Department of Economics and Business Administration, Art & Social Sciences Division, University of Education Lahore (Faisalabad Campus), Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Sep;28(35):49302-49313. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-14088-x. Epub 2021 May 2.
Neither war nor recession or any kind of prior disaster has been considered a prelude to the looming threat of climate change over the past era as coronavirus (hereafter COVID-19) has in only a few months. Although numerous studies have already been published on this topic, there has not been compelling evidence critically assessing the impact of COVID-19 by and on climate change. The present study fills this gap by taking a more holistic approach to elaborate factors, e.g., natural and anthropogenic factors, ocean submesoscales, radiative forces, and greenhouse gas/CO emissions, that may affect climate change in a more prevalent and pronounced manner. Based on the statistical data collected from the NASA Earth Observatory, the European Space Agency, and the Global Carbon Project, the findings of this study reveal that the climate/environment has improved during COVID-19, including better environmental quality and water quality with low carbon emissions and sound pollution. In the lockdown during the epidemic, the emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO) and carbon dioxide (CO) significantly decreased because of the lower usage of transportation, decreased electricity demand, and halted industrial activities. The policy implications of this study suggested that keeping the climate healthy even in the post-COVID-19 era is a serious concern that needs to be addressed by investing in clean and green projects, ensuring green energy evolution, dealing with a large volume of medical waste, building health-ensuring and livable societies, and halting the funding of pollution. For governmental and regulatory bodies, these factors will provide a strong foundation to build safer, healthier, and environmentally friendly societies for generations to come.
在过去的时代，无论是战争、经济衰退还是任何其他灾难，都没有被认为是气候变化这一迫在眉睫威胁的前兆，而新冠病毒（以下简称 COVID-19）仅在几个月内就做到了这一点。尽管已经有许多关于这个主题的研究发表，但没有令人信服的证据来批判性地评估 COVID-19 对气候变化的影响。本研究通过采取更全面的方法来阐述各种因素，例如自然和人为因素、海洋次中尺度、辐射力以及温室气体/CO 排放，从而填补了这一空白，这些因素可能会以更普遍和更显著的方式影响气候变化。本研究基于从美国宇航局地球观测站、欧洲航天局和全球碳项目收集的统计数据，发现 COVID-19 期间气候/环境得到了改善，包括环境质量和水质的改善，碳排放和噪音污染较低。在疫情期间的封锁期间，由于交通使用减少、电力需求下降和工业活动停止，二氧化氮（NO）和二氧化碳（CO）的排放量显著减少。本研究的政策意义表明，即使在 COVID-19 之后的时代，保持气候健康也是一个需要通过投资清洁和绿色项目、确保绿色能源发展、处理大量医疗废物、建设健康保障和宜居社会以及停止污染资金来解决的严重问题。对于政府和监管机构来说，这些因素将为建立更安全、更健康和更环保的社会提供坚实的基础，造福子孙后代。
