Environmental pollution analysis during the lockdown imposed due to COVID-19: A case study

ABSTRACT

The Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the year 2020 has become a curse for mankind and their livelihood, and India has not been exempted from it. India currently (August 2020) is among the top five countries in terms of the number of cases and is being reported on a daily basis. This also stems due to India having the world’s second-largest population. The country is being largely run by the informal sector, which has brought the economic sector to a standstill. Essential service sectors such as pharmaceutical, food industry, and logistics are up and running. However, these barely contribute to the country’s economy but have replenished the environment. This manuscript analyzes the environmental effects of enforced lockdown in India on air quality, water quality, and noise levels. In comparison to 2019, levels, air quality, and water quality show positive trends with a reduction in the concentration of major pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ozone (O₃), and carbon monoxide (CO). Parts of the India have witnessed up to 44% reduction in the Air Quality Index. Dissolved oxygen (DO) has increased and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) has decreased in most of the rivers in the country, enhancing the water quality. The noise levels in different parts of the country have declined during this lockdown period. However, the stockpiling of COVID-19 related biomedical waste and lack of proper handling has raised concerns over the spread of the disease. Thus, the study shows that the nature itself is capable enough to reduce the environmental pollution within a span of months.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• environment
• emission
• lockdown
• air pollution
• water pollution
• biomedical waste

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mrs. Jyotsana Dwivedi for her contribution in brainstorming and Mr. Aniket Dwivedi from IIT Kanpur for his assistance in proofreading the manuscript. Authors would like to thank MANIT Bhopal and Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia, for supporting the research work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).