Environmental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

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Comparison of the images from NASA Earth Observatory show a sharp decrease in NO 2 air pollution in Wuhan in 2020 (images below) compared to the previous year (images above).

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2019/2020 also had numerous consequences for the environment .

By restricting economic and social activities and individual mobility, air pollution , water pollution and carbon dioxide emissions in the affected regions of the world fell massively.

Pictorial representation of the data from the Tropomi , which found a significant decrease in NO 2 levels in China in February 2020 compared to January 2020.

On the other hand, especially in developing and emerging countries, an economically induced massive increase in environmental damage, especially deforestation, can be observed.

Decline in water pollution

In Venice , the normally muddy, churned water in the canals was cleared , as the intense boat traffic that usually prevails there stopped . Fish have been spotted, which is usually not the case.

Decrease in air pollution

In the region of origin in Wuhan , air pollution caused by nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) decreased over the city. In other regions as well , in northern China with Beijing as well as via Hong Kong , Shanghai and in the Shandong province , the NO 2 concentration in the air decreased significantly, which satellite images confirm. In March 2020, the effect was also registered in Italy. Similar effects could be observed worldwide. In many large cities, the number of traffic jams and total traffic increased according to estimates in mid-March 2020, e.g. For example, in Milan by 64%, in Rome by 67%, in Seattle by 36% and in New York City by 35%.

Air pollution also fell in Germany as a result of the pandemic. In Lower Saxony, for example, all seven traffic measuring stations reported lower nitrogen dioxide values ​​than in the previous year. The decline was most pronounced in Oldenburg , where the values ​​fell from 46.1 to 27.2 micrograms per cubic meter of air within a year.

In addition, solar energy researchers determined that in New Delhi, India, the air became significantly clearer due to the decline in air pollution and more sunlight reached the earth's surface. Accordingly, after the issued curfews at the end of March 2020, solar radiation increased by around 8.3% compared to previous years; In April, solar radiation was 5.9% above values ​​from previous years. On the other hand, there would have been no significant differences in February and early March 2020. From this, the researchers deduce that a reduction in air pollution will increase the yield from photovoltaic systems, especially in heavily polluted urban regions. In contrast, a second study in rural areas of northern Italy, where there is little air pollution, showed no statistically significant increase. Therefore, based on the data available so far, they consider it implausible that the pandemic also contributed to a new record solar power production in Great Britain or Germany, even if they do not rule out a very small contribution.

It is also discussed whether the decrease in air pollution has led to higher UV exposure, which was measured in Europe in April 2020. The reduced exhaust gases in the air would keep the rays less strong.

Decline in global resource consumption

The " Earth Overshoot Day " ("Earth Overload" or "World Exhaustion Day") was postponed by three weeks from July 29 in the previous year to August 22, 2020 as a result of the global measures against the spread of the corona virus.

Increase in deforestation

According to a study by the WWF , rising unemployment, especially in cities, is leading to rural exodus among the poorer sections of the population. These would either use the forest economically or clear it to make way for arable land. In Colombia, for example, the loss of canopy cover increased tenfold between March 2019 and March 2020 from around 5,000 to around 50,000 hectares, but deforestation also increased in other countries studied in Latin America, Africa and Asia, by an average of 150 percent. In addition, the lack of tourism and government cutbacks mean that funds for national parks and protected areas are falling away.

COVID-19 pandemic and climate crisis

The Corana pandemic also has an impact on combating the climate crisis . On the one hand it deprives financial resources and media attention and on the other hand it ensures lower greenhouse gas emissions and could at the same time serve as a model for options for action. The International Energy Agency estimates that the pandemic could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 8% in 2020 compared to the previous year. This would mean that emissions would be at the level of 2010. At the same time, this decrease in emissions would mean that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in 2020 would rise by around 2.75 ppm instead of around 3 ppm. Since global warming is largely dependent on the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and this continues to increase in absolute numbers despite the slight decrease, the temporary decrease in emissions does not lead to a cooling of the earth, but only to a somewhat less rapid warming. Between May 2019 and May 2020, the CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere rose by 2.4 ppm am. This was less than in the same period of the previous year, but corresponds to the average of the 2010s. Since natural fluctuations also affect this increase, the decline cannot necessarily be attributed to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, although these likely contributed.

At the same time, the pandemic could lead to a small, short-term warming effect, as the reduced burning of fossil fuels also causes a decrease in air pollution from aerosols. These aerosols have a cooling effect on the earth by reflecting part of the sunlight shining on the earth into space. How great the influence is, however, has not yet been investigated in studies.

The postponement of the UN Climate Change Conference 2020 , which was originally planned for the end of December 2020, to the year 2021 was rated as a “major setback for climate protection ”. In particular, the emission targets of the Paris Agreement agreed at the UN Climate Change Conference in 2015 should be readjusted. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) canceled several meetings to reduce emissions.

It should be noted that the coronavirus crisis should not be interpreted as saving the climate.

Behavior changes

A study showed that in Germany alone around five million tons of greenhouse gases could be saved each year. This would require 40 percent of workers in two days a week at the home office work. Politicians must take accompanying measures. According to the Heinrich Böll Foundation , the pandemic makes it clear that humanity is fundamentally capable of quick action - if it has the will.

Green upswing

Investments in stabilizing and rebuilding the economy can be invested in a green upswing and thus set the course for a decarbonised economy in the long term .

additional

From countries and cities with curfews there have been anecdotal reports of wild animals moving into the otherwise busy cities.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Airborne Nitrogen Dioxide Plummets Over China. February 28, 2020, accessed on May 28, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b Global deforestation: Not even the pandemic can save the rainforest - ZEIT ONLINE , accessed on August 22, 2020
  3. ↑ a b "Corona Effect": Massive forest destruction in the tropics - ZDFheute , accessed on August 22, 2020
  4. ↑ Coronavirus: Venice canals clearer after lockdown. BBC News, March 18, 2020, accessed March 19, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Der Spiegel: Coronavirus leads to a decrease in air pollution in China. Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
  6. ↑ NASA Earth Observatory: Airborne Nitrogen Dioxide Plummets Over China. Retrieved March 4, 2020 .
  7. ↑ WetterOnline: Corona virus: Emissions also reduced in Italy. Retrieved March 4, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Brian Pascus: City traffic levels plummet 35% Following new executive orders. Crains New York Business, March 16, 2020, accessed March 19, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Corona crisis: air in cities is much cleaner . In: Norddeutscher Rundfunk , July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  10. ^ Ian Marius Peters et al .: The Impact of COVID-19-Related Measures on the Solar Resource in Areas with High Levels of Air Pollution . In: Joule . 2020, doi : 10.1016 / j.joule.2020.06.009 .
  11. ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt- Hamburg: Weather in Hamburg: Meteorologists warn of sunburn due to Corona. April 15, 2020, accessed on April 19, 2020 (German).
  12. ↑ David Lin, Leopold Wambersie, Mathis Wackernagel, Pat Hanscom: Calculating Earth Overshoot Day 2020 . Ed .: Global Footprint Network. June 5, 2020, p. 10 (English, overshootday.org [PDF]).
  13. ↑ Study by WWF: Massive deforestation in the Corona crisis . tagesschau.de, accessed on August 22, 2020
  14. ↑ Susanne Götze , DER SPIEGEL: The crisis after the crisis: How the corona crisis could slow down climate policy - DER SPIEGEL - Wissenschaft. Retrieved May 9, 2020 .
  15. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: Corona crisis leads to historic CO2 decline - DER SPIEGEL - Economy. Retrieved May 9, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Michael Bauchmüller, Marlene Weiß: How Corona puts climate protection at risk. Retrieved May 9, 2020 .
  17. ^ Philippe Descamps and Thierry Lebel: CORONA SHOCK AND CLIMATE POLICY. In: Le Monde diplomatique . Retrieved May 9, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Christopher Schrader : Shouldn't the CO2 content in the atmosphere also decrease because of the corona crisis? (Short answer: no) . In: Riffreporter , May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  19. ↑ Atmospheric CO2 levels rise sharply despite Covid-19 lockdowns . In: The Guardian , June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  20. ↑ 2020 likely to be the warmest year on record globally . In: CBS News , June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  21. ↑ Because of the corona crisis: UN climate summit in Glasgow from 2021 postponed. In: spiegel.de. April 1, 2020, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  22. ↑ Susanne Götze: Green Deal threatened: How the coronavirus slows down climate policy. In: spiegel.de. March 20, 2020, accessed May 22, 2020 .
  23. ↑ Emily Atkin: Coronavirus won't save the planet. In: Heated (heated.world). April 16, 2020, accessed on May 22, 2020 .
  24. ↑ The Corona crisis threatens to stifle climate protection by Teresa Dapp on April 28, 2020
  25. ↑ faz.net, Home office can save millions of tons of CO2 , August 20, 2020
  26. ↑ Why states are acting in the corona crisis and not in the climate crisis by Elvira Rosert of April 27, 2020
  27. ↑ klimareporter.de , Green upswing can save 0.3 degrees of warming , August 11, 2020
  28. ↑ Wild animals wander through deserted cities under Covid-19 lockdown. In: rfi.fr. March 30, 2020, accessed June 3, 2020 .
  29. ↑ N-TV Nachrichten: Animals explore urban habitats in the corona lockdown. In: n-tv.de. April 18, 2020, accessed June 3, 2020 .
  30. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Animals recapture empty cities. In: dw.com. May 26, 2020, accessed June 3, 2020 .