The Upside of COVID-19 Lockdowns: A Cleaner Planet

Could this lead us to embrace new ways of living and working?

Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way millions of people live their day-to-day lives. Despite the myriad dire consequences of the pandemic, government-mandated lockdowns have had some unintended positive consequences: cleaner air, clearer water, and more welcoming natural habitats.

In China, as major cities shuttered factories and reduced transportation, experts found that carbon emissions dropped by about 100 million tons over a two-week time period. NASA satellite images show levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2)—a pollutant emitted into the air when fossil fuels are burned—fell across China between January and February. Experts say carbon emissions are down 25% and NO2 is down by about 30% in China.

Virus mitigation efforts across India have led to similar outcomes. According to the IQAir AirVisual 2019 World Air Quality Report, New Delhi’s concentration of fine particulate pollutant (PM2.5) dropped by 71% in just one week after the government-mandated lockdown began. Other major cities across India saw similar reductions in air pollutants. Typically, the air quality index in India rates air quality in the “moderate” category in the month of March, but this year has seen air quality ratings in the satisfactory” or “good” categories, according to Gufran Beig, a scientist at the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). In a country known for some of the world’s worst pollution, people are reporting seeing the Himalayas for the first ever time, Lauri Myllyvirta of the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air told National Geographic.

Across the United Kingdom, the reduction in traffic and industry has similarly impacted the climate. In London, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, the PM2.5 and NO2 levels dropped by a third to a half, with large declines recorded in other cities as well. These are the two air pollutants that have the biggest health impacts on people, says Professor James Lee of York University and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science.

In Italy, photos of the Venice canals depicting a change from murky to sparkling blue water quickly went viral. Without the normal amount of boat traffic on the canals, sediment has settled at the bottom, creating clear water. Air pollution has also decreased due to a reduction in traffic.

NASA has observed significant air quality improvements in other parts of the U.S. as well. Satellite data for March showed that the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions had the lowest monthly atmospheric NO2 levels of any March since at least 2005. Data of NO2 from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) over the Northeast United States in March, comparing the mean of the period from 2015 through 2019 with the mean for 2020 indicates that the NO2 levels in March 2020 are about 30% lower on average across the region of the I-95 corridor from Washington, DC to Boston than when compared to the mean of 2015 to 2019. 

Humans aren’t the only ones affected by the coronavirus shutdowns; animals are also enjoying the positive changes. The Los Angeles Times reported recently that wildlife is reclaiming the now closed Yosemite National Park. Without the more than 300,000 visitors usually seen in April, the park’s wildlife has been coming out of hiding. Dane Peterson, who works at the park, remarked that “the bear population has quadrupled.” Char Miller, a historian at Pomona College, said Yosemite is probably very similar today to how it appeared to visitors in the 19th century.

Another immediate benefit of a reduction in pollutants is the effect this may have on the pandemic itself. Public health experts agree that people who have higher long-term exposure to fine particulate pollution have a 15% greater likelihood of dying from COVID-19. They attribute this to the lung damage caused over time by air pollution, combined with the fact that the virus targets the lungs and increases risk of pneumonia.  Some evidence suggests that the number of early deaths avoided due to cleaner air might potentially outnumber deaths from the virus. Marshall Burke, an Earth system scientist at Stanford University, calculates the shutdown in China likely saved between 53,000 and 77,000 lives. In addition, even short-term improvements in air quality have an immediate positive effect on the number of heart attacks, strokes, and emergency room visits, which can reduce pressure on hospitals during a pandemic, according to Christopher Carlsten, head of respiratory medicine at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health.

Experts warn, however, that the cleaner air is likely to be temporary if we return to pre-COVID-19 levels of travel and industry. But it is possible that if people start expecting and demanding the cleaner air we have been enjoying during the pandemic, the coronavirus shutdowns could lead us to embrace new ways of living and working.

Jyoti Pande Lavakare, co-founder of the NGO Care for Air, told The Hindu that improvements to air quality during the pandemic have proven “beyond doubt” that much of the polluted air was man-made. “Slowing down the economy to such a degree is not the ideal way to bring down air pollution, but it proves it can be done. We can achieve the same outcome by doing this mindfully, using technology and low-emission alternatives,” she said. Lavakare believes governments must move toward renewable energy faster, replacing coal and other non-renewable energy.

Scientists worldwide have emphasized that most of the air quality improvement is due to a reduction in traffic on the roads. Ed Avol, a professor of clinical preventative medicine at the University of Southern California, told Forbes that telecommuting is here to stay. “Telecommuting from home, for those who can, even just for a couple of days a week, can have a marked reduction in terms of emissions.”

Another potential strategy for change is to address the number and type of cars that are on the world’s streets. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has pledged to ban diesel cars by 2025 and wants to double the city’s bike lane network. Making cities worldwide more pedestrian or bike friendly, and improving public transportation, could become a new normal that helps ensure cleaner air.

Zhu, of UCLA, believes we should look at the positive changes we’ve seen in the months of coronavirus lockdowns as something society should strive for during normal times.  Susan Anenberg, associate professor of environmental health at George Washington University, agrees, telling National Geographic, “It’s the time to be considering whether the status quo that we had in place prior to this disaster is the one we want going forward. We don’t need to tolerate this level of air pollution."