Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the environment, with changes in human activity leading to temporary changes in air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and water quality. As the pandemic became a global health crisis in early 2020, various national responses including lockdowns and travel restrictions caused substantial disruption to society, travel, energy usage and economic activity, sometimes referred to as the "anthropause". As public health measures were lifted later in the pandemic, its impact has sometimes been discussed in terms of effects on implementing renewable energy transition and climate change mitigation.

Images from the NASA Earth Observatory show a stark drop in pollution in Wuhan, when comparing NO₂ levels in early 2019 (top) and early 2020 (bottom).^[1]

With the onset of the pandemic, some positive effects on the environment as a result of human inactivity were observed. In 2020, carbon dioxide emissions fell by 6.4% or 2.3 billion tonnes globally.^[2] In April 2020, NO_x emissions fell by up to 30%.^[3] In China, lockdowns and other measures resulted in a 26% decrease in coal consumption, and a 50% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions.^[4] Greenhouse gas emissions rebounded later in the pandemic as many countries began lifting restrictions, with the direct impact of pandemic policies having a negligible long-term impact on climate change.^[2][5]

Some developed nations introduced so-called "green recovery" economic stimulus packages, aiming to boost economic growth while facilitating renewable energy transition. One of these investments was the European Union's seven-year €1 trillion budget proposal and €750 billion recovery plan, "Next Generation EU", which seeks to reserve 25% of EU spending for climate-friendly expenditure.^[6][7][8]

However, decreased human activity during the pandemic diverted attention from ongoing activities such as accelerated deforestation of the Amazon rainforest^[9][10] and increased poaching in parts of Africa.^[11][12] The hindrance of environmental policy efforts, combined with economic slowdown may have contributed to slowed investment in green energy technologies.^[13][14]

The pandemic also led to increased medical waste. Production and use of medical equipment such as personal protective equipment contributed to plastic waste.^[15] The medical response required a larger than normal number of masks, gloves, needles, syringes, and medications.^[4] During 2020, approximately 65 billion gloves and 129 billion face masks were used every month, and disposed of.^[15] Enforced public use of PPE has posed challenges to conventional waste management.^[16] Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the treatment process of this plastic waste ranged from 14 to 33.5 tons of CO₂ per ton of mask, the largest share being from production and transport.^[17]

Background

Environmental issues

Increasing amounts of greenhouse gases since the beginning of the industrialization era has caused average global temperatures on the Earth to rise. Climate change has led to the melting of glaciers, an increase in extreme weather, loss of species, frequent wildfires, and rising sea levels.^{[18][19][20][21]} Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, measures that were expected to be recommended by health authorities in the case of a pandemic included quarantines and social distancing.^[22] Simultaneously, researchers^[who?] predicted that a reduction in economic activity would target the issues created by global warming; it would halt rising temperatures, as well as diminish air and marine pollution, and benefit the environment.^[23] The relationship between human activity and the environment had been observed in various public health crises in the past, such as the Spanish flu and smallpox epidemics, and was observed again with the COVID-19 pandemic.^[24]

COVID-19 pandemic

On 11 March 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). By 5 July 2020, 188 countries or regions had reported cases of COVID-19.^[25] As of November 2021, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic had killed over 5 million people.^[26] As a result of the severity of the virus, most countries enacted lockdowns to protect people, mitigate the spread, and ensure space in hospitals.^[27] These lockdowns disrupted daily life worldwide, decreasing the level and frequency of human activity and production.

COVID-19 forced industries, businesses, and large corporations to shut down. Although the damage caused to human life, the economy, and society was extensive, the dramatic changes to human activity had an impact on the environment. Surplus to emerging estimates of monthly energy supply or estimated parameters that constructed the near-real-time daily CO₂ emission inventories during COVID reduction was observed based on activity from power generation (for 29 countries), industry (for 73 countries), road transportation (for 406 cities), aviation and maritime transportation and commercial and residential sectors emissions (for 206 countries).^[3] This decline in CO₂ emissions was followed by decline in regional concentrations of nitrogen oxide, which was observed by ground-based networks and satellites. These emissions were calculated by researchers in which observations showed little impact (less than 0.13ppm by April 30, 2020) on the over-served global CO₂ concentration.^[3]

Reductions in fossil fuel consumption as well as economic activity due to travel restrictions, business closures and other dramatic responses due to COVID-19 were recorded.^[28] As human activity slowed globally, a substantial decrease in fossil fuel use, resource consumption, and waste disposal was observed, generating less air and water pollution in many regions of the world.^[4] Specifically, there was a sharp and lasting decline in planned air travel and vehicle transportation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic which in effect reduced the net carbon emission across the globe.^[29]

With the impact being noted, some researchers and officials called for biodiversity and environmental protections as part of COVID-19 recovery strategies.^[30][31]

Air quality

 

TROPOMI data shows the NO₂ levels in China at the beginning of 2020. Image from Earth Observatory.

 

The reduction in motor vehicle traffic has led to a drop in air pollution levels. Inset is the empty A1 motorway in Slovenia on 22 March 2020

Due to the pandemic's impact on travel and industry, the planet as a whole experienced a decrease in air pollution.^[32][33][34] A reduction in air pollution mitigated both climate change and COVID-19 risks, but it has not yet been established which types of air pollution, if any, are common risks to both.^[35] The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air reported that methods to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, such as quarantines and travel bans, resulted in a 25% reduction of carbon emission in China.^[36][37] In the first month of lockdowns, China produced approximately 200 million fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide than the same period in 2019 due to a reduction in air traffic, oil refining, and coal consumption.^[37] In this same period, car travel fell by 70% in the UK.^[38] One Earth systems scientist estimated that this reduction may have saved at least 77,000 lives.^[39] However, Sarah Ladislaw from the Center for Strategic & International Studies argued that reductions in emissions resulting from economic downturns should not be viewed as beneficial, because China's return to previous rates of growth amidst trade wars and supply chain disruptions in the energy market will worsen its environmental impact.^[40] Additionally, Nature reported that in 2020, global carbon emissions only fell by 6.4%.^[2]

Between 1 January and 11 March 2020, the European Space Agency observed a marked decline in nitrous oxide emissions from cars, power plants, and factories in the Po Valley region in northern Italy, coinciding with lockdowns in the region.^[41] Throughout areas in North India such as Jalandhar, the Himalayas became visible again for the first time in decades, as the drop in pollution triggered air quality improvement.^[42][43]

 

NO_x emission changes in East China^[32]

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, NASA and the ESA monitored the significant decrease in nitrogen dioxide gases in China. The economic slowdown from the virus drastically reduced pollution levels, especially in cities like Wuhan, China by 25-40%.^[32][44][45] NASA used an ozone monitoring instrument (OMI) to analyze and observe the ozone layer as well as pollutants such as NO₂, aerosols, and other chemicals. This instrument helped NASA to process and interpret the data coming in due to the lock-downs worldwide.^[46] According to NASA scientists, the drop in NO₂ pollution began in Wuhan, China and slowly spread to the rest of the world. The drop occurred drastically because the emergence of the virus coincided with the same time of year as the lunar year celebrations in China.^[32] During this festival, factories and businesses were closed for the last week of January to celebrate the lunar year festival.^[47] The drop in NO₂ in China did not achieve an air quality of the standard considered acceptable by health authorities. Other pollutants in the air such as aerosol emissions remained.^[48]

In early 2020, improvements were observed in transboundary Southeast Asian haze, attributed to lockdowns and other restrictions introduced by governments, as well as favourable meteorological conditions.^[49]

Joint research led by scientists from China and the U.S. estimated that nitrogen oxide emissions decreased by 50% in East China from 23 January (Wuhan lockdown) to 9 February 2020 in comparison to the period from 1 to 22 January 2020.^[32] Emissions then increased by 26% from 10 February (back-to-work day) to 12 March 2020, indicating possible increasing socioeconomic activities after most provinces allowed businesses to open.^[32] It is yet to be investigated what COVID-19 control measures are most efficient controlling virus spread and least socioeconomic impact.^[32]

According to the World Health Organization, more than 80% of individuals living in cities are typically exposed to dangerous air pollution, which has been associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 problems and mortality.^{[50][51][52][53]}

The changes in air pollution during COVID lockdowns have also impacted water quality. Scientists have long noted that air quality and surface water quality have a close connection;^[54] however, the decrease in air pollution during the pandemic specific impact on water systems remains unclear. Most studies have found that improvements due to COVID-19 were temporary, although there have been notable decreases in pollutants in various water systems.^[55]

India

On 30 January 2020, the first COVID-19 case in India was recorded in Kerala in South India, which was followed by a nationwide lockdown from March 25 to May 31, 2020.^[56] Reduction in air pollution as well as improvement in air quality was reported due to the lockdown which came as a relief to the environment; restrictions on industrial activities were also beneficial.^[57] Many Indian cities also observed a major reduction in air pollution.^[58] Even the industrial state of Gujarat, situated on the west coast of India, reported remarkable reduction of air pollutants due to restrictions imposed on industrial activities and traffic between the lockdown period from 25 March to 20 April 2020. Some of the major air pollutants, like nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide, decreased by one to two per cent along with average reduction of 0.3 degree Celsius in temperature in Vapi within the year 2019.^[59][60][61] Moreover, the emissions of pollutants decreased on an average of fifty-one to seventy two per cent, resulting in an average temperature dropdown by two degrees Celsius within the lockdown period. In India the megacities that are Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata also reported the fall in temperature in Celsius by 2°, 3°, 2° and 2.5° respectively.^[62] The COVID-19 lockdown led to improvement of the water and air quality due to significant fall of air pollutants as reported in countrywide researches.^[63] Emissions of chemicals which lead to pollution of the environment such as carbon monoxide, ammonia, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide showed a significant reduction of 22.82%, 30.61%, 32.11% and 46.95% respectively; PM2.5 as well as PM10 reported a downfall by 57.09% and 48.56% respectively, resulting in improvement of air quality during the fourth phase of lockdown, from 22 March to 31 May 2020, named “Janta Curfew”.^[62]

Water quality

 

Oregon State University researchers testing wastewater for the virus that causes COVID-19

Atmosphere's impact on water quality

The vast reduction of nitrous oxides in the atmosphere was seen far from the industrial borders of China. The metropolitan centers of New York, Paris, and London recorded 40% declines in nitrous oxide in the first two weeks of Spring 2020 in comparison to the prior year. In March 2020, Los Angeles (notorious for both traffic and smog) saw a 20% increase in air quality due to the quarantine.^[64] In the San Francisco Bay Area, traffic was down 45%, leading to a stark contrast in carbon dioxide emissions compared to previous years.^[65]

Scientists have long understood that in the atmosphere, water particles chemically react with carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides and/or nitrogen oxides; the result of this mixing is acid rain. Acid rain falls into rivers and lakes, which in turn, harms aquatic life. As a result, air quality and water quality are linked.^[66] Researchers have noted the interconnected relationship between the quality of the air and the cleanliness of water.^[64][65] Strong correlations between the simultaneous improvement in air and water quality were again witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[64]

United States

 

COVID-19 Mask discarded on street. The years of the pandemic witnessed a significant increase in discarded plastic products (such as masks), as well as other waste products among public waterways and in public areas generally.

Numerous reports have documented^[67][68] that the increased usage of masks led to, "...an extra 8 million tons of plastic waste during the pandemic...",^[69] partly due to discarded facial masks that were worn in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19 from person to person via airborne transmission.^[70]

The onset of COVID-19 in the United States improved air quality.^[64][65] The improvement in air quality led to improvements in water quality. For example, in the San Francisco Bay, notable reductions in water pollution were observed. Experts have attributed the reduction of water particulates to the absence of traffic due to the pandemic. Additionally, studies about the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and atmospheric NO₂ concentration levels in New York City revealed that air quality significantly improved during the pandemic. This information suggested that improved air quality in New York City was a result of the correlation between air and water quality.^[71]

In April 2020, Oregon State University launched a public health project named TRACE-COVID-19, which performed over 60,000 individual tests and 3,000 wastewater tests throughout Oregon communities. The purpose of the project was to determine the community prevalence of COVID-19 and ultimately aimed to both lower the risk and slow the spread of the virus. The data collected from the TRACE program was used to help officials decide what public health actions they should take.^[72]

A 2-month study about vehicular travel in Massachusetts in 2020 revealed a 71% and 46% reduction in car and truck traffic, respectively. The significant decrease in traffic correlated with a direct reduction in atmospheric levels of harmful particulates, resulting in a decrease in overall air pollution.^[73] As seen in other instances, the atmospheric particulate reductions led to an improvement in water quality.^[74]

Peru

The Peruvian jungle experienced 14 oil spills from the beginning of the pandemic through early October 2020. Of these, eight spills were in a single sector (Block 192) operated by Frontera Energy del Perú S.A. which ceased operations during the pandemic and failed to maintain its wells and pipes. The oil seeped into the ground where it contaminated the drinking water of the indigenous people in Quichua territory.^[75] Oil spills in the Peruvian Amazon have been a problem for decades, leaking toxic metals and hydrocarbons into the drinking water and surrounding environment.^[76] A 2016 study done on 1,168 people living near Block 192 indicated that 50% of those tested had toxic metals (lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium) in their blood at levels above WHO acceptable limits. As a result of these oil spills, the Quichua people of Nueva Andoas were at a particularly high risk for diseases before the pandemic. Further compounded by a lack of medicine, lack of doctors, lack of access to vaccines, and poor government response, the Indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon were in an extremely vulnerable position and at high risk during the pandemic.^[75]

Italy

 

Images taken from a satellite of Venice's water canals during April 2019 and 2020.

In Venice, shortly after quarantine began in March 2020, water in the canals cleared and experienced greater water flow.^[77] The increase in water clarity was primarily caused by a decrease in boat traffic, which in turn, allowed the normally stirred up sediment to instead remain at the floor of the canals.^[78] In the year prior, during the initial onset of the coronavirus, organizations such as the European Space Agency detected the striking change between the water in the Venetian canals as the country became more and more contaminated.^[79] Two satellite images, one taken on April 19, 2019, and the other on April 13, 2020, showed the water in the canals transitions from a paler, teal coloration to a deeper blue. This showed the increase in the health of the water as the coronavirus set in across the country.^[80] Through this Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, the space agency's images captured the benefit of less transportive travel on Venice's waterways and highlighted that, despite the decline in tourists as the city shut down, the canals contained water far cleaner and safer for organisms and consumption than was the case previously.^[81] While the water in the Venetian canals cleared up due to the decrease in boat transportation and pollution, marine life returned to the area in far less numbers than previously believed. Although numerous social media posts depicted dolphins and other oceanic creatures venturing back to Venice's shores, National Geographic exposed the falsities behind these rumors, showing images captured in different places and debunking the hopes circulating around that the impact of COVID-19 contributed to healthier waters and a re-emergence of wildlife.^[82] Misinformation such as the claims made about animals infiltrating Venice's waterways have given people a distorted image of both the ongoing pandemic and climate change crises, concealing growing problems such as the city's current low tides.^[83]

India

In India, more than 28 million people were affected by the rapid transmission of the COVID-19 virus. As a result, the Government of India put the whole country on a full lockdown. While many suffered under these circumstances, both socially and financially, environmental researchers discovered significant improvements to environmental quality during the slow in human activity and travel. A metadata analysis of river water quality (RWQ) indicated that the rivers in Damodar, an urban-industrial area, had improved in quality. There was a reduction in pollution that led to this improvement in water quality.^[84] A second study conducted on the Damodar in January 2021 revealed a significant change of the water quality during the pandemic. In the pre-lockdown period, the Water Pollution Index (WPI) of samples from the river fell between 1.59 and 2.46, indicating a high level of pollution. In contrast, during the lockdown, the WPI for water samples ranged from 0.52 to 0.78, indicating that samples were either ‘good' or ‘moderately polluted' water. The significant improvement in the WPI suggested that the shutdowns of heavy industries and subsequent reduction of toxic pollutants led to an increase in water quality.^[85]

Similar to the river Damodar, the Ganga experienced significant improvements with regards to water quality. Specifically, DO levels increased, while BOD and nitrate concentrations decreased. The nationwide lockdown and subsequent shutdown of major industries not only increased river quality, but the quality of polluted creeks. In some regions, waste inflow was reduced up to 50%.^[86] Both studies point to a significant improvement in water quality as a result of India's complete lockdown. The changes were a result of a decrease in sewage and wastewater being discharged into the rivers. This was most likely because of Damodar's specific location in an industrial area.^[84] The industrial areas experienced extremely different levels of activity as a result of the lockdown, so the results of the water quality tests from before the pandemic and after were affected by the different levels of activity.^[86]

In addition to the above studies, research on India's longest lake, Vembanad Lake, in April 2020, showed that suspended particulate matter concentration decreased by 16% during early lockdowns.^[87]

China

As the first country affected by the pandemic, China had to quickly adapt new health and safety restrictions before any other nation in January 2020.^[88] Similar to other countries, numerous large industries in China shutdown during the COVID-19 lockdown. As a result, the water quality significantly improved. Results from monthly field measurements on river water quality in China showed improvements for several different indicators. Ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) was the first indicator to rapidly reduce after the lockdown, while dissolved oxygen (DO) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) started to show improvements in early-February 2020. The pH levels of the river water started to increase in late-March 2020. After the lockdown was lifted, a study conducted by scientists, Dong Liua, Hong Yang, and Julian R. Thompson, found that all water quality parameters returned to normal conditions. Because the conditions improved during a temporary lockdown period, this study suggested that future pollutant reduction strategies should be location-specific and sustained in order to maintain progress to protect the environment.^[88]

South Africa

During the pandemic, developing countries in Africa didn't have the infrastructure, equipment, facilities, and trained staff to do widespread tests for COVID-19, so they used wastewater surveillance as a way to highlight hotspot areas, especially in the country of South Africa. This allowed them to discover where SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA existed in different wastewater after testing municipal wastewater (industrial wastewater), surface water (rivers, canals, dams), and drinking water. Traces of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were found in wastewater treatment facilities in the first phases of treatment, but once the water was treated there was no RNA detected. While the treated water was safe for drinking and other uses, the wastewater from the treatment facilities that drained into rivers or seas could still have some SARS-CoV-2 RNA, but it was too low to be detected which proved it to be unlikely. No other water source had detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA which led scientists of this experiment to see no prominent harm done from the pandemic on the water quality in South Africa.^[89]

Morocco

The COVID-19 lockdown had a positive effect for the water quality of the Boukhalef River in northern Morocco. Researchers used Sentinel 3 water surface temperature (WST) values to test several locations along the Boukhalef River before and after the lockdown. Before the lockdown there were high WST values indicating poor water quality at these sites. However, after the lockdown, industrial activities greatly reduced their production and subsequent polluting of the water. As a result, there were normal WST values indicating normal water quality in the same sites.^[90]

England

A study of water use using the CityWat-SemiDistributed (CWSD) system analyzed how the lockdown during COVID-19 affected the water supply in England. Increases in household water consumption were attributed to increased use of appliances and preventative measures such as hand washing during lockdowns.^[91] A decrease in activity outside of the home was associated with a 35% increase in water use.^[92] As in other countries, England saw a decrease in transportation, such as daily commuting, in large cities, the result of which was a change in pollution concentration zones. Additionally, the rivers in London became less polluted, but water quality became worse near peoples' households. This minimized the continued pollution of larger rivers, but instead increased the pollution in smaller ones in suburban areas.^[93]

Ecuador

During the pandemic, surveys were distributed and data was collected in Ecuador to study the water quality of the ocean. Preliminary data suggested that the water appeared clearer and cleaner because of the lack of people swimming and visiting the beaches. Residents of the Salinas beach were surveyed on the quality of the water twice, 10 weeks apart, during quarantine. Using a 1-5 scale, with 1 being the worst quality and 5 being the best, participants said that during the 10 weeks, the quality went from a 2.83 to a 4.33. Off the coast of Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands also saw improvements in water quality during the pandemic. Researchers noticed the presence of more turtles, sea lions and sharks in the water because of the lack of pollution.^[94]

Unfortunately, sanitary water conditions became a concern in Ecuador during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was suggested that SARS-CoV-2 could be contracted through fecal matter from wastewater treatment plants. In Ecuador, only 20% of wastewater was treated before being discharged back into the water. The urban area of Quito, Ecuador was particularly affected by the lack of wastewater treatment. Its population of 3 million citizens represented an under-diagnosed demographic. At the time of testing, reports claimed that only 750 citizens were infected with COVID-19, but actual wastewater contamination showed a larger percentage of the population infected. Improper wastewater management during the COVID-19 pandemic may have infected Ecuador's citizens through water contamination.^[95]

Nepal

The Bagmati River passes through the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, and with its tributaries, comprises a water basin that spans the Kathmandu valley. A July 2021 study revealed the Bagmati River basin saw considerable improvements in water quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reduced human activity caused a decrease in biological oxygen demand, an important indicator of bacteria levels in water, by 1.5 times the level before lockdowns were implemented.^[96]

Egypt

A reduction in human activities due to COVID-19 mitigation measures resulted in less industrial wastewater dumping in the Nile River, the Nile's canals and tributaries, the Nile Delta, and several lakes in Egypt. Additionally, fewer tourist ships sailed the Nile, thereby minimizing the frequency of oil and gas spills. A decrease in shipping traffic through the Suez Canal also helped improve its water quality. Similar reductions in wastewater dumping and shipping traffic contributed to improving the quality of Egypt's coastal Mediterranean waters as well.^[97] After the onset of the pandemic, residents in Egyptian villages needed to purify their own water. The Zawyat Al-Na’ura village, for example, used ultraviolet rays as a water purification technique.^[98]

Water demand

Water demand was impacted by the pandemic in myriad ways. Practicing good hygiene was one of the main protocols used to combat the pandemic. Frequent hand washing with soap and water for 20 seconds, disinfecting surfaces, and cleaning food containers as they came into the home, increased the demand for water.^[99]

Residential areas

Water demand increased in residential areas due to mandated lockdowns that kept people home. For example, home water use in Portsmouth, England increased by 15%, while non-residential use decreased by 17%. The increased water usage at home led to higher residential water bills, exacerbating financial stress to those impacted by the stay-at-home lockdowns mandated by the pandemic.^[55]

Desert-like areas

While some regions benefitting from lockdowns, water scarce regions severely suffered. For example, in Nevada, there was a 13.1% water usage increase within the first month of quarantine; businesses used substantially less water. Furthermore, water usage at academic institutions declined by 66.2%. Cumulatively in all water sectors, during the first month of quarantine, there was a 3.3% uptick in overall water usage. Consequently, there were efforts to restrict household water usage because of the region's already scarce water supply. These measures included water rations and other limitations put on citizens for their water use such as, watering the grass.^[100]

Industrial sector

Numerous public buildings were shut down for significant amounts of time during the pandemic. The results of these shutdowns were water quality issues such as mold in standing water in pipes and leaching. These became of concern as non-residential demand increased back to normal levels when the shutdowns ended. The effects varied depending on the makeup of the non-residential sectors; however, as a whole changes in water demand were seen. The changes in water demand also had notable impacts on water utilities. Utilities experienced significant revenue losses as total water usage dropped in many areas, and simultaneously multitudes of water bills went unpaid while businesses and non-commercial customers struggled financially. Some companies offered overtime and hazard pay to their employees as their work became increasingly essential, which led to increased operational costs.^[55] Industries that were part of the water supply chain experienced revenue losses as the industrial water demand declined.^[101]

Underdeveloped countries

In regions already facing barriers to water access across the globe, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Yemen, the pandemic exacerbated challenges.^[102][103] These preexisting inequalities relating to infrastructure and water access were likely a factor contributing to disparate impacts of the pandemic.^[104] The World Health Organization and UNICEF strongly recommended sanitary hand washing facilities to be the bare minimum for fighting COVID-19 and suggested that lack of access to these necessary facilities (for over 74 million people in the Arab regions) was responsible for putting people at very high risk of contracting COVID-19.^[105]

In some undeveloped countries, water utilities have worked with governments to temporarily suspend billing for vulnerable groups. This was an effort to mitigate the impact of using extra water during the pandemic while people were out of work. The implementation of this process caused a huge loss in revenue for water companies.^[101]

Wildlife

 

A littered medical glove trapped a perch to death

Fish prices and demand for fish decreased due to the pandemic in early 2020, and fishing fleets around the world sat mostly idle.^[106][107] German scientist Rainer Froese has said the fish biomass will increase due to the sharp decline in fishing, and projected that in European waters, some fish, such as herring, could double their biomass.^[106] As of April 2020, signs of aquatic recovery remain mostly anecdotal.^[108] As people stayed at home due to lockdown and travel restrictions, many types of animals have been spotted roaming freely in cities. Sea turtles were spotted laying eggs on beaches they once avoided (such as the coast of the Bay of Bengal), due to lower levels of human interference and light pollution.^[109] In the United States, fatal vehicle collisions with animals such as deer, elk, moose, bears, mountain lions fell by 58% during March and April 2020.^[110] In Glacier National Park scientists noted considerable changes in wildlife behavior due to the massive decline in the presence of humans (in effect an involuntary park within a national park).^[111][112]

Conservationists expect that African countries will experience a massive surge in bush meat poaching. Matt Brown of the Nature Conservancy said that "When people don't have any other alternative for income, our prediction -- and we're seeing this in South Africa -- is that poaching will go up for high-value products like rhino horn and ivory."^[11][12] On the other hand, Gabon decided to ban the human consumption of bats and pangolins, to stem the spread of zoonotic diseases, as SARS-CoV-2 was thought to have transmitted itself to humans through these animals.^[113] Pangolins are no longer thought to have transmitted SARS-CoV-2.^[114] In June 2020, Myanmar allowed breeding of endangered animals such as tigers, pangolins, and elephants. Experts^[who?] fear that the Southeast Asian country's attempts to deregulate wildlife hunting and breeding may create "a New Covid-19."^[115]

Infections

A wide variety of largely mammalian species, both captive and wild, have been shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, with some encountering particularly fatal outcomes.^[116] In particular, both farmed and wild mink have developed highly symptomatic and severe COVID-19 infections, with a mortality rate as high as 35–55% according to one study.^[117][118] White-tailed deer, on the other hand, have largely avoided severe outcomes but have effectively become natural reservoirs of the virus, with large numbers of free-ranging deer infected throughout the US and Canada, including approximately 80% of Iowa's wild deer herd.^[119][120] An August 2023 study appeared to confirm the status of white-tailed deer as a disease reservoir, noting that the viral evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in deer occurs at triple the rate of its evolution in humans and that infection rates remained high, even in areas rarely frequented by humans.^[121]

Deforestation and reforestation

See also: § Retail and food production

Due to the sharp decrease in job opportunities during the pandemic, many unemployed individuals were hired to help illegal deforestation operations throughout the world, specifically in the tropics. According to the deforestation alerts from Global Land Analysis & Discovery (GLAD), a total of 9583 km² of deforested lands were detected across the global tropics during the first month following the establishment of COVID-19 precautions, which was approximately two times that seen the year before, in 2019 (4732 km²).^[122] The disruption from the pandemic provided cover for illegal deforestation operations in Brazil, which were at a 9-year high.^[123] Satellite imagery showed deforestation of the Amazon rainforest surging by over 50% compared to baseline levels.^[10][9] Conversely, unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated the recruitment of laborers for Pakistan's 10 Billion Tree Tsunami campaign to plant 10 billion trees – the estimated global annual net loss of trees – over the span of 5 years.^{[124][125][126]} Because the pandemic saw many authorities unemployed, poaching became much more popular during 2020 and 2021. In Columbia, illegal activities and wildfires were the two biggest factors contributing to the further destruction of the rainforests.^[123]

Deforestation has an impact on clean drinking water. One study showed that a 1% increase in deforestation decreases access to clean drinking water by 0.93%. Deforestation lowers water quality because it lowers the soil infiltration of water which causes a higher level of turbidity in the water. In countries that are not able to pay for drinking water treatment this poses a significant issue.^[127]

Climate change

See also: Climate crisis, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, § Retail and food production, and § Investments and other economic measures

 

Change in global daily fossil CO₂ emissions, % during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Daily CO₂ emissions by six sectors in 2019 and first half of 2020^[128]

 

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on daily CO₂ emissions globally and in 11 nations^[128]

Societal shifts caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns – such as adoption of remote work policies,^[129][130] and virtual events – may have a more sustained impact beyond the short-term reduction of transportation usage.^{[131][132][133]} In a study published in September 2020, scientists estimate that such behavioral changes developed during confinement may reduce 15% of all transportation CO₂ emissions permanently.^[134]

Despite this, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was the highest ever recorded in human history in May 2020.^[135] Energy and climate expert Constantine Samaras states that "a pandemic is the worst possible way to reduce emissions" and that "technological, behavioral, and structural change is the best and only way to reduce emissions".^[135] Tsinghua University's Zhu Liu clarifies that "only when we would reduce our emissions even more than this for longer would we be able to see the decline in concentrations in the atmosphere".^[135] The world's demand for fossil fuels decreased by almost 10% amid COVID-19 measures and reportedly many energy economists believe it may not recover from the crisis.^[136]

Impact on climate

In a study published in August 2020, scientists estimated that global NO_x emissions declined by as much as 30% in April but were offset by ~20% reduction in global SO₂ emissions that weakens the cooling effect and conclude that the direct effect of the response to the pandemic on global warming will likely be negligible, with an estimated cooling of around 0.01 ± 0.005 °C by 2030 compared to a baseline scenario but that indirect effects due to an economic recovery tailored towards stimulating a green economy, such as by reducing fossil fuel investments, could avoid future warming of 0.3 °C by 2050.^[137][5] The study indicates that systemic change in how humanity powers and feeds itself is required for a substantial impact on global warming.^[137]

In October 2020 scientists reported, based on near-real-time activity data, an 'unprecedented' abrupt 8.8% decrease in global CO₂ emissions in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, larger than during previous economic downturns and World War II. Authors note that such decreases of human activities "cannot be the answer" and that structural and transformational changes in human economic management and behaviour systems are needed.^{[138][128][139]}

In January 2021 scientists reported that reductions in air pollution due to worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 were larger than previously estimated. It was concluded that, because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the climate during that year, a slight warming of Earth's climate during the year was seen instead of a slight cooling. Climate models were used to identify small impacts that could not be discerned with observations. The study's lead author noted that aerosol emissions into the lower atmosphere have major health ramifications and can't be part of a viable approach for mitigating global warming.^{[140][141][142]} In contrast aerosol emissions into the upper atmosphere are not thought to be a health risk, but their environmental impact has not yet been properly researched.^[143]

Despite a decrease in anthropogenic methane emissions, methane levels in the atmosphere increased. Researchers have attributed this increase in methane despite a reduction of human emissions of methane to an increase in wetland methane emissions facilitated by a reduction of nitrous oxide emissions.^[144]

Fossil fuel industry

A report by the London-based think tank Carbon Tracker concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic may have pushed the fossil fuel industry into "terminal decline" as demand for oil and gas decreases while governments aim to accelerate the clean energy transition. It predicts that an annual 2% decline in demand for fossil fuels could cause the future profits of oil, gas and coal companies to collapse from an estimated $39tn to $14tn.^[145][136] However, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance more than half a trillion dollars worldwide are currently intended to be poured into high-carbon industries.^[146] Preliminary disclosures from the Bank of England's Covid Corporate Financing Facility indicate that billions of pounds of taxpayer support are intended to be funneled to fossil fuel companies.^[146] According to Reclaim Finance the European Central Bank intends to allocate as much as €220bn (£193bn) to fossil fuel industries.^[146] An assessment by Ernst & Young finds that a stimulus program that focuses on renewable energy and climate-friendly projects could create more than 100,000 direct jobs across Australia and estimates that every $1m spent on renewable energy and exports creates 4.8 full-time jobs in renewable infrastructure while $1m on fossil fuel projects would only create 1.7 full-time jobs.^[147]

In addition, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry, natural gas prices dropped so low for a short time that gas producers were burning it off on-site (not being worth the cost to transport it to cracking facilities). Bans on single-use consumer plastic (in China, the European Union, Canada, and many countries in Africa), and bans on plastic bags (in several states in the USA) have also reduced demand for plastics considerably. Many cracking facilities in the USA were suspended. The petrochemical industry has been trying to save itself by attempting to rapidly expand demand for plastic products worldwide (i.e. through pushbacks on plastic bans and by increasing the number of products wrapped in plastic in countries where plastic use is not already as widespread (i.e. developing nations)).^[148]

Cycling

During the pandemic, many people started cycling,^[149] causing bike sales to surge.^{[150][151][152][153][154]} Many cities set up semi-permanent "pop-up bike lanes" to provide people who switched from public transit to bicycles with more room. Many individuals chose cycling due to a heightened anxiety over public transportation. This was because public transportation could be crowded at times, raising the fear that one may catch COVID-19. Additionally, exercise became more popular during the pandemic, since lockdowns led to mass unemployment. These reasons led to a "bike boom".^{[155][156][157][158][159]} In Berlin, proposals exist to make the initially reversible changes permanent.^{[160][161][162][163][164]}

Retail and food production

See also: Online grocer

Food production

Small-scale farmers have been embracing digital technologies as a way to directly sell produce, and community-supported agriculture and direct-sell delivery systems are on the rise.^[165] These methods have benefited smaller online grocery stores which predominantly sell organic and more local food and can have a positive environmental impact due to consumers who prefer to receive deliveries rather than travel to the store by car.^[166] Online grocery shopping has grown substantially during the pandemic.^[167]

While carbon emissions dropped during the pandemic, methane emissions from livestock continued to rise. Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.^[168]

Retail

Further information: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail

Due to lockdowns and COVID-19 protocols, many consumers switched to online shopping during the pandemic, which resulted in a 32% increase in e-commerce. This caused an increase in packaging waste.^[169] Many online purchases were for essential items; however 45% of shoppers made non-essential purchases, such as clothing. There remains an ongoing debate about whether online shopping was more environmentally friendly than shopping in stores, and currently there is no conclusion as to which is best.^{[according to whom?]} Both online and in-person shopping had aspects that helped and hurt the environment. For example, shipping products to individual consumers could equally as detrimental to the environment as powering a brick and mortar shop. Another factor to consider was that 20% of online returns ended up in landfills because they could not be resold as new merchandise.^[170]

Litter

 

Surgical mask abandoned at the edge of the forest of Fontainebleau (a protected area), in December 2020.

See also: Plastic pollution

The substantial increase of plastic waste during the COVID-19 pandemic became a major environmental concern. The increased demand for single-use plastics exacerbated an already significant plastic pollution problem. Most of the new plastic found in oceans was generated from hospitals, shipping packages, and from personal protection equipment (PPE). In the first 18 months of the pandemic, approximately 8 million tons of waste had been accumulated. A significant portion originated from the developing world, and 72% of this waste was from Asia. This surplus of waste was particularly concerning for the oceans (and wildlife), and mainly accumulated on beaches and coastal regions.^[171]

In Kenya, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the amount of debris found on beaches; approximately 55.1% of trash found was a pandemic-related item. Although the pandemic-related trash showed up along the beaches of Kenya, it did not make its way into the water. This was thought to be the result of the closing of beaches and lack of movement during the pandemic. Most of the litter found washed up on the beaches were fabric masks. The amount of fabric masks being produced during the pandemic was on the rise for in Kenya for people who could not afford to buy single-use masks. More people were buying fabric masks then disposing of them improperly, which was the direct cause of many masks showing up on the coast or on the beaches. This was also why the beaches were closed during the pandemic.^[172]

Additional impacts of the pandemic were seen in Hong Kong, where disposable masks ended up along the beaches of Soko's islands.^[173] This was attributed to the increased production and use of disposable masks for personal and commercial use, which led to a rise in subsequent disposal of these products.^[174]

According to a study conducted by MIT, the effects of the pandemic are estimated to generate up to 7,200 tons of medical waste every day, much of which are disposable masks. The data was collected during the first six months of the pandemic (late March 2020 to late September 2020) in the United States. These calculations only pertained to healthcare workers, not including mask usage by the general public. Theoretically, if every health care worker in the United States wore a new N95 mask for every patient they encountered, the total number of masks required would be approximately 7.4 billion, at a cost of $6.4 billion. This would lead to 84 million kgs of waste. However, the same study also found that decontaminating regular N95 masks, thereby making the masks reusable, dropped environmental waste by 75% and fully reusable silicone N95 masks could offer an even greater reduction in waste.^[175] Another study estimated that in Africa, over 12 billion medical and fabric face masks were discarded monthly (an equivalent of 105,000 tonnes).^[176]

The majority of masks used during the pandemic were properly disposed, so, like typical garbage, incineration was used as the final disposal method in most countries. The process of incineration generally produced two types of ash; one was a slag residue, and one contained toxic substances (dioxins, plastics, and heavy metals). In the various stages of waste incineration, there was no absolute method that could completely clear away the harmful substances in the ashes. These substances caused damage to human health and caused irreversible damage to the earth's ecological environment. Secondary pollution was often found in the air, food, and wastewater as a result of incineration.^[177]

The quarantine restrictions implemented at many locations have had an impact on plastic waste volumes. Purchasing items, including food, online results in an increase in packaging waste. The pandemic significantly effected domestic waste recycling systems. Temporary suspension of household waste collection in some jurisdictions in order to protect waste workers reduced the supply of recyclable material. In the United States 34% of recycling companies partially or completely closed. In many Asian countries, including India, Malaysia and Vietnam, only around one-third of recyclers continued daily operations due to anti-pandemic measures. Many informal waste pickers have been seriously affected by stay-at-home orders and business closures. The poverty of informal workers in developing countries is expected to increase by 56%. Pressure on the existing waste management infrastructure has also led to poor quality waste management including dumping and open burning. In 2020 in Dublin, Ireland, illegal dumping increased by 25% and in the United Kingdom illegal waste disposal rose by 300%.^[178]

Investments and other economic measures

See also: Green recovery

 

European Investment Bank Investment Survey 2020^[179][180]

Some have noted that planned stimulus package could be designed to speed up renewable energy transitions and to boost energy resilience.^[131] Researchers of the World Resources Institute have outlined a number of reasons for investments in public transport as well as cycling and walking during and after the pandemic.^[181] Use of public transport in cities worldwide has fallen by 50-90%, with substantial loss of revenue losses for operators. Investments such as in heightened hygienic practices on public transport and in appropriate social distancing measures may address public health concerns about public transport usage.^[182] The International Energy Agency states that support from governments due to the pandemic could drive rapid growth in battery and hydrogen technology, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and has illustrated the vulnerability of fossil fuels to storage and distribution problems.^{[183][184][185]}

According to a study published in August 2020, an economic recovery "tilted towards green stimulus and reductions in fossil fuel investments" could avoid future warming of 0.3 °C by 2050.^[5]

Secretary-general of the OECD club of rich countries José Ángel Gurría, called upon countries to "seize this opportunity [of the COVID-19 recovery] to reform subsidies and use public funds in a way that best benefits people and the planet".^[146]

In March 2020, the ECB announced the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme.^[186] Reclaim Finance said that the Governing Council failed to integrate climate into both the “business as usual” monetary policy and the crisis response. It also ignored the call from 45 NGO's that demanded that the ECB deliver a profound shift on climate integration at this decision-making meeting.^[187] This, as it also finances 38 fossil fuel companies, including 10 active in coal and 4 in shale oil and gas.^[188] Greenpeace stated that (by June 2020) the ECB's covid-related asset purchases already funded the fossil fuel sector by to up to 7.6 billion.^[189]

The report, Are We Building Back Better?, from the Oxford University’s Global Recovery Observatory, found that of the $14.6tn spending announced by the world’s largest 50 countries in 2020, $1.9tn (13%) was directed to long-term ‘recovery-type’ measures, and $341bn (18%) of long-term spending was for green initiatives.^[190]

With the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak spreading rapidly within the European Union, the focus on the European Green Deal diminished. Some have suggested either a yearly pause or even a complete discontinuation of the deal. Many believe the current main focus of the European Union's current policymaking process should be the immediate, shorter-term crisis rather than climate change.^[191] In May 2020 the €750 billion European recovery package, called Next Generation EU,^[192][193] and the €1 trillion budget were announced. The European Green deal is part of it. One of the package's principles is "Do no harm". The money will be spent only on projects that meet some green criteria. 25% of all funding will go to climate change mitigation. Fossil fuels and nuclear power are excluded from the funding.^[6]

In 2021, Joe Biden announced the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 on March 11, 2021.^[194] He also announced the Build Back Better Plan.

Some sources of revenue for environmental projects – such as indigenous communities monitoring rainforests and conservation projects – diminished due to the pandemic.^[195]

Despite a temporary decline in global carbon emissions, the International Energy Agency warned that the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may prevent or delay companies and others from investing in green energy.^{[14][196][197]} Others cautioned that large corporations and the wealthy could exploit the crisis for economic gain in line with the Shock Doctrine, as has occurred after past pandemics.^[198]

The Earth Overshoot Day took place more than three weeks later than 2019, due to COVID-19 induced lockdowns around the world.^[199] The president of the Global Footprint Network claims that the pandemic by itself is one of the manifestations of "ecological imbalance."^[199][200]

Approximately 58% of enterprises in the European Union are concerned about the physical hazards of climate change, particularly in areas prone to extreme weather.^[201] In 2021, climate change was addressed by 43% of EU enterprises. Despite the pandemic, the percentage of enterprises planning climate-related investment has climbed to 47%, from 41% in 2020.^[201][202] Future investments, however, are put on hold by uncertainty about the regulatory environment and taxation.^[201][203]

According to a 2022 analysis of the $14tn that G20 countries have spent as economic stimulus in 2020 and 2021, only about 6% has been allocated to areas "that will also cut emissions" and 3% has targeted activities "that are likely to increase global emissions".^[204]

Analysis and recommendations

Multiple organizations and organization-coalitions – such as think tanks, companies, business organizations, political bodies and research institutes – have created unilateral analyses and recommendations for investments and related measures for sustainability-oriented socioeconomic recovery from the pandemic on global and national levels – including the International Energy Agency,^[205][182] the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and Environment^[206] and the European Commission.^{[207][208][209][210][211]} The United Nations' Secretary General António Guterres recommended six broad sustainability-related principles for shaping the recovery.^[212]

According to a report commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy and published in July 2020, investment in four key ocean intervention areas could help aid economic recovery and yield high returns on investment in terms of economic, environmental and health benefits. According to Jackie Savitz, chief policy officer for America ocean conservation nonprofit Oceana, strategies such as "setting science-based limits on fishing so that stocks can recover, practicing selective fishing to protect endangered species and ensuring that fishing gear doesn't destroy ocean habitats are all effective, cost-efficient ways to manage sustainable fisheries".^[213]

Politics

The pandemic has also impacted environmental policy and climate diplomacy, as the 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference was postponed to 2021 in response to the pandemic after its venue was converted to a field hospital. This conference was crucial as nations were scheduled to submit enhanced nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement. The pandemic also limits the ability of nations, particularly developing nations with low state capacity, to submit nationally determined contributions, as they focus on the pandemic.^[13]

Time highlighted three possible risks: that preparations for the November 2020 Glasgow conference planned to follow the 2015 Paris Agreement were disrupted; that the public would see global warming as a lower priority issue than the pandemic, weakening the pressure on politicians; and that a desire to "restart" the global economy would cause an excess in extra greenhouse gas production. However, the drop in oil prices during the COVID-19 recession could be a good opportunity to get rid of fossil fuel subsidies, according to the executive director of the International Energy Agency.^[214]

Carbon Tracker argues that China should not stimulate the economy by building planned coal-fired power stations, because many would have negative cashflow and would become stranded assets.^[215]

The United States' Trump administration suspended the enforcement of some environmental protection laws via the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the pandemic. This allows polluters to ignore some environmental laws if they can claim that these violations were caused by the pandemic.^[216]

Popular reactions

Humour

Early in the pandemic, the perceived benefit to the environment caused by a slowdown in human activity led to the creation of memes.^[217] These memes generally made light of exaggerated or distorted claims of benefits to the environment, those overly credulous of these claims, and those who compared humanity to COVID, construing human civilization as a viral infection on Earth.^{[217][218][219]} Memes include the captioning images with phrases such as "nature is healing", "the Earth is healing", "we are the virus", or combinations of the phrases.^[217] One such joke, a tweet, featured a photo of a large rubber duck in the Thames with the text "nature is healing", construing the duck as a native species returning to the river in the absence of human activity.^[217]

Activism

In March 2020 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the National Trust initiated the #BlossomWatch campaign, which encouraged people to share images of the first signs of Spring, such as fruit tree blossoms, that they saw on lockdown walks.^[220]

In December 2021, when the first reported case of animal-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Hong Kong took place via imported pet hamsters, researchers expressed difficulty in identifying some of the viral mutations within a global genomic data bank, leading city authorities to announce a mass cull of all hamsters purchased after December 22, 2021, which would affect roughly 2,000 animals. After the government 'strongly encouraged' citizens to turn in their pets, approximately 3,000 people joined underground activities to promote the adoption of abandoned hamsters throughout the city and to maintain pet ownership via methods such as the forgery of pet store purchase receipts. Some activists attempted to intercept owners who were on their way to turn in pet hamsters and encourage them to choose adoption instead, which the government subsequently warned would be subject to police action.^[221][222]

Rebound effect

The restarting of greenhouse-gas producing industries and transport following the COVID-19 lockdowns was hypothesized as an event that would contribute to increasing greenhouse gas production rather than reducing it.^[223] In the transport sector, the pandemic could trigger several effects, including behavioral changes – such as more remote work and teleconferences and changes in business models – which could, in turn, translate in reductions of emissions from transport. A scientific study published in September 2020 estimates that sustaining such behavioral changes could abate 15% of all transport emissions with limited impacts on societal well-being.^[134] On the other hand, there could be a shift away from public transport, driven by fear of contagion, and reliance on single-occupancy cars, which would significantly increase emissions.^[224] However, city planners are also creating new cycle paths in some cities during the pandemic.^[225] In June 2020, it was reported that carbon dioxide emissions were rebounding quickly.^[226]

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recommends governments continue to enforce existing air pollution regulations after the COVID-19 crisis, and channel financial support measures to public transport providers to enhance capacity and quality with a focus on reducing crowding and promoting cleaner facilities.^[224]

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, states that "the next three years will determine the course of the next 30 years and beyond" and that "if we do not [take action] we will surely see a rebound in emissions. If emissions rebound, it is very difficult to see how they will be brought down in future. This is why we are urging governments to have sustainable recovery packages."^[208]

In March 2022, before formal publication of the 'Global Carbon Budget 2021' preprint,^[227] scientists reported, based on Carbon Monitor^[228] data, that after COVID-19-pandemic-caused record-level declines in 2020, global CO₂ emissions rebounded sharply by 4.8% in 2021, indicating that at the current trajectory, the 1.5 °C carbon budget would be used up within 9.5 years with a 2⁄3 likelihood.^[229]

Psychology and risk perception

See also: Climate crisis

 

The pandemic has changed people's views on the challenges facing their countries, as found in the European Investment Bank's climate survey 2020 - 2021.^[230]

Chaos and the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic made a catastrophic future seem less remote and action to prevent it more necessary and reasonable. However, it also had the opposite effect by putting the focus on more immediate issues of the pandemic rather than larger global issues, such as climate change and deforestation.^[231]

The improvements caused by human inactivity during lockdowns were not an indication that climate change was improving long-term or that climate saving methods should be postponed. However, several international climate change conventions were postponed and, in some cases, not rescheduled. Notable examples were the postponement of the COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the World Conservation Congress, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the U.N. Ocean Conference. These conferences were originally created so nations around the world could make concrete plans to ensure the safety of future generations. Though climate improvements seen during the lockdown provided hope for the future, as humans returned to normal activity, these changes proved to be temporary.^[232]

Impact on environmental monitoring and prediction

Weather forecasts

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) announced that a worldwide reduction in aircraft flights due to the pandemic could impact the accuracy of weather forecasts, citing commercial airlines' use of Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) as an integral contribution to weather forecast accuracy. The ECMWF predicted that AMDAR coverage would decrease by 65% or more due to the drop in commercial flights.^[233]

Seismic noise reduction

Seismologists have reported that quarantine, lockdown, and other measures to mitigate COVID-19 have resulted in a mean global high-frequency seismic noise reduction of up to 50%. This study reports that the noise reduction resulted from a combination of factors including reduced traffic/transport, lower industrial activity, and weaker economic activity. The reduction in seismic noise was observed at both remote seismic monitoring stations and at borehole sensors installed several hundred metres below the ground. The study states that the reduced noise level may allow for better monitoring and detection of natural seismic sources, such as earthquakes and volcanic activity.^[234]

Noise pollution has been shown to negatively affect both humans and invertebrates. The WHO suggests that 100 million people in Europe are negatively affected by unwanted noise daily, resulting in hearing loss, cardiovascular disorders, loss of sleep, and negative psychological effects. During the pandemic, however, government enforced travel mandates lowered car and plane movements resulting in significant reduction in noise pollution.^[235]

See also

• Environmental impact of aviation
• Green recovery
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport
• Pandemic prevention#Environmental policy and economics
• Technosignature#Atmospheric analysis
• The Year Earth Changed

References

1. "Earth Observatory". 28 February 2020. from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
2. Tollefson J (January 2021). "COVID curbed carbon emissions in 2020 - but not by much". Nature. 589 (7842): 343. Bibcode:2021Natur.589..343T. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00090-3. PMID 33452515. S2CID 231622354.
3. Forster PM, Forster HI, Evans MJ, Gidden MJ, Jones CD, Keller CA, et al. (August 2020). "Erratum: Publisher Correction: Current and future global climate impacts resulting from COVID-19". Nature Climate Change. 10 (10): 971. doi:10.1038/s41558-020-0904-z. PMC 7427494. PMID 32845944.
4. Rume T, Islam SM (September 2020). "Environmental effects of COVID-19 pandemic and potential strategies of sustainability". Heliyon. 6 (9): e04965. Bibcode:2020Heliy...604965R. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04965. PMC 7498239. PMID 32964165.
5. Forster PM, Forster HI, Evans MJ, Gidden MJ, Jones CD, Keller CA, et al. (7 August 2020). "Current and future global climate impacts resulting from COVID-19". Nature Climate Change. 10 (10): 913–919. Bibcode:2020NatCC..10..913F. doi:10.1038/s41558-020-0883-0. ISSN 1758-6798.
6. Simon F (27 May 2020). "'Do no harm': EU recovery fund has green strings attached". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
7. Carpenter S. "As Europe Unveils 'Green' Recovery Package, Trans-Atlantic Rift On Climate Policy Widens". Forbes. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
8. "France and Germany Bring European Recovery Fund Proposal to Table". South EU Summit. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
9. "Deforestation of the Amazon has soared under cover of the coronavirus". NBC News. 11 May 2020.
10. "Deforestation of Amazon rainforest accelerates amid COVID-19 pandemic". ABC News. 6 May 2020.
11. "Conservationists fear African animal poaching will increase during COVID-19 pandemic". ABC News. 14 April 2020.
12. "'Filthy bloody business:' Poachers kill more animals as coronavirus crushes tourism to Africa". CNBC. 24 April 2020.
13. "Cop26 climate talks postponed to 2021 amid coronavirus pandemic". Climate Home News. 1 April 2020. from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
14. Newburger E (13 March 2020). "Coronavirus could weaken climate change action and hit clean energy investment, researchers warn". CNBC. from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
15. Aragaw TA, Mekonnen BA (20 January 2021). "Current plastics pollution threats due to COVID-19 and its possible mitigation techniques: a waste-to-energy conversion via Pyrolysis". Environmental Systems Research. 10 (1): 8. doi:10.1186/s40068-020-00217-x. PMC 7816145. PMID 34777936.
16. Ardusso M, Forero-López AD, Buzzi NS, Spetter CV, Fernández-Severini MD (April 2021). "COVID-19 pandemic repercussions on plastic and antiviral polymeric textile causing pollution on beaches and coasts of South America". The Science of the Total Environment. 763: 144365. Bibcode:2021ScTEn.763n4365A. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144365. PMC 7726578. PMID 33360513.
17. Goodno BJ (2021). Mechanics of materials. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-357-37785-7. OCLC 1140170160.
18. Mishra A. "Air Pollution". WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION. WHO. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
19. "Is sea level rising?". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
20. "Climate Change". National Geographic Society. 28 March 2019. from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
21. "10 Climate Change Impacts That Will Affect Us All". State of the Planet. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
22. Jamison DT, Gelband H, Horton S, Jha P, Laxminarayan R, Mock CN, Nugent R, Madhav N, Oppenheim B, Gallivan M, Mulembakani P, Rubin E, Wolfe N (2017). "Pandemics: Risks, Impacts, and Mitigation". In Jamison DT, Gelband H, Horton S, Jha P (eds.). Disease Control Priorities: Improving Health and Reducing Poverty (3rd ed.). The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. pp. 315–345. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-0527-1_ch17. ISBN 978-1-4648-0527-1. PMID 30212163.
23. Kopnina H, Washington H, Taylor B, Piccolo J (1 February 2018). "Anthropocentrism: More than Just a Misunderstood Problem". Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. 31 (1): 109–127. doi:10.1007/s10806-018-9711-1. ISSN 1573-322X. S2CID 158116575.
24. Patterson GE, McIntyre KM, Clough HE, Rushton J (2021). "Societal Impacts of Pandemics: Comparing COVID-19 With History to Focus Our Response". Frontiers in Public Health. 9: 630449. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.630449. PMC 8072022. PMID 33912529.
25. Bates AE, Primack RB, Moraga P, Duarte CM (August 2020). "COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown as a "Global Human Confinement Experiment" to investigate biodiversity conservation". Biological Conservation. 248 (7): 108665. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108665. PMC 7284281. PMID 32549587.
26. "COVID-19 has killed 5 million people—and the pandemic is far from over". Science. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
27. "Why is coronavirus lockdown necessary?". www.gavi.org. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
28. "Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change | MIT Center for Global Change Science".
29. Adhikari, Arpita; Sengupta, Joydip; Hussain, Chaudhery Mustansar (1 October 2021). "Declining carbon emission/concentration during COVID-19: A critical review on temporary relief". Carbon Trends. 5: 100131. Bibcode:2021CarbT...500131A. doi:10.1016/j.cartre.2021.100131. ISSN 2667-0569. PMC 8590614.
30. Pearson RM, Sievers M, McClure EC, Turschwell MP, Connolly RM (May 2020). "COVID-19 recovery can benefit biodiversity". Science. 368 (6493): 838–839. Bibcode:2020Sci...368..838P. doi:10.1126/science.abc1430. PMID 32439784. S2CID 218836621.
31. Rodrigues CM (27 March 2020). "Letter: We call on leaders to put climate and biodiversity at the top of the agenda". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
32. Zhang R, Zhang Y, Lin H, Feng X, Fu TM, Wang Y (April 2020). "NO_x Emission Reduction and Recovery during COVID-19 in East China". Atmosphere. 11 (4): 433. Bibcode:2020Atmos..11..433Z. doi:10.3390/atmos11040433. S2CID 219002558.
33. Watts J, Kommenda N (23 March 2020). "Coronavirus pandemic leading to huge drop in air pollution". The Guardian. from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
34. Le Quéré C, Jackson RB, Jones MW, Smith AJ, Abernethy S, Andrew RM, De-Gol AJ, Willis DR, Shan Y, Canadell JG, Friedlingstein P (19 May 2020). "Temporary reduction in daily global CO₂ emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement". Nature Climate Change. 10 (7): 647–653. Bibcode:2020NatCC..10..647L. doi:10.1038/s41558-020-0797-x. ISSN 1758-6798. S2CID 218693901.
35. Carrington D, ed. (7 April 2020). "Air pollution linked to far higher Covid-19 death rates, study finds". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
36. Myllyvirta L (19 February 2020). "Analysis: Coronavirus has temporarily reduced China's CO₂ emissions by a quarter". CarbonBrief. from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
37. McMahon J. "Study: Coronavirus Lockdown Likely Saved 77,000 Lives In China Just By Reducing Pollution". Forbes. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
38. "5 Ways We've Wasted the Potential of Pandemic Recovery — and How You Can Help Turn the Tide". Global Citizen. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
39. McMahon J (16 March 2020). "Study: Coronavirus Lockdown Likely Saved 77,000 Lives In China Just By Reducing Pollution". Forbes. from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
40. "The Global Impacts of the Coronavirus Outbreak". Center for Strategic and International Studies. 5 March 2020. from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
41. Green M (13 March 2020). "Air pollution clears in northern Italy after coronavirus lockdown, satellite shows". Reuters. from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
42. Picheta R (9 April 2020). "People in India can see the Himalayas for the first time in 'decades,' as the lockdown eases air pollution". CNN. from the original on 1 October 2020.
43. Brown V. "Covid 19 Coronavirus: India's Himalayas return to view as pollution drops". NZ Herald. from the original on 24 October 2020.
44. "Airborne Nitrogen Dioxide Plummets Over China". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 28 February 2020. from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
45. "Analysis: Coronavirus temporarily reduced China's CO₂ emissions by a quarter". Carbon Brief. 19 February 2020. from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
46. "NASA Aura OMI". NASA Aura. from the original on 3 March 2020.
47. "Chinese New Year 2020". chinesenewyear.net. from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
48. "Earth Matters - How the Coronavirus Is (and Is Not) Affecting the Environment". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 5 March 2020. from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
49. Praveena, Sarva Mangala; Aris, Ahmad Zaharin (1 December 2021). "The impacts of COVID-19 on the environmental sustainability: a perspective from the Southeast Asian region". Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 28 (45): 63829–63836. doi:10.1007/s11356-020-11774-0. ISSN 1614-7499. PMC 7787621. PMID 33410033.
50. "Mayor of Lima sees COVID-19 as spark for an urban hub to the green recovery". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
51. "Chapter 2. Air pollution and its impact on health in Europe: Why it matters and how the health sector can reduce its burden". OECD iLibrary. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
52. "Air pollution". www.who.int. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
53. "Coronavirus and Air Pollution". C-CHANGE | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
54. "USDA ERS - Improving Air and Water Quality Can Be Two Sides of the Same Coin". www.ers.usda.gov. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
55. "How the Coronavirus Pandemic is Affecting Water Demand". Pacific Institute. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
56. "COVID-19 Map". Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
57. Nigam R, Pandya K, Luis AJ, Sengupta R, Kotha M (February 2021). "Positive effects of COVID-19 lockdown on air quality of industrial cities (Ankleshwar and Vapi) of Western India". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 4285. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11.4285N. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-83393-9. PMC 7895933. PMID 33608603.
58. He G, Pan Y, Tanaka T (December 2020). "The short-term impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on urban air pollution in China". Nature Sustainability. 3 (12): 1005–1011. doi:10.1038/s41893-020-0581-y. ISSN 2398-9629. S2CID 220375376.
59. Sharma S, Zhang M, Gao J, Zhang H, Kota SH (August 2020). "Effect of restricted emissions during COVID-19 on air quality in India". The Science of the Total Environment. 728: 138878. Bibcode:2020ScTEn.728m8878S. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138878. PMC 7175882. PMID 32335409.
60. Nie D, Shen F, Wang J, Ma X, Li Z, Ge P, et al. (February 2021). "Changes of air quality and its associated health and economic burden in 31 provincial capital cities in China during COVID-19 pandemic". Atmospheric Research. 249: 105328. Bibcode:2021AtmRe.24905328N. doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2020.105328. PMC 7574695. PMID 33100451.
61. Shi X, Brasseur GP (May 2020). "The Response in Air Quality to the Reduction of Chinese Economic Activities during the COVID-19 Outbreak". Geophysical Research Letters. 47 (11): e2020GL088070. Bibcode:2020GeoRL..4788070S. doi:10.1029/2020GL088070. PMC 7267158. PMID 32836516.
62. Pal SC, Chowdhuri I, Saha A, Chakrabortty R, Roy P, Ghosh M, Shit M (October 2020). "Improvement in ambient-air-quality reduced temperature during the COVID-19 lockdown period in India". Environment, Development and Sustainability. 23 (6): 9581–9608. doi:10.1007/s10668-020-01034-z. PMC 7580820. PMID 33110388.
63. Gopikrishnan, G S (2022). "Air Quality during the COVID–19 Lockdown and Unlock Periods in India Analyzed Using Satellite and Ground-based Measurements". Environmental Processes. 9 (2): 28. doi:10.1007/s40710-022-00585-9. S2CID 248499296.
64. "The silver lining to coronavirus lockdowns: Air quality is improving". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
65. Bourzac K (25 September 2020). "COVID-19 lockdowns had strange effects on air pollution across the globe". Chemical & Engineering News. 98 (37). Retrieved 5 November 2021.
66. "Atmospheric Water Pollution". Water Pollution. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
67. "COVID In Oakland: Pandemic Sending Additional Trash Into Bay Area Waterways". www.cbsnews.com. CBS News. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
68. Semuels, Alana (26 March 2021). "'Garbage Freaking Everywhere' as Americans Venture Outdoors After a Year of Lockdowns". time.com. Time. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
69. Dreier, Natalie (February 2022). "COVID-19 waste piles up, tons of extra medical waste created by pandemic, WHO warns". www.wftv.com. WFTV-9. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
70. Baggaley, Kate (9 November 2021). "Humans created an extra 8 million tons of plastic waste during the pandemic". www.popsci.com. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
71. Kumari P, Toshniwal D (December 2020). "Impact of lockdown on air quality over major cities across the globe during COVID-19 pandemic". Urban Climate. 34: 100719. Bibcode:2020UrbCl..3400719K. doi:10.1016/j.uclim.2020.100719. PMC 7562773. PMID 33083215.
72. "OSU TRACE-COVID-19 project tests 60,000 individuals, 3,000 wastewater samples in first year". Life at OSU. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
73. "How has COVID-19 influenced the environment?". www.medicalnewstoday.com. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
74. "Coronavirus Is Improving Water Quality — For Now, At Least". State of the Planet. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
75. Zárate J (2 October 2020). "Opinion | The Amazon Was Sick. Now It's Sicker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
76. "Righting the many wrongs at Peru's polluted oil Block 192". politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
77. "Jellyfish seen swimming in Venice's canals". CNN. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
78. Srikanth A (18 March 2020). "As Italy quarantines over coronavirus, swans appear in Venice canals, dolphins swim up playfully". The Hill. from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
79. Sara Spary (16 April 2020). "Space images of Venice show how coronavirus has changed the city's iconic canals". CNN. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
80. "Deserted Venetian lagoon". www.esa.int. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
81. "Sentinel-2". www.esa.int. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
82. "Fake animal news abounds on social media as coronavirus upends life". Animals. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
83. "Venice Tide Times | 7 Day Tide Chart | TideTime.org". Tide Times. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
84. Chakraborty B, Bera B, Adhikary PP, Bhattacharjee S, Roy S, Saha S, et al. (October 2021). "Positive effects of COVID-19 lockdown on river water quality: evidence from River Damodar, India". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 20140. Bibcode:2021NatSR..1120140C. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99689-9. PMC 8505400. PMID 34635728.
85. Chakraborty B, Roy S, Bera A, Adhikary PP, Bera B, Sengupta D, et al. (January 2021). "Cleaning the river Damodar (India): impact of COVID-19 lockdown on water quality and future rejuvenation strategies". Environment, Development and Sustainability. 23 (8): 11975–11989. doi:10.1007/s10668-020-01152-8. ISSN 1387-585X. PMC 7779165. PMID 33424426.
86. Balamurugan M, Kasiviswanathan KS, Ilampooranan I, Soundharajan B (2021). "COVID-19 Lockdown Disruptions on Water Resources, Wastewater, and Agriculture in India". Frontiers in Water. 3: 24. doi:10.3389/frwa.2021.603531. ISSN 2624-9375.
87. Yunus AP, Masago Y, Hijioka Y (August 2020). "COVID-19 and surface water quality: Improved lake water quality during the lockdown". The Science of the Total Environment. 731: 139012. Bibcode:2020ScTEn.731m9012Y. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139012. PMC 7185006. PMID 32388159.
88. Liu D, Yang H, Thompson JR, Li J, Loiselle S, Duan H (January 2022). "COVID-19 lockdown improved river water quality in China". The Science of the Total Environment. 802: 149585. Bibcode:2022ScTEn.802n9585L. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149585. ISSN 0048-9697. PMC 8526986. PMID 34454149.
89. Masindi V, Foteinis S, Nduli K, Akinwekomi V (December 2021). "Systematic assessment of SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater, rivers and drinking water - A catchment-wide appraisal". The Science of the Total Environment. 800: 149298. Bibcode:2021ScTEn.800n9298M. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149298. PMC 8319043. PMID 34388648.
90. Cherif EK, Vodopivec M, Mejjad N, Esteves da Silva JC, Simonovič S, Boulaassal H (September 2020). "COVID-19 Pandemic Consequences on Coastal Water Quality Using WST Sentinel-3 Data: Case of Tangier, Morocco". Water. 12 (9): 2638. doi:10.3390/w12092638.
91. Menneer T, Qi Z, Taylor T, Paterson C, Tu G, Elliott LR, et al. (June 2021). "Changes in Domestic Energy and Water Usage during the UK COVID-19 Lockdown Using High-Resolution Temporal Data". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18 (13): 6818. doi:10.3390/ijerph18136818. PMC 8297134. PMID 34202018.
92. Abu-Bakar H, Williams L, Hallett SH (December 2021). "Quantifying the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on household water consumption patterns in England". npj Clean Water. 4 (1): 13. doi:10.1038/s41545-021-00103-8. ISSN 2059-7037. S2CID 231948492.
93. Dobson B, Jovanovic T, Chen Y, Paschalis A, Butler A, Mijic A (2021). "Integrated Modelling to Support Analysis of COVID-19 Impacts on London's Water System and In-river Water Quality". Frontiers in Water. 3: 26. doi:10.3389/frwa.2021.641462.
94. Ormaza-Gonzaìlez FI, Castro-Rodas D, Statham PJ (2021). "COVID-19 Impacts on Beaches and Coastal Water Pollution at Selected Sites in Ecuador, and Management Proposals Post-pandemic". Frontiers in Marine Science. 8: 710. doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.669374. ISSN 2296-7745.
95. Guerrero-Latorre L, Ballesteros I, Villacrés-Granda I, Granda MG, Freire-Paspuel B, Ríos-Touma B (November 2020). "SARS-CoV-2 in river water: Implications in low sanitation countries". The Science of the Total Environment. 743: 140832. Bibcode:2020ScTEn.743n0832G. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140832. PMC 7343659. PMID 32679506.
96. Pant RR, Bishwakarma K, Rehman Qaiser FU, Pathak L, Jayaswal G, Sapkota B, et al. (July 2021). "Imprints of COVID-19 lockdown on the surface water quality of Bagmati river basin, Nepal". Journal of Environmental Management. 289: 112522. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112522. PMC 9626473. PMID 33848878. S2CID 233233194.
97. Mostafa MK, Gamal G, Wafiq A (January 2021). "The impact of COVID 19 on air pollution levels and other environmental indicators - A case study of Egypt". Journal of Environmental Management. 277: 111496. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111496. PMC 7547608. PMID 33069147.
98. Al-Masry R (1 September 2020). "Egyptian villagers purify their drinking water". InfoNile. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
99. Campos MA, Carvalho SL, Melo SK, Gonçalves GB, dos Santos JR, Barros RL, et al. (3 June 2021). "Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on water consumption behaviour". Water Supply. 21 (ws2021160): 4058–4067. doi:10.2166/ws.2021.160. ISSN 1606-9749. S2CID 236225945.
100. Irwin NB, McCoy SJ, McDonough IK (September 2021). "Water in the time of corona(virus): The effect of stay-at-home orders on water demand in the desert". Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. 109: 102491. doi:10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102491. PMC 8220444. PMID 34176994.
101. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Water and Sanitation". www.ifc.org. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
102. "Democratic Republic of the Congo: Caught between COVID-19 and water shortages in Kinshasa". 15 September 2020. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
103. "COVID-19 Exacerbates the Effects of Water Shortages on Women in Yemen | Wilson Center". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
104. Ezell JM, Griswold D, Chase EC, Carver E (May 2021). "The blueprint of disaster: COVID-19, the Flint water crisis, and unequal ecological impacts". The Lancet. Planetary Health. 5 (5): e309–e315. doi:10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00076-0. PMC 9709384. PMID 33964240. S2CID 234344645.
105. Escwa U (2020). "The impact of COVID-19 on the water-scarce Arab region". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
106. Korten T (8 April 2020). "With Boats Stuck in Harbor Because of COVID-19, Will Fish Bounce Back?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
107. Reiley L (8 April 2020). "Commercial fishing industry in free fall as restaurants close, consumers hunker down and vessels tie up". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
108. Lombrana LM (17 April 2020). "With Fishing Fleets Tied Up, Marine Life Has a Chance to Recover". Bloomberg Green. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
109. "While you stay home, animals roam free in our towns and cities". living. 25 April 2020.
110. Katz C (26 June 2020). "Roadkill rates fall dramatically as lockdown keeps drivers at home". National Geographic. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
111. "Low-impact human recreation changes wildlife behavior".
112. Anderson, Alissa K.; Waller, John S.; Thornton, Daniel H. (13 January 2023). "Partial COVID-19 closure of a national park reveals negative influence of low-impact recreation on wildlife spatiotemporal ecology". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 687. Bibcode:2023NatSR..13..687A. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-27670-9. PMC 9839714. PMID 36639399.
113. McCall R (6 April 2020). "Eating bats and pangolins banned in Gabon as a result of coronavirus pandemic". Newsweek. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
114. Frutos R, Serra-Cobo J, Chen T, Devaux CA (October 2020). "COVID-19: Time to exonerate the pangolin from the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans". Infection, Genetics and Evolution. 84: 104493. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2020.104493. PMC 7405773. PMID 32768565.
115. "Tiger, pangolin farming in Myanmar risks 'boosting demand'". phys.org. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
116. Pappas, Georgios; Vokou, Despoina; Sainis, Ioannis; Halley, John M. (31 October 2022). "SARS-CoV-2 as a Zooanthroponotic Infection: Spillbacks, Secondary Spillovers, and Their Importance". Microorganisms. 10 (11): 2166. doi:10.3390/microorganisms10112166. ISSN 2076-2607. PMC 9696655. PMID 36363758.
117. Devaux, Christian; Pinault, Lucile; Delerce, Jérémy; Raoult, Didier; Levasseur, Anthony; Frutos, Roger (20 September 2021). "Spread of Mink SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Humans: A Model of Sarbecovirus Interspecies Evolution". Frontiers in Microbiology. 12: 675528. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.675528. PMC 8488371. PMID 34616371.
118. Eckstrand, Chrissy; Baldwin, Thomas; Rood, Kerry; Clayton, Michael; Lott, Jason; Wolking, Rebecca; Bradway, Daniel; Baszler, Timothy (12 November 2021). "An outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 with high mortality in mink (Neovison vison) on multiple Utah farms". PLOS Pathogens. 17 (11): e1009952. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1009952. PMC 8589170. PMID 34767598.
119. Jacobs, Andrew (2 November 2021). . The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
120. Mallapaty, Smriti (26 April 2022). . Nature. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
121. McBride, Dillon S.; Garushyants, Sofya K.; Franks, John; Magee, Andrew F.; Overend, Steven H.; Huey, Devra; Williams, Amanda M.; Faith, Seth A.; Kandeil, Ahmed; Trifkovic, Sanja; Miller, Lance; Jeevan, Trushar; Patel, Anami; Nolting, Jacqueline M.; Tonkovich, Michael J.; Genders, J. Tyler; Montoney, Andrew J.; Kasnyik, Kevin; Linder, Timothy J.; Bevins, Sarah N.; Lenoch, Julianna B.; Chandler, Jeffrey C.; DeLiberto, Thomas J.; Koonin, Eugene V.; Suchard, Marc A.; Lemey, Philippe; Webby, Richard J.; Nelson, Martha I.; Bowman, Andrew S. (28 August 2023). "Accelerated evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in free-ranging white-tailed deer". Nature Communications. 14 (1): 5105. Bibcode:2023NatCo..14.5105M. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-40706-y. PMC 10462754. PMID 37640694.
122. Brancalion PH, Broadbent EN, de-Miguel S, Cardil A, Rosa MR, Almeida CT, et al. (1 October 2020). "Emerging threats linking tropical deforestation and the COVID-19 pandemic". Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 18 (4): 243–246. doi:10.1016/j.pecon.2020.09.006. PMC 7526655. PMID 33020748.
123. "Poaching, deforestation reportedly on the rise since COVID-19 lockdowns". www.conservation.org. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
124. "Earth has 3 trillion trees but they're falling at alarming rate". Reuters. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
125. "As a 'green stimulus' Pakistan sets virus-idled to work planting trees". Reuters. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
126. "Pakistan Hires Thousands of Newly-Unemployed Laborers for Ambitious 10 Billion Tree-Planting Initiative". Good News Network. thegoodnewsnetwork. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
127. Mapulanga AM, Naito H (April 2019). "Effect of deforestation on access to clean drinking water". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 116 (17): 8249–8254. Bibcode:2019PNAS..116.8249M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1814970116. PMC 6486726. PMID 30910966.
128. Liu Z, Ciais P, Deng Z, Lei R, Davis SJ, Feng S, et al. (October 2020). "Near-real-time monitoring of global CO₂ emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5172. arXiv:2004.13614. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.5172L. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18922-7. PMC 7560733. PMID 33057164.   Available under CC BY 4.0.
129. "Commentary: Coronavirus may finally force businesses to adopt workplaces of the future". Fortune. from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
130. Yaffe-Bellany D (26 February 2020). "1,000 Workers, Go Home: Companies Act to Ward Off Coronavirus". The New York Times. from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
131. "Carbon emissions are falling sharply due to coronavirus. But not for long". Science. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
132. Viglione G (June 2020). "How scientific conferences will survive the coronavirus shock". Nature. 582 (7811): 166–167. Bibcode:2020Natur.582..166V. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-01521-3. PMID 32488188. S2CID 219284783.
133. Tao, Yanqiu; Steckel, Debbie; Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír; You, Fengqi (16 December 2021). "Trend towards virtual and hybrid conferences may be an effective climate change mitigation strategy". Nature Communications. 12 (1): 7324. Bibcode:2021NatCo..12.7324T. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-27251-2. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 8677730. PMID 34916499.
134. Stoll C, Mehling MA (October 2020). "COVID-19: Clinching the Climate Opportunity". One Earth. 3 (4): 400–404. Bibcode:2020OEart...3..400S. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2020.09.003. PMC 7508545. PMID 34173539.
135. "Plunge in carbon emissions from lockdowns will not slow climate change". National Geographic. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
136. Ambrose J (3 June 2020). "Coronavirus crisis could cause $25tn fossil fuel industry collapse". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
137. "Lockdown emissions fall will have 'no effect' on climate". phys.org. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
138. "Pandemic caused 'unprecedented' emissions drop: study". phys.org. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
139. Ibn-Mohammed, T.; Mustapha, K. B.; Godsell, J.; Adamu, Z.; Babatunde, K. A.; Akintade, D. D.; Acquaye, A.; Fujii, H.; Ndiaye, M. M.; Yamoah, F. A.; Koh, S. C. L. (1 January 2021). "A critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and ecosystems and opportunities for circular economy strategies". Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 164: 105169. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105169. ISSN 0921-3449. PMC 7505605. PMID 32982059. S2CID 221858124. The paper diagnosed the danger of relying on pandemic-driven benefits to achieving sustainable development goals and emphasizes a need for a decisive, fundamental structural change to the dynamics of how we live. It argues for a rethink of the present global economic growth model, shaped by a linear economy system and sustained by profiteering and energy-gulping manufacturing processes, in favour of a more sustainable model recalibrated on circular economy (CE) framework.
140. Heidari H, Grigg N (August 2021). "Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Urban Water Cycle". Advances in Environmental and Engineering Research. 2 (3): 1. doi:10.21926/aeer.2103021.
141. "COVID-19 lockdowns temporarily raised global temperatures". phys.org. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
142. Gettelman A, Lamboll R, Bardeen CG, Forster PM, Watson-Parris D (2021). "Climate Impacts of COVID-19 Induced Emission Changes". Geophysical Research Letters. 48 (3): e2020GL091805. Bibcode:2021GeoRL..4891805G. doi:10.1029/2020GL091805. ISSN 1944-8007.   Available under CC BY 4.0.
143. "Give research into solar geoengineering a chance". Nature. 593 (7858): 167. May 2021. Bibcode:2021Natur.593..167.. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-01243-0. PMID 33981056.
144. Peng, Shushi; Lin, Xin; Thompson, Rona L.; Xi, Yi; Liu, Gang; Hauglustaine, Didier; Lan, Xin; Poulter, Benjamin; Ramonet, Michel; Saunois, Marielle; Yin, Yi; Zhang, Zhen; Zheng, Bo; Ciais, Philippe (14 December 2022). "Wetland emission and atmospheric sink changes explain methane growth in 2020". Nature. 612 (7940): 477–482. Bibcode:2022Natur.612..477P. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05447-w. PMID 36517714. S2CID 254710988. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
145. "Pandemic is triggering 'terminal decline' of fossil fuel industry, says report". The Independent. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
146. "Covid-19 relief for fossil fuel industries risks green recovery plans". The Guardian. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
147. "Renewable energy stimulus can create three times as many Australian jobs as fossil fuels". The Guardian. 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
148. "Will Coronavirus Be the Death or Salvation of Big Plastic?". Time. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
149. "Richard Smith: How can we achieve a healthy recovery from the pandemic?". The BMJ. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
150. Villafranca O (20 May 2020). "Americans turn to cycling during the coronavirus pandemic". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
151. Winkelmann S. "Bike shops see surge in sales during pandemic". www.weau.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
152. Earls S. "Bike sales boom during the pandemic as more kids pedal as a pastime". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
153. "On your bike! Coronavirus prompts cycling frenzy in Germany". DW.COM. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
154. Lee E. "Bike shops shift into higher gear as Marylanders become more active outdoors during coronavirus pandemic". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
155. "The great bicycle boom of 2020". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
156. "How COVID-19 Has Caused 'Pop-Up' Bike Lanes to Appear Overnight". Discerning Cyclist. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
157. Oltermann P (13 April 2020). "Pop-up bike lanes help with coronavirus physical distancing in Germany". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via www.theguardian.com.
158. Reid C. "Paris To Create 650 Kilometers Of Post-Lockdown Cycleways". Forbes. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
159. "Sydney gets 10km of pop-up cycleways". Government News. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
160. "Mobilitätswende in Europa: Die Pop-up-Radwege von Berlin". www.rnd.de. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
161. Schubert T (7 November 2020). "Pop-up-Radweg in Berlin: Erster temporärer Streifen wird dauerhaft". www.morgenpost.de. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
162. "In Corona-Zeiten eingerichtet: Gericht: Pop-up-Radwege in Berlin dürfen vorerst bleiben". Faz.net. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via www.faz.net.
163. Hackenbruch, Felix (10 September 2020). "Pop-up-Radwege in Berlin sollen vorerst bleiben". Der Tagesspiegel Online. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
164. Jacobs, Stefan (22 November 2020). "Berlins Radverkehr boomt im Corona-Jahr". Der Tagesspiegel Online. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
165. Foote N (2 April 2020). "Innovation spurred by COVID-19 crisis highlights 'potential of small-scale farmers'".
166. "Delivery disaster: the hidden environmental cost of your online shopping". The Guardian. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
167. "Coronavirus will change the grocery industry forever". CNN. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
168. Guy J (15 July 2020). "Global methane emissions are at a record high, and burping cows are driving the rise". CNN. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
169. "Shopping online surged during Covid. Now the environmental costs are becoming clearer". POLITICO. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
170. "The Impact of Online Shopping on the Environment". Eco-Age. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
171. Peng Y, Wu P, Schartup AT, Zhang Y (November 2021). "Plastic waste release caused by COVID-19 and its fate in the global ocean". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 118 (47): e2111530118. Bibcode:2021PNAS..11811530P. doi:10.1073/pnas.2111530118. PMC 8617455. PMID 34751160.
172. Okuku E, Kiteresi L, Owato G, Otieno K, Mwalugha C, Mbuche M, et al. (January 2021). "The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on marine litter pollution along the Kenyan Coast: A synthesis after 100 days following the first reported case in Kenya". Marine Pollution Bulletin. 162: 111840. Bibcode:2021MarPB.16211840O. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111840. PMC 7682337. PMID 33248673.
173. Patrício Silva AL, Prata JC, Walker TR, Duarte AC, Ouyang W, Barcelò D, Rocha-Santos T (February 2021). "Increased plastic pollution due to COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and recommendations". Chemical Engineering Journal. 405: 126683. doi:10.1016/j.cej.2020.126683. PMC 7430241. PMID 32834764.
174. Leal Filho W, Salvia AL, Minhas A, Paço A, Dias-Ferreira C (November 2021). "The COVID-19 pandemic and single-use plastic waste in households: A preliminary study". The Science of the Total Environment. 793: 148571. Bibcode:2021ScTEn.793n8571L. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148571. PMC 8799403. PMID 34175610.
175. Trafton A (20 July 2021). "The environmental toll of disposable masks". MIT News.
176. Benson NU, Fred-Ahmadu OH, Bassey DE, Atayero AA (June 2021). "COVID-19 pandemic and emerging plastic-based personal protective equipment waste pollution and management in Africa". Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 9 (3): 105222. doi:10.1016/j.jece.2021.105222. PMC 7881289. PMID 33614408.
177. "Negative Impacts of Incineration-based Waste-to-Energy Technology". AENews. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
178. Environment, U. N. (21 October 2021). "Drowning in Plastics – Marine Litter and Plastic Waste Vital Graphics". UNEP - UN Environment Programme. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
179. "Corporate investment in Europe was having a renaissance– then COVID-19 hit". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
180. European Investment Bank (21 January 2021). EIB Investment Report 2020/2021: Building a smart and green Europe in the COVID-19 era. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-4811-8.
181. Welle B, Avelleda S (23 April 2020). "Safer, More Sustainable Transport in a Post-COVID-19 World". World Resources Institute. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
182. "Transport – Sustainable Recovery – Analysis - IEA". IEA. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
183. "World has 'historic' opportunity for green tech boost, says global watchdog". Reuters. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
184. "Green hydrogen's time has come, say advocates eying post-pandemic world". Reuters. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
185. Farmbrough H. "Why The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Creating A Surge In Renewable Energy". Forbes. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
186. "ECB announces €750 billion Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP)" (Press release). European Central Bank. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
187. "A Just Recovery from COVID-19". 350.org. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
188. "The ECB will keep on funding polluters". 4 June 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
189. "ECB injects over €7 billion into fossil fuels since start of COVID-19 crisis". Greenpeace European Unit. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
190. Fleming S (29 April 2021). "These countries are leading the way on a post-pandemic green recovery". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
191. Elkerbout, M., Egenhofer, C., Núñez Ferrer,, J., Cătuţi, M., Kustova,, I., & Rizos, V. (2020). The European Green Deal after Corona: Implications for EU climate policy. Brussels: CEPS.
192. "EU recovery fund's debt-pooling is massive shift for bloc". euronews. 28 May 2020.
193. "EU's financial 'firepower' is 1.85 trillion with 750bn for COVID fund". euronews. 27 May 2020.
194. Pramuk J (11 March 2021). "Biden signs $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, clearing way for stimulus checks, vaccine aid". CNBC.
195. "Coronavirus disrupts global fight to save endangered species". AP NEWS. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
196. "Text-Only NPR.org : Climate Change Push Fuels Split On Coronavirus Stimulus". NPR. from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
197. "Put clean energy at the heart of stimulus plans to counter the coronavirus crisis—Analysis". IEA. from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
198. Weitzel E (2020). "Are Pandemics Good for the Environment?". Sapiens. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
199. "Earth Overshoot Day June Press Release". overshootday.org. Global Footprint Network. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
200. Braun S (21 August 2020). "Coronavirus Pandemic Delays 2020 Earth Overshoot Day by Three Weeks, But It's Not Sustainable". Deutsche Welle. Ecowatch. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
201. Bank, European Investment (12 January 2022). EIB Investment Report 2021/2022: Recovery as a springboard for change. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-5155-2.
202. "Latest EIB survey: The state of EU business investment 2021". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
203. "Tax Policy and Climate Change" (PDF). Tax Policy and Climate Change.
204. Nahm, Jonas M.; Miller, Scot M.; Urpelainen, Johannes (2 March 2022). "G20's US$14-trillion economic stimulus reneges on emissions pledges". Nature. 603 (7899): 28–31. Bibcode:2022Natur.603...28N. doi:10.1038/d41586-022-00540-6. PMID 35236968. S2CID 247221463.
205. Meredith S (18 June 2020). "IEA outlines $3 trillion green recovery plan for world leaders to help fix the global economy". CNBC. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
206. "Experts issue recommendations for a green COVID-19 economic recovery". phys.org. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
207. Sokratous Z (20 May 2020). "European Semester Spring Package: Recommendations for a coordinated response to the coronavirus pandemic". Cyprus - European Commission. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
208. Harvey F (18 June 2020). "World has six months to avert climate crisis, says energy expert". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
209. "Publikation - Der Doppelte Booster". www.agora-energiewende.de (in German). Retrieved 21 June 2020.
210. "A Green Stimulus Plan for a Post-Coronavirus Economy". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
211. "Priorities for a green recovery following coronavirus". CBI. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
212. "Climate Change and COVID-19: UN urges nations to 'recover better'". Retrieved 25 June 2020.
213. Pfeifer H. "Ocean investment could aid post-Covid-19 economic recovery". CNN. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
214. "Put clean energy at the heart of stimulus plans to counter the coronavirus crisis – Analysis". International Energy Agency. from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
215. "Political decisions, economic realities: The underlying operating cashflows of coal power during COVID-19". Carbon Tracker. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
216. Milman O, Holden E (27 March 2020). "Trump administration allows companies to break pollution laws during coronavirus pandemic". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
217. Felton, Emmanuel (7 April 2020). "The Coronavirus Meme About "Nature Is Healing" Is So Damn Funny". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
218. Friedler, Delilah. "The "nature is healing, we are the virus" memes are my plague comfort". Mother Jones.
219. Hess, Amanda (17 April 2020). "The Rise of the Coronavirus Nature Genre". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
220. "Blossom watch day: National Trust urges UK to share blooms". the Guardian. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
221. Mahtani, Shibani; Yu, Theodora (20 January 2022). . Washington Post. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
222. Ting, Victor; Choy, Gigi; Cheung, Elizabeth (18 January 2022). . South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
223. "The epidemic provides a chance to do good by the climate". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
224. "Environmental health and strengthening resilience to pandemics". OECD. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
225. Huet N (12 May 2020). "Chain reaction: commuters and cities embrace cycling in COVID-19 era". euronews.
226. "'Surprisingly rapid' rebound in carbon emissions post-lockdown". The Guardian. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
227. Friedlingstein, Pierre; et al. (4 November 2021). "Global Carbon Budget 2021". Earth System Science Data Discussions: 1–191. doi:10.5194/essd-2021-386. S2CID 240490309. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
228. "Carbon monitor". carbonmonitor.org. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
229. Liu, Zhu; Deng, Zhu; Davis, Steven J.; Giron, Clement; Ciais, Philippe (April 2022). "Monitoring global carbon emissions in 2021". Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. 3 (4): 217–219. Bibcode:2022NRvEE...3..217L. doi:10.1038/s43017-022-00285-w. ISSN 2662-138X. PMC 8935618. PMID 35340723.
230. European Investment Bank (31 May 2021). The EIB Climate Survey 2020-2021 - The climate crisis in a COVID-19 world: calls for a green recovery. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-5021-0.
231. "The Guardian view on Brazil and the Amazon: don't look away | Editorial". The Guardian. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
232. "COVID-19's Long-Term Effects on Climate Change—For Better or Worse". State of the Planet. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
233. Press release (24 March 2020). "Drop in aircraft observations could have impact on weather forecasts". European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
234. Lecocq T, Hicks SP, Van Noten K, van Wijk K, Koelemeijer P, De Plaen RS, et al. (September 2020). "Global quieting of high-frequency seismic noise due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures". Science. 369 (6509): 1338–1343. Bibcode:2020Sci...369.1338L. doi:10.1126/science.abd2438. PMID 32703907.
235. Rume T, Islam SM (September 2020). "Environmental effects of COVID-19 pandemic and potential strategies of sustainability". Heliyon. 6 (9): e04965. Bibcode:2020Heliy...604965R. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04965. PMC 7498239. PMID 32964165.

Sources

  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (license statement/permission). Text taken from Drowning in Plastics – Marine Litter and Plastic Waste Vital Graphics​, United Nations Environment Programme.

External links

• COVID-19 Earth Observation Dashboard by NASA, ESA, and JAXA
• Rapid Action on COVID-19 and Earth Observation Dashboard by ESA and EC
• Observed and Potential Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Environment
• United Nations: Six Nature Facts Related to Coronaviruses
• WHO air quality index/report of air pollution in 2020