The Impact of COVID-19 on the Atmosphere, Hydrosphere and Biosphere: A global scenario

Abstract

The human life had come to a stagnant condition as many countries had to shut down all sorts of internal and external communication from due to the spread of extremely contagious disease of COVID-19. Social distancing of different levels has been a common scenario in all the countries which had made the whole world to a standstill. The industries, transportation, and other activities suddenly came to a pause for the developed and developing countries all across the globe. The atmosphere, hydrosphere and the biosphere have been polluted for last few decades due to various anthropogenic activities all around the world. The air and water pollution got reduced due to less carbon emission and the reduced decarbonization rate first time observed in the modern Anthropocene. The water quality of rivers, lakes, fresh water and sea water has been reported to be improved during this pandemic situation. The drastic reduction in human activity resulted the reduction of atmospheric NO2, CO2 and particulate matters in air which led to clean air and pollution free water in many countries and also the wildlife took the opportunity to regain their natural space. Although the situation was in favor of environment, the water in-fluent and the waste water has been reported to have SARS-CoV-2 RNA and also,it’s been a great deal of concern for the increased use of medical and plastic waste and their inappropriate disposal which is followed by the health hazards. This review article provides evidence-based analysis of good and bad effect on the global environment during the worldwide lockdown situation. A summary of the published articles of the environmental effects of COVID-19 pandemic have been discussed and the significant facts have been discussed focusing on several relevant aspects like, air quality, water quality, waste management, wildlife and conservation. An attempt has been made to visualize the world scenario.