key: cord-308086-jycvupy4
authors: Zambrano-Monserrate, Manuel A.; Ruano, María Alejandra; Sanchez-Alcalde, Luis
title: Indirect effects of COVID-19 on the environment
date: 2020-04-20
journal: Sci Total Environ
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138813
sha: 
doc_id: 308086
cord_uid: jycvupy4

Abstract This research aims to show the positive and negative indirect effects of COVID-19 on the environment, particularly in the most affected countries such as China, USA, Italy, and Spain. Our research shows that there is a significant association between contingency measures and improvement in air quality, clean beaches and environmental noise reduction. On the other hand, there are also negative secondary aspects such as the reduction in recycling and the increase in waste, further endangering the contamination of physical spaces (water and land), in addition to air. Global economic activity is expected to return in the coming months in most countries (even if slowly), so decreasing GHG concentrations during a short period is not a sustainable way to clean up our environment.

This outcome is mainly due to the social distancing policies adopted by the governments following the appearance of the pandemic. Also, the use of vehicles decreased considerably. All this led to a dramatic reduction in the concentrations of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) and Particulate Matter that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5) in the main Chinese cities (ESA, 2020a; CAMS, 2020).

In other parts of the world, such as Europe, air pollution has dramatically reduced since governments ordered citizens to stay at home to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Main industries as well as other regular activities have ground to a halt.

For instance, car use has reduced which caused GHGs to decrease. In China alone, all of these air quality improvements generated human health benefits that have outnumbered confirmed SARS-CoV2 deaths thus far (Chen et al., 2020).

Beaches are one of the most important natural capital assets found in coastal areas or Salinas (Ecuador) now look cleaner and with crystal clear waters.

Environmental noise is defined as an unwanted sound that could be generated by anthropogenic activities (for instance, industrial or commercial activities), the transit of engine vehicles, and melodies at high volume. Environmental noise is one of the main The imposition of quarantine measures by most governments has caused people to stay at home. With this, the use of private and public transportation has decreased significantly. Also, commercial activities have stopped almost entirely. All these changes have caused the noise level to drop considerably in most cities in the world.

The generation of organic and inorganic waste is indirectly accompanied by a wide Also, the industry has seized the opportunity to repeal disposable bag bans, even though single-use plastic can still harbor viruses and bacteria (Bir, 2020).

China has asked wastewater treatment plants to strengthen their disinfection routines Furthermore, the decrease in GHG emissions currently observed in some countries is only temporary. Since once the pandemic ends, countries will most likely revive their economies, and GHG emissions will skyrocket again.

On the other hand, the safe management of domestic waste could be critical during the COVID-19 emergency. Medical waste such as contaminated masks, gloves, used or expired medications, and other items can easily be mixed with domestic waste. J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f However, they should be treated as hazardous waste and disposed of separately.

Furthermore, these type of waste must be collected by specialized municipal operators or waste management operators (UN, 2020). Along these same lines, the UN Environment Program urged governments to treat waste management, including medical, domestic, and other waste, as an urgent and essential public service to minimize possible secondary health and environmental effects (ARCplus, 2020).

Finally, it is concluded that COVID-19 will produce both positive and negative indirect effects on the environment, but the latter will be greater. Decreasing GHG concentrations during a short period is not a sustainable way to clean up our environment. Furthermore, the virus crisis brings other environmental problems that may last longer and maybe more challenging to manage if countries neglect the impact of the epidemic on the environment.

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