The environment is being affected by COVID-19. Even before the pandemic, one of the most prominent issues was air pollution, as many regions were affected by the disease of air pollution coming from traffic and industries. According to the State of Global Air/19, air pollution was the 5th leading risk worldwide in 2017. Due to air pollution, 5 million people died globally. WHO reported that air pollution causes 4.2 million premature deaths annually. The majority of people died due to this disease, but now global warming has been changed due to the 6 months lockdown and because of the stopping of traffic and industries, air quality has been improved.
Nonetheless, CO2 levels in the atmosphere reached their highest monthly average ever recorded in May — 417.1 parts per million. This is because the carbon dioxide humans have already emitted can remain in the atmosphere for a hundred years; some of it could last tens of thousands of years.
India’s capital is one of the most polluted cities in the world but its skies had turned blue and many peoples become able to see the Himalaya mountains. In Venice, Italy, canal water is so fresh that fish can be easily seen.
SIRAJ AHMED ABBASI,
Ghehalpur.