Adverse effects of this pandemic on our environment

I am pretty sure that many of you have heard about the swans that are swimming the canals of Venice,  how blue skies have appeared over Delhi, how the rivers have become cleaner and how, overall, this pandemic has been kind to the environment. But, that's what the media has told you. What they haven't told you is how many adverse effects this pandemic has had on our environment.

“Too many of us are not living in our reality, because we are living in our fears.”

And our this fear has got us trying to look for the good side of even this pandemic. Thus we are rejoicing at when our environment is getting healed even at the slightest and are ignoring the many adverse effects, Here are some points which support the fact that the pandemic is a disastrous bane for the environment.

·     -   A stag was seen roaming around the state capital of Dehra Dun. This is threatening for an animal that is already endangered.

·       - A puma was spotted in Santiago which is dangerous to farm animals, pets, and little children.

·        -People staying in their houses during this pandemic which just happens to coincide with the summer has caused people to use ACs for longer periods causing more release of CFCs.

·        -Italy has prevented the infected persons from segregating waste that causes more waste to get collected in the landfills. Additionally, many corporations have overturned disposable bag bans and begun relying once again on single-use plastics, and many restaurants are no longer accepting reusable containers - in early March, Starbucks announced a temporary ban on using reusable cups

·        -In America, recycling has come to a halt during this pandemic.

·        -People are now buying more stuff online, that comes with heavy packaging that requires a lot of trees to be cut. This has not only caused the disposal of more single-use plastic packaging but has further required more fossil fuels to be burned for the individual transportation and distribution of goods.

·        -A research conducted showed that a hospital in Wuhan produced more than 200 tons of waste, per day which includes masks, gloves, and PPEs that have to be disposed of after one use.

  T     -The disruption from the pandemic provided cover for illegal deforestation operations. This was observed in Brazil, where satellite imagery showed deforestation of the Amazon rainforest

·      -  Agricultural output has declined due to the reduced number of agricultural workers. Locusts and other pests are damaging the crops as there is a lack of people to spray the pesticides and there is also a lack of pesticides due to the factories shutting down.

                    Even though some people might argue saying that the ozone layer has been healthiest than it has been for the longest time and the  pollution levels have gone low etc but we must remember that even if mass isolation is aiding in the reduction of climate change, it is not a sustainable way of cleaning up the environment.