern which humanity would be faced to tackle with along with the other negative impacts which the pandemic has already paved way for.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Existing literature has put forth some noteworthy strategies for environmental sustainability such as sustainable industrialisation which could be achieved by shifting to less energy-intensive industries, strong energy efficient policies and use of cleaner technologies and fuels, encouraging the use of public transport rather than private vehicles, usage of renewable energy which can lower the demand of fossil fuels like natural gas, coal and oil, which would in turn help in reducing the GHG emissions, proper treatment of industrial and municipal water before discharge, proper management of infectious and hazardous medical waste by following the guidelines issued by WHO, shutting down of tourist spots periodically, adopting behavioural changes to reduce carbon footprint and strengthening international corporation for achieving sustainable environmental goals.[29]
Another set of authors in their article provide an important suggestion that medical personnel, researchers, and social leaders, instead of developing strategies only based on health sciences should instead develop them based on socio-economic terms.[30] They also point to the need for carrying out more studies on virology and wildlife immunology to identify potential pathogens and how wildlife would be able to cope with them. Acting today to protect ecosystems on land and in water, combating global heating and including “safety first” biosecurity measures and environmental safeguards is critical.
In addition to agreeing with the above-mentioned suggestions from existing literature, the author would like to emphasize upon a few suggestions:
- Devising stricter regulations and policy interventions with respect to air pollution and taking all steps possible to control it is of utmost importance since air pollution has the potential to worsen the condition of any illness relating to the respiratory system and most importantly this would be crucial for acting against climate change.
- Prime importance needs to be given to management of bio-medical wastes as its improper management has the potential to further spread the infection and to cause environmental pollution in the form of clogging of water bodies, proving fatal for marine life etc.
- Systems and guidelines need to be devised to properly process domestic wastes even under situations of strict lockdowns.
- In wildlife parks and sanctuaries, guidelines need to be provided in such a manner that strictly very few people would be allowed to see the animals at a time,thus reducing excessive stress on the animals.
- Awareness campaigns need to be conducted to let people know about the positive impacts the lockdown has had on the environment and to continue to maintain a healthy relationship with nature.
- People need to be made aware of the drastic impacts noise pollution has on animals and birds and how reduction of it has helped them during the lockdown. People should realise that unwanted honking during heavy traffics congestions contributes to excessive noise pollution and that they should honk only when required.
- Strict regulations in all States with respect to cracker manufacturing and sales need to be imposed permanently in such a way that the people who were involved in the cracker manufacturing business are not stripped of their livelihood and the environment is also safe.
- Underscoring the benefits to well-being and prosperity from more resilient societies can strengthen public support for measures aimed at enhancing environmental health.
- A cleaner environment will have a positive impact on human health;for example, reductions in air pollution will improve the health of vulnerable segments of urbanpopulations and can make them more resilient to health risks.
- The use of financial support measures such as preferential loans,loan guarantees and tax abatements could be directed towards supporting stronger environmentalcommitments and performance in pollution-intensive sectors that may be particularly affected by the crisis.
- As countriesimplement urgent measures to tackle the health and immediate economic impact of the crisis, itwill be important not to retreat from the gains made in recent decades in addressing climatechange, air and water pollution, biodiversity loss, and other environmental challenges.
- While the priority is rightly on providing urgent relief to impactedbusinesses and individuals, a careful screening of the environmental impacts of stimulus measureswould significantly add coherence to policies and avoid creating perverse and unintendedenvironmental consequences that might damage the future resilience and environmental health ofsocieties.
- Ensuring that the knowledge and commitment to responsible consumption and production extends across all pillars of societies will be fundamental building blocks to future-proof the progress and success of all other sustainable development goals.
CONCLUSION
The current pandemic has provided us with a unique opportunity to understand that caring for the environment requires abstinence of human intervention from it more than any positive action to protect it. In fact, the need for ‘protecting’ the environment would not have arisen if human beings had learnt to maintain an effective balance in their interaction with the environment long ago. But unfortunately, the scenario was different and so different that we have reached a situation wherein we are being taught the lesson by nature itself in the form of the current pandemic which has had devastating impacts. It may not be very accurate to say that COVID-19 has had positive impacts on the environment considering its other negative impacts in all other spheres. We may restrict ourselves by saying that the pandemic has given us that window, which we may not have gotten otherwise, to stand as a spectator and witness how anything and everything unnatural, which happens with our environment is because of human activities. Moreover, this pandemic has taught us that the relationship between the environment and human interactions with it is complicated, in the sense that the improper interaction with the environment causes the outbreak of such pandemics, then the same environmental pollution further worsens the mortality rates of the patients affected by the pandemic, then the environmental impacts occurring as a result of this pandemic such as improper biomedical and municipal waste management system, improper disposal of safety equipment etc., again paves way for environmental pollution. The ray of positivity which we observed in the form of several positive impacts which the lockdown and the reduced interaction of humans with the environment paved way for, should exactly become the long-term goal of mankind if they wish for their relationship with the environment to become peaceful again just like how it was meant to be in the first place. If immediate actions to sustain the positive impacts which the pandemic has had on the environment and other preventive measures is not taken, then these impacts may be short-term considering that human activities would return to normal once the pandemic situation becomes normal. A lesson from our environmental perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the quest for effective policies to reduce anthropogenic emissions, which cause both air pollution and climate change, needs to be accelerated. The pandemic ends with the vaccination of the population or with herd immunity through extensive infection of the population. However, there are no vaccines against poor air quality and climate change. The remedy is to mitigate emissions. The transition to a green economy with clean, renewable energy sources will further both environmental and public health locally through improved air quality and globally by limiting climate change.Governments across the region need to build back better their economies, create jobs and support businesses, while bearing in mind that better air quality, water and sanitation, waste management and biodiversity protection, as well as reduced greenhouse gas emissions, will each reduce vulnerability and increase resilience and sustainability.
[1]Lauren Matelski, Peter Andrew and Pamela J.Lein , The negative impacts of environmental pollutants on COVID-19 health outcomes, OPEN ACCESS GOVERNMENT, ( Jul. 30, 2020) https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/environmental-pollutants-covid-19-health/87300/.
[2]Ibid.
[3] Xiao Wu, Rachel C Nethery, M Benjamin Sabath, Danielle Braun, Francesca Dominici, Exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in the United States.MedRxiv, (2020), https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.05.20054502 .
[4] Eric S. Coker, Laura Cavalli, Enrico Fabrizi, et al.The Effects of Air Pollution on COVID-19 Related Mortality in Northern Italy, 76 Environ Resource Econ, 611-634 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-020-00486-1 .
[5]Ricardo Pansini, Davide Fornacca, COVID-19 Higher Induced Mortality in Chinese Regions
with Lower Air Quality,(2020) https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053595 .; Yongjian, Z., Jingu, X., Fengming, H., Liqing, C., Association between short-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 infection: evidence from China, 727 Sci. Total Environ., 138704 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138704; Zhang, Z., Xue, T., Jin, X., Effects of meteorological conditions and air pollution on COVID-19 transmission: evidence from 219 Chinese cities.741 Sci. Total Environ.,140244 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140244; Daniele Fattorini, Francesco Regoli.,Role of the chronic air pollution levels in the Covid-19 outbreak risk in Italy, 264 Environ. Pollut., 114732 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114732 ; Tommaso Filippini Kenneth J. Rothman Alessia Goffi, Satellite-detected tropospheric nitrogen dioxide and spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection in northern Italy, 739 Sci. Total Environ., 140278 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140278; Marco Travaglio., Yizhou Yu , Rebeka Popovic, Nuno Santos Leal, Miguel Martins, Links between air pollution and COVID-19 in England, medRxiv (2020), https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.16.20067405.
[6] Bibek Saha, Animesh Debnath., Biswajit Saha, Analysis and Finding the Correlation of Air Quality Parameters on the Spread and Deceased Case of COVID-19 Patients in India (2020),
https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-34647/v1 .
[7] Madhuben Sharma, Sapna Jain, Epigrammatic study on the effect of lockdown amid Covid-19 pandemic on air quality of most polluted cities in Rajasthan (India), 13 Air Qual Atmos Health, 1157–1165 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-020-00879-7.
[8] Ciencewicki J, Jaspers I, Air pollution and respiratory viral infection,19Inhal Toxicol 1135–1146. https://doi.org/10.1080/08958370701665434 ; Sedlmaier N, Hoppenheidt K, Krist H, Lehmann S, Lang H, Büttner M, Generation of avian influenza virus (AIV) contaminated fecal fine particulate matter (PM2.5): genome and infectivity detection and calculation of immission, 139 Vet Microbiol 156–164, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.05.005; see also,Eric, Laura, supra note 4.
[9]Lauren,supra note 1.
[10] LeQuéré, C., Jackson, R.B., Jones, M.W., et al., Temporary reduction in daily global CO
2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement, Nat. Clim. Chang. 1–7 (2020); see also, Winfred Espejo, José E. Celis, Gustavo Chiang, Paulina Bahamonde, Environment and COVID-19: Pollutants, impacts, dissemination, management and recommendations for facing future epidemic threats, 747Science of the Total Environment, 141314 (2020), www.elsevier.com/ locate/scitotenv.
[11] Sarkodie, S.A., Owusu, P.A. Global assessment of environment, health and economic impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Environ. Dev. Sustain. 1–11; see also, Winfred Espejo, et al., supra note 10.
[12] Corlett, R.T., Primack, R.B., Devictor, V., et al., Impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on biodiversity conservation,246 Biol. Conserv, 108571(2020); see also,Winfred Espejo, et al., supra note 10.
[13]Corlett, R.T., et al., supra.; see also,Winfred Espejo, et al., supra note 10.
[14]Zambrano-Monserrate,M.A., Ruano, M.A., Sanchez-Alcalde, L.,Indirect effects of
COVID-19 on the environment, 728 Sci. Total Environ., 138813 (2020), https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138813.
[15]Ibid.
[16] Braga, F., Scarpa, G.M., Brando, V.E., Manfè, G., Zaggia, L., COVID-19 lockdown measures reveal human impact on water transparency in the Venice lagoon. 736 Sci. Total Environ., 139612 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139612.
[17]Somani, M., Srivastava, A.N., Gummadivalli, S.K., Sharma, A., Indirect implications of COVID-19 towards sustainable environment: an investigation in Indian context, 11 Biores. Technol. Rep., 100491 (2020).
[18]Katariya, M., 10 Things That Have Happened For The First Time In Years
During The Coronavirus Lockdown. Scoopwhoop, (Dec. 15, 2020) https://www.scoopwhoop.com/news/things-that-have-happened-for-the-first-time-in-yearsduring-coronavirus-lockdown/; see also,Somani, M., et al., supra note 17.
[19]Singhal, S., Matto, M., COVID-19 lockdown: A ventilator for rivers, DownToEarth,(Dec. 15, 2020) https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/covid-19-lockdown-aventilator-for-rivers-70771 .
[20] Jones, L., Palumbo, D., Brown, D., Coronavirus: a visual guide to the economic impact, BBC News, (Dec. 15, 2020) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51706225;Winfred Espejo, et al., supra note 10.
[21]Winfred Espejo, et al., supra note 10.
[22]Somani, M., et al., supra note 17; see also, Tanjena Rume, S.M. Didar-Ul Islam, Environmental effects of COVID-19 pandemic and potential strategiesof sustainability, 6 Heliyon(2020), www.cell.com/heliyon.
[23]Van-Doremalen, N., Bushmaker, T., Morris, D.H., Holbrook, M.G., Gamble, A.,
Williamson, B.N., Lloyd-Smith, J.O.,Aerosol and surface stability of SARSCoV-
2 as compared with SARS-CoV-1N. Engl. J. Med. 382 (16), 1564–1567 (2020).
[24] Fadare, O.O., Okoffo, E.D.,Covid-19 face masks: a potential source of microplastic
fibers in the environment, 737 Sci. Total Environ, 140279 (2020).
[25] Rahman, M.,Rare dolphin sighting as Cox’s Bazar lockdown under COVID-19
coronavirus (2020) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjw8ZllIlbQ&ab_channel=MahboobRahman (Last visited Dec.17 2020).
[26] Singh, N., Tang, Y., Ogunseitan, O.A.,Environmentally sustainable management of used personal protective equipment, Environ. Sci. TECHNOL; Zambrano-Monserrate, et al., supra note 14.; see also, Pan, J., Sustainable industrialization. In: China’s Environmental Governing and Ecological Civilization. China Insights, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg (2016); see also, Tanjena Rume, et al., supra note 22.
[27]Somani, M., et al., supra note 17, Zambrano-Monserrate, et. al, supra note 14.
[28]Somani, M., et al., supra note 17.
[29] Pan, J., et al., supra note 26; see also, Tanjena Rume, et al., supra note 22.
[30]Winfred Espejo, et al., supra note 10.
