COVID-19: Unlikely Saviour Against Air Pollution
By Sri Reesu
The progress that humankind has made is remarkable. We started out in the Stone Age, when we lived in caves, and survived by being hunter-gatherers. We have accomplished many things since then to reach the state which we are in now today, and it is without question we know that the world will progress even further in 50 years. Progress will continue to happen, even after we die, up to the end of humanity. However, whilst progress is undeniably something that we strive to accomplish, it has over the years had some unsavoury side-effects like the introduction of a myriad of pandemics and air pollution amongst other things. This article looks at the strange connection between the current COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on air pollution.
Air pollution can be defined as the contamination of air due to the presence or introduction of solid suspended particles or gases, which lead to having an undesirable effect. Throughout history, various governing institutions of the past have tried legislating against air pollution. One early instance was in the 13th century, when England’s King Edward I threatened Londoners with harsh penalties if they did not stop burning sea-coal. However, the king’s and his successors’ regulations had little effect. From the 18th century onwards, with the onset of the industrial revolution, air pollution became much worse with extensive use of coal and later petrochemicals. The resulting smog and soot had serious health impacts on the residents of growing urban centres. For instance, in the Great Smog of 1952, pollutants from factories and home fireplaces mixed with air condensation killed at least 4,000 people in London over the course of several days. Acid rain, first discovered in the 1850s, was another problem resulting from coal-powered plants. The release of human-produced sulphur and nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere negatively impacted plants, fish, soil, forests, and some building materials. Today, the leading cause of air pollution is motor vehicles, which were first mass-produced in the early 20th century. Auto-emissions also increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which in turn contribute to global warming and impact the well-being of both humans and the entire planet.
Communicable (transmissible) diseases existed during humankind’s hunter-gatherer days, but the shift to an agrarian lifestyle 10,000 years ago created communities that made epidemics more possible. Malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, influenza, smallpox, and many others first appeared during this period. The more civilized that humans became, building cities and forging trade routes to connect with other cities, the more likely pandemics became. It is also easier to spread diseases across countries when the world is so connected. The earliest recorded pandemic happened during the Peloponnesian War in 430 B.C. After the disease passed through Libya, Ethiopia and Egypt, it crossed the Athenian walls as the Spartans laid siege. This weakened the Athenians greatly, and approximately 2/3 of their army perished contributing to them losing the battle. Throughout history we had various pandemics. Some of which were felt very close to home like the Black Death which was responsible for the death of one-third of the world population, possibly starting in Asia and then spreading throughout Europe rapidly. Multitudes of corpses were left rotting on the ground creating a constant stench in cities. This even impacted the structure of Britain when the feudal system collapsed as the plague changed economic circumstances and demographics. Similarly, the Great Plague of London led to the deaths of 20 percent of London’s population.
The most recent pandemic COVID-19 originated in the Hubei Province of China and was formally declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), after it infected people in 114 countries within three months. The virus quickly spread beyond Chinese borders to nearly every country in the world. By December 2020, it had infected more than 75 million people and led to more than 1.6 million deaths worldwide. The number of new cases was growing faster than ever, with more than 500,000 reported each day on average. Governments across the world are trying to contain this pandemic with localised lockdowns and vaccination drives and the fight is far from over. Needless to say, COVID-19, caused many periods of uncertainty and plunged the world into multiple lockdowns. Not only has the pandemic led to a phenomenal increase in the loss of human lives globally, but it has also threatened the future of millions of enterprises. This resulted in nearly half of the world’s global workforce being at risk of losing their source of income according to a report in October 2020 from the WHO. Not only has COVID-19 been devastating on an economic scale, but the virus has also made a lasting imprint in a social context, with the many lockdowns and their aftermaths limiting the number of face-to-face interactions between people.
However, just like everything, even COVID-19 has a silver lining. We have had a longstanding issue about air pollution, which is a heavily contributing factor to climate change, with the major ambient (outdoor) air pollution sources being the power generation, industries, traffic, and residential energy use. The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented reductions in industrial and economic activity. With lockdown measures aimed at containment, economic activity associated with transport and mobility has come to a near-complete standstill in many countries. Lockdown measures have included partial or complete closure of international borders, schools, and nonessential businesses and, in some cases, restricted citizen mobility. The associated reduction in traffic and industry has had both socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Although the socioeconomic impact was felt adversely across all nations, the positive impact on environment due to reduced air pollution was welcomed. Scientists across the world have found that, after accounting for meteorological variations, lockdown events have reduced the population-weighted concentration of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter levels by about 60% and 31% in 34 countries, with mixed effects on ozone. Reductions in transportation sector emissions are largely responsible for the improving air quality.
As the world learns and applies the lessons it learnt from its fight against COVID-19, to help prevent and contain future pandemics, it is important that the policy makers across all nations and supranational bodies like United Nations take note of how judicious human involvement can be used as a tool to reduce air pollution massively and strive to apply this in a post COVID-19 world. If technological innovations like motor vehicles have contributed to reduction in air quality, newer technological innovations like telecommunications, the internet, and associated applications could be used effectively or even improved to reduce unnecessary travel, thus improving air quality. To conclude, we may have stumbled upon an unlikely upside regarding air pollution during the ongoing pandemic, something which was not previously achieved in a similar scale through government regulations and international agreements. However, to fight climate change we need to look beyond these short-term gains and roll forward policies and systems that can realistically be continued forever, and not just for the duration of a lockdown. Sustainable sources of energy should be adopted widely and healthier forms of commuting like walking, running, and cycling should be encouraged even more. Air is a vital “free” resource not only for humankind, but for all other flora and fauna that we share the earth with, and hopefully we would not lapse into the old polluting lifestyle of the past, as it will impact other inhabitants of this planet just as badly as it impacts us. We should collectively resolve that once the pandemic passes, we would build on the achievements during the pandemic in reducing air pollution and be more successful at preventing one major factor that climate change depends upon.
References:
https://medlineplus.gov/airpollution.html
https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/pandemics-timeline
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200325-covid-19-the-history-of-pandemics
https://www.pnas.org/content/117/32/18984
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/air-pollution-everything-you-need-know
Image sources:
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/newimages/img/geography-thumb-news-ev-car-pollution.x443cf9ce.jpg?f=webp
https://www.statnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Coronavirus-CDC-645x645.jpg
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/43771/its-time-to-say-goodbye-air-pollution/
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