Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment facts for kids
The COVID-19 pandemic changed how people lived, and this had a big effect on our planet. For a while, there were changes in air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and water quality. When the pandemic started in early 2020, many countries had lockdowns and travel rules. This stopped a lot of normal activities, like travel, using energy, and business. This time was sometimes called the "anthropause" because human activity slowed down so much.
At first, some good things happened for the environment. In 2020, carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) dropped by 6.4% around the world. In April 2020, nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution fell by up to 30%. In China, lockdowns led to a 26% drop in coal use and a 50% drop in nitrogen oxide pollution. However, these good changes didn't last. As countries opened up, pollution levels went back up. The pandemic didn't have a big long-term effect on climate change.
Some rich countries tried to have a "green recovery". This meant they wanted to help their economies grow while also using more renewable energy. For example, the European Union planned to spend a lot of money, with 25% of it going to projects that help the climate.
But not everything was good. While people were focused on the pandemic, other environmental problems continued. For example, there was more deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and more poaching (illegal hunting) in parts of Africa. Also, the economic slowdown might have made it harder to invest in green energy technologies.
The pandemic also created more medical waste. Things like personal protective equipment (PPE) – masks and gloves – added to plastic waste. In 2020, people used about 65 billion gloves and 129 billion face masks every month. Getting rid of all this waste was a big challenge. Burning this plastic waste created a lot of CO2, adding to greenhouse gases.
Contents
- How the Pandemic Affected Our Planet
- Cleaner Air
- Cleaner Water
- Water Use Changes
- Wildlife and the Pandemic
- Forests and Trees
- Climate Change and the Pandemic
- Shopping and Food
- More Litter
- Money and the Environment
- Politics and Climate
- How People Reacted
- Rebound Effect
- How We Think About Risk
- Monitoring the Environment
- See also
How the Pandemic Affected Our Planet
Why Environmental Issues Matter
Since the Industrial Revolution, we've put more and more greenhouse gases into the air. This has made Earth's average temperature go up. Climate change causes glaciers to melt, more extreme weather, loss of animals and plants, frequent wildfires, and rising sea levels. Before COVID-19, experts thought that a big slowdown in human activity could help with these problems. They hoped it would stop rising temperatures and reduce air and marine pollution.
What Happened During COVID-19
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that COVID-19 was a pandemic. Many countries had lockdowns to stop the virus from spreading and to keep hospitals from getting too full. These lockdowns changed daily life around the world. Industries and businesses closed, and people traveled less.
This slowdown in human activity had a big impact on the environment. We used less fossil fuels, consumed fewer resources, and created less waste. This led to less air and water pollution in many places. For example, there was a big drop in air travel and car use, which reduced carbon emissions. Some experts hoped that these changes would lead to better environmental protection plans after the pandemic.
Cleaner Air
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Because of less travel and industry, the world saw a drop in air pollution. This was good for both climate change and possibly for reducing COVID-19 risks. In China, lockdowns led to a 25% drop in carbon emissions. In the first month of lockdowns, China produced about 200 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide than the year before. This was because of less air traffic, oil refining, and coal use. Car travel in the UK fell by 70%. One scientist thought this cleaner air might have saved at least 77,000 lives. However, global carbon emissions only fell by 6.4% in 2020.
In northern Italy, the European Space Agency saw a big drop in nitrous oxide from cars and factories during lockdowns. In North India, the Himalayas became visible again for the first time in decades because the air was so much clearer.
NASA and the ESA watched the big drop in nitrogen dioxide gases in China. The economic slowdown reduced pollution a lot, especially in cities like Wuhan, China, where it fell by 25-40%. NASA used a special tool to track pollutants. Scientists said the drop in NO2 started in Wuhan and then spread globally. This happened quickly because the virus outbreak was around the same time as the Lunar New Year festival in China, when factories usually close. Even with the drop, China's air quality was still not considered safe by health experts. Other pollutants like aerosols remained.
In early 2020, the air also got better in Southeast Asia, reducing haze. This was due to lockdowns and good weather.
Scientists from China and the U.S. found that nitrogen oxide emissions in East China dropped by 50% during the Wuhan lockdown (January 23 to February 9, 2020). But then they went up by 26% when businesses started to open again. This shows that the changes were temporary.
The World Health Organization says that over 80% of people in cities usually breathe dangerous air pollution. This pollution has been linked to higher risks of COVID-19 problems and deaths.
The changes in air pollution also affected water quality. Air and water quality are connected. While some studies showed temporary improvements in water systems, the long-term impact is still being studied.
Air Quality in India
India had its first COVID-19 case on January 30, 2020, followed by a nationwide lockdown from March 25 to May 31, 2020. This lockdown led to less air pollution and better air quality. Restrictions on factories and traffic helped a lot. Many Indian cities saw big drops in air pollution. Even in the industrial state of Gujarat, major air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide decreased. Emissions of chemicals like carbon monoxide, ammonia, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide dropped significantly (22% to 46%). Fine particles (PM2.5 and PM10) also fell by over 48%. This led to much better air quality during the lockdown.
Cleaner Water
How Air Affects Water
The big drop in nitrous oxides in the air was seen far from China's factories. Cities like New York, Paris, and London saw 40% less nitrous oxide in early 2020 compared to the year before. Los Angeles had a 20% increase in air quality. In the San Francisco Bay Area, traffic was down 45%, leading to much lower carbon dioxide emissions.
Scientists know that water particles in the air mix with carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides to create acid rain. Acid rain falls into rivers and lakes, harming aquatic life. So, cleaner air often means cleaner water. During the pandemic, improvements in both air and water quality were seen together.
Water Quality in the United States
Many reports showed that more masks were used, leading to "an extra 8 million tons of plastic waste during the pandemic." This was partly due to discarded masks ending up in public waterways.
When air quality improved in the United States, water quality also got better. For example, in the San Francisco Bay, water pollution decreased. Experts think this was because there was less traffic. Studies in New York City also showed that better air quality during the pandemic led to better water quality.
In April 2020, Oregon State University started a project called TRACE-COVID-19. They tested wastewater in Oregon to find out how much COVID-19 was in communities. This data helped officials make public health decisions.
A study in Massachusetts in 2020 found that car and truck traffic dropped by 71% and 46%. This big drop in traffic led to less harmful particles in the air, which then improved water quality.
Water Quality in Peru
The Peruvian jungle had 14 oil spills from the start of the pandemic until October 2020. Eight of these spills were from one company that stopped working during the pandemic and didn't take care of its wells and pipes. The oil leaked into the ground, polluting the drinking water for local people. Oil spills have been a problem in the Peruvian Amazon for decades, putting toxic metals into drinking water. A 2016 study found that 50% of people living near one oil block had toxic metals in their blood above safe levels. This made these communities very vulnerable during the pandemic, especially with a lack of doctors and medicine.
Water Quality in Italy
In Venice, after the quarantine started in March 2020, the water in the canals became much clearer and flowed better. This was mainly because there were fewer boats. With less boat traffic, the mud at the bottom of the canals stayed put instead of being stirred up. Satellite images from the European Space Agency showed a clear change from pale, cloudy water to a deeper blue. This showed that the water was healthier. However, stories about dolphins and other sea creatures returning to Venice were not true. These rumors gave people a wrong idea about the pandemic's impact on wildlife.
Water Quality in India
In India, the government put the whole country on a full lockdown. While this was hard for many, environmental researchers found big improvements in water quality. For example, the Damodar River, in an industrial area, became much cleaner. Before the lockdown, its Water Pollution Index (WPI) showed high pollution. During the lockdown, the WPI showed the water was 'good' or 'moderately polluted'. This big improvement happened because heavy industries closed, and less toxic waste went into the river.
The Ganga River also got much cleaner. Oxygen levels in the water increased, and pollution from waste decreased. The lockdown meant less sewage and wastewater went into rivers. This was especially true in industrial areas where activity levels changed a lot.
Research on India's longest lake, Vembanad Lake, in April 2020, showed that the amount of dirt in the water dropped by 16% during early lockdowns.
Water Quality in China
China was the first country affected by the pandemic. Many large industries closed during the lockdown. This led to much better water quality. Monthly tests of river water in China showed improvements. Ammonia nitrogen quickly dropped, and dissolved oxygen and chemical oxygen demand improved. After the lockdown was lifted, water quality went back to normal. This showed that the improvements were temporary. Scientists suggested that future plans to reduce pollution need to be specific to locations and kept up for a long time.
Water Quality in South Africa
In South Africa, developing countries used wastewater surveillance to find COVID-19 hotspots. They tested wastewater from cities, rivers, and drinking water. Traces of the virus were found in wastewater treatment plants before the water was cleaned. After treatment, no virus was found, meaning the treated water was safe. This showed that the pandemic didn't cause major harm to water quality in South Africa.
Water Quality in Morocco
The COVID-19 lockdown also helped the water quality of the Boukhalef River in northern Morocco. Before the lockdown, the river had high water surface temperatures, meaning poor water quality. After the lockdown, factories reduced their pollution, and the water quality returned to normal.
Water Quality in England
A study in England looked at how the lockdown affected water use. People used 35% more water at home because they were staying in, washing hands more, and using appliances. This led to higher water bills for families. Less traffic in big cities meant less pollution in larger rivers. However, water quality got worse near people's homes, increasing pollution in smaller rivers in suburban areas.
Water Quality in Ecuador
Surveys in Ecuador showed that ocean water looked clearer and cleaner during the pandemic. This was because fewer people were swimming and visiting beaches. Residents of Salinas beach said water quality improved a lot during quarantine. The Galapagos Islands also saw better water quality, with more turtles, sea lions, and sharks because of less pollution.
However, clean water became a concern in Ecuador. The virus could spread through waste from wastewater treatment plants. In Ecuador, only 20% of wastewater was treated. The city of Quito was especially affected. This meant that improper wastewater management might have spread the virus through contaminated water.
Water Quality in Nepal
The Bagmati River in Nepal, which flows through Kathmandu, saw big improvements in water quality during the pandemic. Less human activity caused a drop in biological oxygen demand (BOD), which shows bacteria levels. BOD decreased by 1.5 times compared to before the lockdowns.
Water Quality in Egypt
Less human activity during COVID-19 meant less industrial wastewater was dumped into the Nile River and its canals in Egypt. Fewer tourist ships on the Nile also meant less oil and gas spills. Less shipping traffic through the Suez Canal also improved its water quality. People in some Egyptian villages had to purify their own water, using methods like ultraviolet rays.
Water Use Changes
The pandemic changed how much water people used. Good hygiene, like frequent hand washing and cleaning surfaces, increased the need for water.
Water Use at Home
Water use went up in homes because people were staying home. For example, home water use in Portsmouth, England, increased by 15%. This meant higher water bills for families, adding to financial stress.
Water Use in Dry Areas
Some dry regions suffered. In Nevada, water use went up by 3.3% overall in the first month of quarantine. Businesses used less water, but homes used more. This led to efforts to limit household water use, like rules about watering grass.
Water Use in Businesses
Many public buildings closed for a long time. This caused water quality problems like mold in pipes. When these buildings reopened, water demand went back to normal. Water companies lost a lot of money because total water use dropped in many areas, and many people couldn't pay their bills.
Water Access in Poorer Countries
In places already struggling to get water, like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Yemen, the pandemic made things worse. The World Health Organization and UNICEF said that not having access to handwashing facilities put millions of people at high risk of getting COVID-19.
Some water companies in poorer countries worked with governments to temporarily stop billing vulnerable groups. This helped people who were out of work but caused big money losses for the water companies.
Wildlife and the Pandemic
In early 2020, fish prices and demand dropped, so fishing boats stayed in port. A German scientist, Rainer Froese, thought that fish populations might increase because of less fishing. As of April 2020, most signs of aquatic recovery were just stories, not proven facts.
As people stayed home, many animals were seen roaming freely in cities. Sea turtles laid eggs on beaches they usually avoided, like the coast of the Bay of Bengal, because there were fewer people and less light pollution. In the United States, fatal car crashes with animals like deer and bears dropped by 58% in March and April 2020. In Glacier National Park, scientists saw big changes in wildlife behavior because there were so few humans around.
Conservationists worried that African countries would see a big rise in poaching (illegal hunting). When people lost their jobs, they might turn to poaching high-value animals like rhino horn and ivory. On the other hand, Gabon banned eating bats and pangolins to stop the spread of diseases from animals to humans.
A study in 2020 found that carnivores (meat-eating animals) were less active when humans were around, while herbivores (plant-eating animals) in developed areas were more active. This suggests that herbivores might see humans as protection from predators.
Animal Infections
Many animals, both captive and wild, could get SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Some got very sick. For example, farmed and wild mink often got severe infections, with a death rate as high as 35-55%. White-tailed deer, however, usually didn't get very sick but became natural reservoirs for the virus. This means they could carry and spread the virus. In some areas, like Iowa, about 80% of wild deer were infected.
Forests and Trees
When many people lost their jobs during the pandemic, some were hired for illegal deforestation, especially in tropical areas. In the first month of COVID-19 rules, about twice as much forest was cut down in tropical regions compared to the year before. Illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil surged by over 50%.
However, unemployment also helped some good projects. In Pakistan, many jobless people were hired for the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami campaign, which aims to plant 10 billion trees.
Deforestation also affects clean drinking water. When forests are cut down, water quality gets worse because the soil can't filter water as well. This makes the water dirtier, which is a big problem for countries that can't afford water treatment.
Climate Change and the Pandemic
Changes in society during lockdowns, like more remote work and virtual events, might have a lasting impact beyond just less travel. Scientists think these new habits could permanently reduce transportation CO₂ emissions by 15%.
Despite this, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in May 2020 was the highest ever recorded. Experts say that a pandemic is "the worst possible way to reduce emissions." They believe that lasting changes in technology and behavior are the only way to truly reduce emissions. The world's demand for fossil fuels dropped by almost 10% during the pandemic, and some economists think it might not fully recover.
Impact on Climate
In August 2020, scientists estimated that global NOx emissions dropped by 30% in April. However, a 20% drop in SO₂ emissions (which have a cooling effect) balanced this out. They concluded that the direct effect of the pandemic on global warming would likely be very small, causing only about 0.01°C of cooling by 2030. But, if countries focused on a "green economy" recovery, by reducing fossil fuel investments, it could prevent 0.3°C of warming by 2050. This shows that big, lasting changes in how we get energy and food are needed to truly impact global warming.
In October 2020, scientists reported an "unprecedented" 8.8% drop in global CO₂ emissions in the first half of 2020 compared to 2019. This was a bigger drop than during past economic problems or even World War II. But the authors noted that such drops from human inactivity "cannot be the answer." They stressed that big, lasting changes in how our economies and behaviors work are needed.
In January 2021, scientists found that the reduction in air pollution from lockdowns in 2020 was bigger than first thought. Because of this, Earth actually warmed slightly that year instead of cooling. This is because some pollutants (aerosols) can have a cooling effect, and when they decreased, that cooling effect was lost.
Even though human-made methane emissions decreased, methane levels in the atmosphere still went up. Researchers think this is because wetlands released more methane when nitrous oxide emissions (which can affect wetland methane) decreased.
Fossil Fuel Industry
A report by Carbon Tracker suggested that the pandemic might have pushed the fossil fuel industry into a "terminal decline." This is because demand for oil and gas dropped, and governments want to use more clean energy. They predict that a 2% yearly drop in fossil fuel demand could cause profits for oil, gas, and coal companies to crash. However, over half a trillion dollars worldwide are still planned to be invested in high-carbon industries.
Also, natural gas prices dropped so low that producers were burning it off because it wasn't worth transporting. Bans on single-use plastics in many countries also reduced demand for plastics. The petrochemical industry has been trying to increase demand for plastic products worldwide to save itself.
Cycling Boom
During the pandemic, many people started cycling. Bike sales surged. Many cities created temporary "pop-up bike lanes" to give cyclists more room. People chose bikes because they worried about crowded public transportation. Also, exercise became more popular during lockdowns. This led to a "bike boom." Some cities, like Berlin, are thinking about making these new bike lanes permanent.
Shopping and Food
Food Production
Small farmers started using online tools to sell their produce directly. Community-supported agriculture and direct delivery systems became more popular. This helped smaller online grocery stores that sell organic and local food. This can be good for the environment because people get deliveries instead of driving to the store. Online grocery shopping grew a lot during the pandemic.
While carbon emissions dropped, methane emissions from livestock continued to rise. Methane is a much stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Retail Shopping
Because of lockdowns, many people switched to online shopping. This led to a 32% increase in online sales and more packaging waste. There's still a debate about whether online shopping is better for the environment than shopping in stores. Both have pros and cons. For example, shipping items to individual homes can be bad for the environment, but so is powering a large store. Also, about 20% of online returns end up in landfills because they can't be resold.
More Litter
The big increase in plastic waste during the pandemic became a major environmental problem. The demand for single-use plastics made an already bad plastic pollution problem even worse. Most of the new plastic in oceans came from hospitals, shipping packages, and personal protective equipment (PPE). In the first 18 months of the pandemic, about 8 million tons of waste piled up. A lot of this came from developing countries, especially in Asia. This extra waste was very worrying for oceans and wildlife, and it mostly ended up on beaches and coastlines.
In Kenya, more pandemic-related trash was found on beaches. About 55% of the trash was pandemic items. Most of this was fabric masks. This was because more fabric masks were being made and improperly thrown away.
In Hong Kong, disposable masks ended up on beaches. This was due to more production and use of disposable masks.
A study by MIT estimated that the pandemic generated up to 7,200 tons of medical waste every day in the United States during the first six months. This was just from healthcare workers. If every healthcare worker used a new N95 mask for every patient, it would create 84 million kg of waste. However, the study found that cleaning N95 masks to reuse them could cut waste by 75%.
Most masks were thrown away properly and then burned. Burning waste creates ash, some of which can be toxic. These toxic substances can harm human health and the environment, leading to pollution in the air, food, and water.
Lockdowns also affected recycling. Some recycling companies closed or reduced operations. In the United States, 34% of recycling companies partly or fully closed. In many Asian countries, only about one-third of recyclers continued daily work. This led to more illegal dumping and burning of waste. In Dublin, Ireland, illegal dumping increased by 25%, and in the United Kingdom, it rose by 300%.
Money and the Environment
Some people suggested that government money given to help the economy could also be used to speed up the move to renewable energy. Experts said that investing in public transport, cycling, and walking during and after the pandemic would be good. Public transport use dropped by 50-90% worldwide, causing big money losses for operators. Investing in cleaner public transport and social distancing could help people feel safer using it again. The International Energy Agency said that government support could help battery and hydrogen technology grow quickly, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.
A study in August 2020 found that an economic recovery focused on "green stimulus" and less investment in fossil fuels could prevent 0.3°C of warming by 2050.
The head of the OECD, José Ángel Gurría, asked countries to use the COVID-19 recovery as a chance to stop giving money to harmful industries and instead use public funds to benefit people and the planet.
The European Central Bank (ECB) also faced criticism for continuing to fund fossil fuel companies. Greenpeace said that by June 2020, the ECB's COVID-related purchases had already given up to 7.6 billion euros to the fossil fuel sector.
A report from Oxford University found that out of $14.6 trillion spent by the world's 50 largest countries in 2020, only 13% went to long-term recovery, and only 18% of that long-term spending was for green projects.
In 2020, the focus on the European Green Deal decreased. Some thought it should be paused or stopped. But in May 2020, the European Union announced a huge recovery package, "Next Generation EU," which includes the Green Deal. It says that 25% of all funding will go to climate change mitigation, and money will not go to fossil fuels or nuclear power.
In 2021, Joe Biden in the US announced the "$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" and the "Build Back Better Plan."
Some money for environmental projects, like those run by local communities to monitor rainforests, decreased because of the pandemic.
Even with a temporary drop in carbon emissions, the International Energy Agency warned that the economic problems from the pandemic might stop companies from investing in green energy. Others worried that big companies and rich people might use the crisis to make more money, like in the "Shock Doctrine" after past pandemics.
Earth Overshoot Day (the day humanity has used up all the resources Earth can renew in a year) happened three weeks later in 2020 than in 2019 because of lockdowns. The head of the Global Footprint Network said the pandemic itself is a sign of "ecological imbalance."
In 2021, 43% of businesses in the European Union addressed climate change, and 47% planned climate-related investments, up from 41% in 2020. However, uncertainty about rules and taxes held back some future investments.
A 2022 study of the $14 trillion spent by G20 countries in 2020 and 2021 found that only about 6% went to projects that would also cut emissions, and 3% went to projects that would likely increase global emissions.
Politics and Climate
The pandemic also affected environmental policy and climate diplomacy. The 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) was moved to 2021 because its venue became a hospital. This conference was important because countries were supposed to share new plans to meet the Paris Agreement goals. The pandemic also made it harder for countries, especially poorer ones, to focus on climate plans.
Time magazine pointed out three risks: that plans for the Glasgow conference were disrupted; that people might see climate change as less important than the pandemic; and that the desire to "restart" the economy might lead to more greenhouse gas production. However, the drop in oil prices could be a good chance to get rid of fossil fuel subsidies.
The Trump administration in the United States temporarily stopped enforcing some environmental protection laws during the pandemic. This allowed polluters to ignore some laws if they claimed the pandemic caused the violations.
How People Reacted
Humor
Early in the pandemic, the idea that the environment was getting better led to funny memes. These memes often joked about exaggerated claims of environmental benefits, or compared humans to a virus infecting Earth. Memes used phrases like "nature is healing" or "we are the virus." One joke showed a giant rubber duck in the Thames river with the caption "nature is healing," pretending the duck was a wild animal returning.
Activism
In March 2020 in England, the National Trust started the #BlossomWatch campaign. This encouraged people to share pictures of the first signs of spring, like fruit tree blossoms, that they saw on their lockdown walks.
In December 2021, when the first case of COVID-19 spreading from animals to humans happened in Hong Kong (through imported pet hamsters), authorities decided to kill all hamsters bought after a certain date. This affected about 2,000 animals. After the government told people to turn in their pets, about 3,000 people joined secret groups to help adopt abandoned hamsters or to fake purchase receipts to keep their pets. Some activists tried to stop owners from turning in their hamsters, but the government warned this could lead to police action.
Rebound Effect
Experts thought that when factories and transport started up again after lockdowns, it would lead to a big increase in greenhouse gas production. In the transport sector, the pandemic could lead to lasting changes, like more remote work and teleconferences, which could reduce emissions. A study in September 2020 estimated that keeping these new habits could cut 15% of all transport emissions. However, people might also avoid public transport due to fear of getting sick and use more single-occupancy cars, which would increase emissions. But some city planners are also creating new bike paths. In June 2020, it was reported that carbon dioxide emissions were quickly going back up.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development suggested that governments should keep enforcing air pollution rules after the pandemic. They also said financial support should go to public transport to make it better and safer.
Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said that "the next three years will determine the course of the next 30 years." He warned that if we don't act now, emissions will rebound, and it will be very hard to bring them down later.
In March 2022, scientists reported that after record drops in 2020, global CO₂ emissions sharply increased by 4.8% in 2021. This means that at the current rate, the 1.5°C carbon budget (the amount of carbon we can still release to limit warming to 1.5°C) would be used up in about 9.5 years.
How We Think About Risk
The chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic made a terrible future seem closer, making people think that action to prevent it was more necessary. However, it also made people focus on the immediate problems of the pandemic instead of bigger global issues like climate change and deforestation.
The improvements seen during lockdowns were temporary and didn't mean climate change was getting better long-term. But several international climate change meetings were postponed and sometimes not rescheduled. These meetings were meant to make plans for future generations. Even though the temporary changes gave some hope, they disappeared as humans returned to normal activities.
Monitoring the Environment
Weather Forecasts
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) said that fewer airplane flights during the pandemic could affect how accurate weather forecasts were. This is because commercial airlines use a system called Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) to collect weather data, which is very important for forecasts. The ECMWF predicted that AMDAR data would drop by 65% or more.
Less Seismic Noise
Scientists who study earthquakes reported that lockdowns and other COVID-19 measures led to a global reduction of up to 50% in high-frequency seismic noise. This noise comes from things like traffic, industrial activity, and economic activity. The reduction in noise was seen at both remote monitoring stations and deep underground sensors. This quieter environment could allow scientists to better detect natural seismic events like earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Noise pollution can harm humans and animals. The WHO says that 100 million people in Europe are negatively affected by unwanted noise daily, leading to hearing loss and other health problems. During the pandemic, less car and plane movement led to a big drop in noise pollution.
See also
- Green recovery
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport
- The Year Earth Changed
