As social distancing continues, and routine work days are disrupted, the population has taken to frequent walks or runs throughout the day as a way to avoid staying hunched at a computer. Dr. Sadiya Muqueeth, the Director of Community Health at The Trust for Public Land says, “In this time of crisis, we are seeing people across the country visit their parks to seek out exercise, community and healing.” Spending time outside has proven to help both mental and physical health. But, not only are people spending more time in nature and feeling healthier because of it, nature itself is starting to heal.
As CO2 (carbon dioxide) levels drop and the air clears, people now wonder how the climate will be affected after COVID-19 restrictions. “Humanity is conducting an unintended, uncontrolled, globally pervasive experiment…”, the Toronto Climate Conference declared in March 2020. Most states and countries have banned non-essential travel, and there have been positive consequences around the world. China’s carbon emissions are 18% lower than usual levels as of April 2nd. In the past couple of decades, China has become the country most reliant on coal, and through satellite pictures from NASA, Wuhan’s pollution levels were very visible until the lockdown took place. With factories shut down, and people staying at home, the overall air quality has increased and Wuhan’s pollution levels, along with other cities, are no longer able to be seen.
These changes, a positive result of quarantining, are not just being seen in China, but all over the world. Due to the lack of boat-traffic in Venice, Italy, the sediment from the bottom of the canals is not being disrupted and people are noticing fish swimming at the bottom. In all of northern Italy, between January 1st and March 12th, the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide also fell sharply and experts believe that it has led to healthier air.
On April 22nd, Greta Thunberg, the seventeen-year-old climate change activist from Sweden had a virtual conversation with Johan Rockström, an earth systems scientist and Director of the Potsdam Institute, in celebration of Earth Day. Rockström declared that there was already more support for Green New Deals in Europe, South Korea, and China. Thunberg, Rockström, and a large portion of the population are hoping that this global pandemic will be a wake-up call for our world to acknowledge the dangers of an over-polluted Earth. With clearer skies in many countries, people have been able to see what a less-polluted world looks like. •
