How Coronavirus Healing Our Environment!!

We all are living in a time when we face the global pandemic happening. In our never-ending progress, there was no chance of our world to heal at such a rapid rate. Our nature is itself a healer but, humans didn't leave a space for this process to occur. Nature trying to heal the things we damage and in the meantime, we damage more.

I live in a small village in India, where we are under 21 days of lockdown. There is complete silence on roads, I am writing the article in my room where I can hear the voice of the birds louder every day. The skies are blue but the color is different from the everyday. I can see the clouds rising high from the lands and they look so white like never before. I am sure that everyone must be feeling the same way.

Ok, this is the change around us. Let's talk about how Coronavirus creating a major shift on our planet everywhere. Let's talk about china where it all started.

1) China- The shutdown of factories, power plants, manufacturing units, and vehicles results in a huge drop in air pollution. According to NASA, there is approximately a drop of 10-20 percent of NO2 level in central and eastern china which itself saves a million people.

2) Europe- which has become a new center for this pandemic also witness a huge drop in air pollution. In certain parts, the NO2 level is almost negligible. In the UK PM2.5 reduces half of its average value at this time of year.

3) India- which has 6 out of 10 world's most polluted cities in the world breath clear air amid lockdown. Delhi the most polluted city in India also witnesses a huge drop in the air pollution level with PM2.5 reading 64µg/m3 on March 29, which is considered moderate or acceptable. The AQI reading shows 65 on March 29 which was above 200 before the lockdown.

The biggest change scientist confirms is the healing of the ozone layer over Antarctica. Ozone layer depletion is the major contributor to the change in rain patterns and severe drought in countries like Australia. It changes the route of jet streams and shifts to the southern hemisphere. Due to surge in the harmful chemicals in air scientists confirms a small peak in the hole of the ozone layer in 2019 since 1987 which now seems stable after the lockdown. Recent simulation proves that the hole is not moving south and reversing the effect.

So, if we look at the world before the lockdown and after the lockdown, there is a huge difference- less pollution, noise and some space to nature. Lockdown not only shows the true state of where we belong but the picture of the carbon-free future. I really hope that humanity understands that progress is important but we have to pay the cost if we trade it with our environment.