Global coronavirus shutdowns are an Earth Day gift to the environment

If the planet has a memory, Earth Day 2020 can be cast on Wednesday, April 22, as the most significant instance of the annual event since its foundation decades ago.

The Coronavirus and the disease that causes it, COVID-19, have brought billions of people off the streets worldwide and cut international travel. And all of these people who stay at home seem to be, in certain observable ways, a collective weight off the shoulders of the global environment.

The Himalayas are visible from parts of India for the first time in decades, like animals Kangaroos and Goats have more freedom of movementand life everywhere just seems to breathe easier.

NASA and the European Space Agency saw the effect for the first time about satellite data (top) shows China’s dramatic decrease in nitrogen dioxide emissions, mainly from vehicles, after bans were introduced in February.

The European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite also made it easy to see similar reductions in air pollution across northern Italy after bans there several weeks later. The following animation shows the fluctuation in nitrogen dioxide emissions between January 1 and March 11.

“The reduction in emissions that we can see coincides with the blockage in Italy, which causes less traffic and industrial activity.” said Claus ZehnerCopernicus Sentinel 5P mission manager said ESA in a blog post.

Similar effects can be seen in the suddenly immaculate air quality in Los Angeles, which is notorious for its smog from millions of commuters.

One place where you can easily see the environmental changes with your own eyes when you walk through the city is the famous canal city of Venice.

The water in the canals, which sometimes has the reputation of being a bit stinky, is currently clear, and lots of fish – and even jellyfish – and swans swim around to enjoy the unusual urban calm:

Some wild animals that have become dependent on humans as food sources are becoming somewhat louder and braver in this new reality.

Deer living in Nara Park, Japan are used to being fed by park goers, but with the suddenly dried up food pass they left the park and went to the city streets to look for food.

Similar and uglier scenes were shot in places like Lopburi, Thailand, where local monkeys that previously relied on tourists mobbed the city in search of food, sometimes arguing with each other.

Shutdowns are also likely to affect the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

After an analysis by Lauri Myllyvirta In the Center for Research on Energy and Clean AirIn the weeks following the end of Chinese New Year in early February, the blocking of the coronavirus prevented activities from resuming in the country as would normally be the case. The resulting savings in the combustion of coal and crude oil led to a 25 percent decrease in CO2 emissions from China compared to the same period last year.

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“This corresponds to approximately 100 tons of CO2 or 6% of global emissions over the same period.” Myllyvirta writes.

It is likely that many of these dramatic and sudden changes will be recorded in the planet’s memory – in geological records, tree rings, and other natural records that will survive both this pandemic and the rest of us.