Assessing the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the environment: A correlation or causation?

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted human lives, human activities, and the world economy. In response to curb its spread, pandemic risk reduction measures such as mass lockdowns, extensive travel bans, and mass quarantine were imposed globally. While the imposition of these measures has negatively impacted the world economy, its impacts on the environment could be described as a gain, as the ecosystem appears to be given a rebirth. During the mass lockdown (February to April 2020), air pollution worldwide has dropped significantly precisely, with a decline in the emission and concentration of pollutants. The emission of CO2 globally declined by 8.8% during the first half of 2020. Additionally, both surface and underground water quality have been improved due to reduced industrial activities. Also, there has been an increase in carbon sink due to the decline in global bush fires. In a nutshell, the study recommends that as the world economy recovers from the impact of COVID-19, world leaders and policymakers should focus on measures that improve the environment and the ecosystem, such as the adoption of the green economy, production and use of fuel cells cars instead of gasoline cars and treating industrial effluents to WHO recommended levels before discharging them into water bodies.