Question

write an essay on lockdown and environment​

Answer 1

Explanation:

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused industrial activity to shut down and cancelled flights and other journeys, slashing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution around the world. If there is something positive to take from this terrible crisis, it could be that it’s offered a taste of the air we might breathe in a low-carbon future.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that about 3 million people die each year from ailments caused by air pollution, and that more than 80% of people living in urban areas are exposed to air quality levels that exceed safe limits. The situation is worse in low-income countries, where 98% of cities fail to meet WHO air quality standards.

Measurements from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P satellite show that during late January and early February 2020, levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) over cities and industrial areas in Asia and Europe were lower than in the same period in 2019, by as much as 40%.

Two weeks after the nationwide lockdown was announced on March 23 in the UK, NO₂ pollution in some cities fell by as much as 60% compared to the same period in 2019. NASA revealed that NO₂ pollution over New York and other major metropolitan areas in north-eastern USA was 30% lower in March 2020, compared to the monthly average from 2015 to 2019.

Most NO₂ comes from road transport and power plants, and it can exacerbate respiratory illnesses such as asthma. It also makes symptoms worse for those suffering from lung or heart conditions. NO₂ emissions have been a particularly thorny problem for Europe, with many countries in breach of EU limits.

In a sense, we are conducting the largest ever global air pollution experiment. Over a relatively short period of time, we’re turning off major air pollutant sources in industry and transport. In Wuhan alone, 11 million people were in lockdown at the height of the outbreak there. Across China, over half a billion. China normally emits in excess of 30 mega tonnes of nitrogen oxides per year, with estimates for 2019 reaching 40 mega tonnes.

electric vehicles are only as clean as the electricity that powers them. The recent improvements in air quality could be made permanent by replacing fossil fuel generation with renewable energy and other low-carbon sources. Reducing monthly NO₂ emissions from electricity generation by 10% would be the equivalent of turning off 500 coal power stations for a year.

Ironically, by shutting down swaths of the global economy, COVID-19 has helped expose another respiratory health crisis. The ensuing lockdowns have shown the improvements to air quality that are possible when emissions are reduced on a global scale.

The pandemic could show us how the future might look with less air pollution, or it may just indicate the scale of the challenge ahead. At the very least, it should challenge governments and businesses to consider how things can be done differently after the pandemic, to hold on to temporary improvements in air quality.

Answer 2

Answer:

Better air quality, healthy riverine and flourishing ecosystems during lockdown give me a soothing touch as an environmentalist, but I can’t rejoice it. These environmental benefits are temporary and post-lockdown ‘as usual scenario’ may even pose greater threat to environment. These positive environmental changes are seen as a result of compulsive lockdown under the threat of pandemic outbreak, which have claimed a number of lives. This sudden lockdown has already costed lakhs of jobs, social security and mental peace of fellow citizens. Lakhs of poor and marginalized population are suffering despite the concerted efforts of states and central government’s machineries. Therefore, we can’t celebrate these temporary environmental benefits, but certainly can learn lessons from this lockdown.

This lockdown provides a natural laboratory condition of environment to gather baseline data for different environmental parameters. The academic/research institutions may use this scenario to build a nationwide baseline data for environment by collecting (with taking all necessary health precautions) measurements of various atmospheric, hydrological and ecosystem parameters. These baseline data can be helpful in determining the shares of different sectors in environmental pollution. Further, it can be used by stakeholders and policy makers to build a sustainable development model for the nation. In my view, this lockdown scenario gives us better understanding to differentiate between our needs and luxuries at individual levels. The goals of sustainable development can’t be achieved without balancing between ‘needs and luxuries’ at various scales such as individual, community, state and global levels. The lessons learned from lockdown can be used as arsenals in our fight for clean air, clean water and a healthy environment.