The Positive Sides of the Lockdown

"We should not kill something for our uncontrolled taste"

Author: Abhraneel (Young Reporter, India)

The corona virus continues to infect thousands of people across the world and has dramatically changed how people live now compared to before covid-19. This is reducing the many dangerous effects on the environment because of a reduction in pollution. Did you know how the corona virus pandemic could help the environment recover its original state? Researchers are noticing some curious changes in the world.

There is less use of transport as due to the lockdown people remained inside their homes. Thus they did not use their vehicles as much as they used to. This caused the CO2 emissions to nosedive. Since the lockdown there has been a significant dip in the levels of CO2 across the country. In India, the Himalayan mountain range has been seen again after many decades. As air pollution reduced rapidly, most of the smog cleared up in many cities. People in India are experiencing cleaner air and also they can experience the view of the Himalayan range from more than 100 miles away.

Many cities like Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai are experiencing much less traffic congestion. This is happening as all the people are staying at home, thus lessening the traffic in most cities. There has been a decrease in the number of patients in hospitals with ear problems as there is less noise pollution. Many employees are working at home so there is less need to travel.

As the dumping of industrial and domestic wastes in the Ganga and Yamuna rivers has lessened, they have become a lot cleaner than before. Following the Covid-19 guidelines, many factories have shutdown and there is less amount of waste dumped into the rivers.

With the dip in air pollution, hazardous gases like SO2 fall as acid rain, which destroys monuments and wildlife. When this gas reacts with water and air, it forms sulphuric acid. Such a chemical mixes with rain water and acidifies the soil and destroys plants.

Many species of birds which were on the verge of being endangered are now appearing in more numbers. Birds like the trumpeter swan, pink pigeon and whooping cranes were almost extinct. Thanks to the decreasing pollution, their numbers are increasing. If the lockdown was not there, these birds would have been extinct.

We have done terrible things to our environment, and now it is our duty to clean it up again. Though the lockdown has done a lot of things, there is much work to do. As it is rightly said in the Bhagwad Gita-

“We should not kill something for our uncontrolled taste”

It means that to fulfil our desires, we should not destroy the Earth to fulfil them. We should not buy things we do not need, we should not buy two books if one is needed. If we want a sustainable future, we should start by preserving the Earth. Once it is destroyed, we will be no more. What will you do?

Stay home, stay safe and work against Covid-19 and for the environment for a sustainable future.