The aim of this project is to use the digital as an alternative form to share the issues I have researched. To work, collaborate and build a relationship with different charities and organisations that work to highlight and combat issues within the environment.
The purpose of the work is to act as 'visual activism', reaching a wider audience through the medium and bring the issues further into light.
Keep this moment
Narrated by David Attenborough, this timely documentary special takes a look at nature’s extraordinary response to a year of global lockdown. This love letter to planet Earth will take you from hearing birdsong in deserted cities for the first time in decades, to witnessing whales communicating in ways never before seen.
This Earth Day, find out how changes in human behavior—reducing cruise ship traffic, closing beaches a few days a year, identifying more harmonious ways for humans and wildlife to co-exist—can have a profound impact on nature and give us hope for the future.
With this project I wanted to focus on the environment. I started looking at the documentary ‘The Year Earth Changed’ which looked at the impact of lockdown on the natural world and animals, specifically how they thrived when our human activity was dramatically reduced.
I want to create some digital character and space that shows this moment in time, how when everything stopped for humans, the environment and animal became more alive. Moreover, to highlight the human impact on the environment and how this short amount of time had a large impact on the environment and offered a glimpse of how change can positively effect the environment.
The project reflects data and research to share the issues in an alternative form, to open a conversation about how we can improve the way we all live on this planet as earthlings.
reference
coexist
Research
“Although coronavirus vaccine is not available coronavirus itself is earth's vaccine and us humans are the virus”.
“虽然没有冠状病毒疫苗,但冠状病毒本身就是地球的疫苗,而我们人类就是病毒”。
As the transmission of novel corona virus (COVID-19) increases rapidly, the whole world adopted the curfew/lockdown activity with restriction of human mobility. The imposition of quarantine stopped all the commercial activity that greatly affects the various important environmental parameters which directly connected to human health. As all the types of social, economic, industrial and urbanization activity suddenly shut off, nature takes the advantages and showed improvement in the quality of air, cleaner rivers, less noise pollution, undisturbed and calm wildlife. This research aims to discuss the COVID-19 effect on the global environment. The outcome of this research says that “Although coronavirus vaccine is not available coronavirus itself is earth's vaccine and us humans are the virus”.
随着新型冠状病毒(COVID-19)的传播迅速增加,全世界都采取了限制人员流动的宵禁/封锁活动。 实施检疫停止了所有对与人类健康直接相关的各种重要环境参数产生重大影响的商业活动。 随着所有类型的社会、经济、工业和城市化活动突然停止,大自然发挥了优势,空气质量得到改善,河流更清洁,噪音污染减少,野生动物不受干扰和平静。 本研究旨在讨论 COVID-19 对全球环境的影响。 这项研究的结果表明,“虽然没有冠状病毒疫苗,但冠状病毒本身就是地球的疫苗,而我们人类就是病毒”。
Vital environmental changes have been evidenced during COVID-19 lockdown.
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500% decrease in sewage and industrial effluents in rivers.
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Dissolved oxygen(DO), Biological oxygen demand(BOD), pH of river water has been improved by 79%, 30% and 7.9 respectively
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Noise level was reduced up to 35% to 68% all over the world.
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Wild life gets a chance to reclaim their land.
在 COVID-19 封锁期间,已经证明了重要的环境变化。
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河流中的污水和工业废水减少 500%。
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溶解氧(DO)、生物需氧量(BOD)、河水pH值分别提高了79%、30%和7.9
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全世界的噪音水平降低了 35% 到 68%。
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野生动物有机会夺回他们的土地。
6. Conclusion
This study finds the impact of lockdown on the global environment including various types of emission, on the ozone layer, water, industrial and noise pollution. The impact of COVID-19 on wildlife is also considered. Overall this research direct the India and cross-country investigation for better insight of COVID-19 and how current lockdown effects the various parameter of the environment during COVID-19. So, we can conclude that if we do climate deterioration than the mother-nature is trying to bounce back, also we should understand the world climate can anticipate. There is a chance that when the lockdown period is over environmental pollution can be back with more pace so human effort towards saving the environment can do everlasting effect.
六,结论
这项研究发现了封锁对全球环境的影响,包括各种类型的排放、臭氧层、水、工业和噪音污染。 还考虑了 COVID-19 对野生动物的影响。 总的来说,这项研究指导了印度和跨国调查,以更好地了解 COVID-19 以及当前的封锁如何影响 COVID-19 期间环境的各种参数。 因此,我们可以得出结论,如果我们的气候恶化超过了大自然试图恢复的程度,我们也应该了解世界气候可以预测。 当封锁期结束时,环境污染有可能以更快的速度恢复,因此人类为拯救环境所做的努力可以产生持久的效果。
确保绿色就业和增长
推动可持续性同时促进就业、收入和增长的刺激措施将显着增强经济和社会在面临严重衰退和加速环境挑战时的弹性。
重建得更好
气候变化和生物多样性丧失等全球环境紧急情况可能造成的社会和经济损失远大于 COVID-19 大流行造成的损失。经济复苏一揽子计划的设计应避免这种情况。
加速低碳转型
危机后恢复计划提供了一个机会,使公共政策与气候目标更加紧密地结合起来,并限制锁定碳密集型基础设施的风险。
加强生物多样性保护
投资于保护、可持续利用和恢复生物多样性有助于应对新出现的传染病等风险,同时为社会提供就业、商业机会和其他利益。
改善环境健康
通过改善空气质量、水和卫生设施、废物管理以及保护生物多样性的努力来增强环境健康,将降低社区对流行病的脆弱性,从而提高社会福祉和复原力。
我们如何加快向低排放经济的过渡?
通过绿色复苏,政府有机会释放创新,对关键部门进行更广泛的覆盖和根本性重组,加快现有的环境计划,并利用环境可持续的项目管道。当前油价相对较低的前景也为扩大碳定价和改革化石燃料补贴提供了理想的机会。实现绿色复苏对于应对气候变化和生物多样性丧失等紧迫且相互关联的挑战至关重要。
初步分析表明,迄今为止,政府已将其绿色措施集中在能源和地面运输部门。但其他部门——例如工业、农业、林业和废物管理——对于绿色和有弹性的恢复同样重要。
减少农业排放
尽管农业生产中的碳强度有所提高,但预计未来十年全球农业温室气体排放量仍将增加 4%。牲畜占这一增长的80%以上。
将需要有针对性的气候友好政策努力,特别是在畜牧部门,以有效促进《巴黎协定》中规定的全球温室气体排放量减少。
Social inequalities in the spotlight
It has become clear that COVID is not affecting all socio-economic groups equally. Several factors may have increased the vulnerability of those with low socio-economic status.
Less-well-off people are more likely to live in poor quality, overcrowded accommodation, jeopardising compliance with social distancing recommendations and increasing the risk of transmitting infection. They are also more likely to have jobs that cannot be carried out from home, such as working in healthcare, care homes, supermarkets, factories, warehouses and public transport. In addition, people with lower socio-economic status are more likely to endure unstable work conditions and to face financial uncertainty due to the economic impacts of the response to COVID-19. Such individuals are under significant pressure to continue working even when they fall ill, in order to safeguard household incomes.
Beyond the higher risk of transmission under such conditions, sustained stress also weakens the immune system, increasing susceptibility to a range of diseases (Patel et al., 2020). Finally, poorer people in urban areas are likely to be exposed to higher levels of air pollution and noise, associated with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and hypertension, respectively (EEA, 2019). These conditions are all risk factors for death from COVID-19 (Yang et al., 2020), suggesting that people of low socio-economic status have greater susceptibility to COVID-19 mortality (Patel et al., 2020).
聚光灯下的社会不平等
很明显,COVID 并没有平等地影响所有社会经济群体。有几个因素可能增加了社会经济地位较低者的脆弱性。
不太富裕的人更有可能生活在质量差、人满为患的住所中,这会危及遵守社交距离建议并增加传播感染的风险。他们也更有可能从事无法在家完成的工作,例如在医疗保健、疗养院、超市、工厂、仓库和公共交通部门工作。此外,由于应对 COVID-19 的经济影响,社会经济地位较低的人更有可能忍受不稳定的工作条件并面临财务不确定性。为了保障家庭收入,这些人即使在生病时也面临着继续工作的巨大压力。
除了在这种情况下传播风险更高之外,持续的压力还会削弱免疫系统,增加对一系列疾病的易感性(Patel 等,2020)。最后,城市地区的贫困人口可能会接触到更高水平的空气污染和噪音,分别与呼吸系统和心血管疾病以及高血压相关(欧洲经济区,2019 年)。这些情况都是 COVID-19 死亡的危险因素(Yang 等,2020),表明社会经济地位低的人对 COVID-19 死亡率的敏感性更高(Patel 等,2020)。
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold across Europe, with changing levels of restrictions and more focus on testing and social distancing. Although some economic activity has returned since the European lockdowns of spring 2020, economies continue to be hit by COVID-related restrictions. As governments try to plot courses out of the pandemic, with a particular reliance on significant stimulus packages, a focus on reshaping our unsustainable production and consumption systems is vital. The pandemic is highlighting, yet again, the interconnected nature of our planetary systems, from the zoonotic origins of disease and their relation to our natural environment and food systems, to the greater vulnerability to disease resulting from social inequality, poor air quality, pollution and other environmental factors.
结论
COVID-19 大流行继续在整个欧洲蔓延,限制级别不断变化,并且更多地关注测试和社会疏远。 尽管自 2020 年春季欧洲封锁以来,一些经济活动已经恢复,但经济继续受到与 COVID 相关的限制的打击。 随着政府试图制定摆脱大流行的路线,特别依赖重大的刺激计划,重点重塑我们不可持续的生产和消费体系至关重要。 这场大流行再次凸显了我们行星系统的相互关联性,从疾病的人畜共患病起源及其与我们的自然环境和食物系统的关系,到由于社会不平等、空气质量差、污染和 其他环境因素。
Introduction
The global outbreak of Covid-19 has affected every part of human lives, including impacting the physical world in which we live. This is primarily due to the measures that have been taken around the world to control the spread of the virus and the consequent slowdown of economic activities, which have had significant effects on the environment.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) have reported that the restrictions imposed to fight Covid-19 have provided some short-term positive impacts on Europe’s environment, including temporary improvements in air quality, lower greenhouse gas emissions and lower levels of noise pollution. However, the report stresses that there have also been negative consequences such as increased use of single-use plastics, and that ways out of the pandemic should focus on achieving long-term environmental benefits.
In this article we explore the main positive and negative effects of the covid-19 pandemic on the environment, before taking a look at the ways gas sensing can play a part in protecting our precious environment.
What have been the Positive Environmental Impacts of Lockdown?
Research has revealed that movement restrictions and the significant slowdown of social and economic activities has had many positive environmental impacts. These include significantly improving air quality in different cities across the world, reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions, lessening water pollution and noise, and reducing the pressure on tourist destinations, which may have caused the restoration of ecological systems.
This is demonstrated by the fact that in the northern hemisphere last spring, when restrictions were at their strictest, the human footprint decreased to a level that hasn’t been seen in decades. This was because flights halved, road traffic in the UK fell by more than 70% and industrial emissions in China, which is the world’s biggest source of carbon, were down 18% between early February and mid-March. Furthermore, car use in the United States also declined by 40%, which is usually a very high contributor.
Benefits were also seen in the global south, where rhino poaching declined in Tanzania due to disruption of supply chains and restrictions on cross-border movements. However, activities such as bushmeat hunting, illegal firewood collection and incursions into protected areas all increased in India, Nepal and Kenya because local communities lost tourist income and had to find other ways to provide for their families₁.
What have been the Negative Effects on the Environment due to The Pandemic?
The environmental gains were short-lived as once the strict lockdown eased, traffic and air pollution surged back to normal levels. In a survey of 49 British towns₂ and cities, 80% had contamination levels that were now the same or worse than before the pandemic. Unfortunately, there have also been additional negative effects on the environment, such as an increase in medical waste and the haphazard use and disposal of disinfectants, masks, gloves, and untreated waste.
Since the initial outbreak of Covid-19, medical waste generation has increased globally, which poses a major threat to public health and the environment because it causes air, water and soil pollution. Furthermore, quarantine policies have led to a major increase in demand for online shopping and home delivery which has resulted in a significant increase in household waste in the form of shipped package materials.
In Brazil, deforestation has hit a 23-year high as traditional guardians of the Amazon have been weakened with the Xavante and Yanomami indigenous groups being strongly impacted by the disease, and lockdown keeping forest rangers at home. Meanwhile, land grabbers, fire-starters and illegal miners have been busier than ever.
介绍
Covid-19 的全球爆发影响了人类生活的方方面面,包括影响了我们生活的物理世界。这主要是由于世界各地采取了控制病毒传播的措施以及随之而来的经济活动放缓,这对环境产生了重大影响。
欧洲环境署 (EEA) 报告称,为对抗 Covid-19 而实施的限制措施对欧洲环境产生了一些短期的积极影响,包括空气质量的暂时改善、温室气体排放量的减少和噪音污染水平的降低。然而,该报告强调,也存在负面后果,例如一次性塑料的使用增加,摆脱大流行的方法应侧重于实现长期的环境效益。
在本文中,我们探讨了 covid-19 大流行对环境的主要正面和负面影响,然后再研究气体传感如何在保护我们宝贵的环境方面发挥作用。
封锁对环境的积极影响是什么?
研究表明,行动限制以及社会和经济活动的显着放缓对环境产生了许多积极的影响。其中包括显着改善世界各地不同城市的空气质量,减少温室气体排放,减少水污染和噪音,以及减轻旅游目的地的压力,这可能会导致生态系统的恢复。
事实证明,去年春天在北半球,当限制最严格时,人类足迹减少到了几十年未见的水平。这是因为航班减少了一半,英国的道路交通量下降了 70% 以上,而作为全球最大碳源的中国的工业排放量在 2 月初至 3 月中旬期间下降了 18%。此外,美国的汽车使用量也下降了 40%,这通常是一个非常高的贡献者。
在全球南部也看到了好处,由于供应链中断和跨境流动受到限制,坦桑尼亚的犀牛偷猎减少了。然而,由于当地社区失去了旅游收入,不得不寻找其他方式养家糊口₁,印度、尼泊尔和肯尼亚的丛林肉狩猎、非法拾柴和入侵保护区等活动都在增加。
大流行对环境有哪些负面影响?
环境收益是短暂的,因为一旦严格的封锁放松,交通和空气污染就会恢复到正常水平。在对 49 个英国城镇的调查中,80% 的城市现在的污染水平与大流行前相同或更糟。不幸的是,还对环境产生了额外的负面影响,例如医疗废物的增加以及消毒剂、口罩、手套和未经处理的废物的随意使用和处置。
自 Covid-19 最初爆发以来,全球医疗废物的产生量有所增加,这对公共健康和环境构成了重大威胁,因为它会造成空气、水和土壤污染。此外,检疫政策导致对网上购物和送货上门的需求大幅增加,从而导致以运输包装材料形式存在的家庭垃圾显着增加。
在巴西,由于 Xavante 和 Yanomami 土著群体受到这种疾病的强烈影响,亚马逊的传统守护者被削弱,森林砍伐量达到 23 年来的最高水平,而封锁使森林护林员留在家中。与此同时,土地掠夺者、纵火者和非法采矿者比以往任何时候都更加忙碌。
Plastics, waste and recycling
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in the production and consumption of plastics, and in plastic waste. T e pandemic led to a sudden surge in global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, gloves, gowns, bottled hand sanitiser, etc. During early efforts to stop the spread of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that, each month, 89 million medical masks were required globally, together with 76 million examination gloves and 1.6 million sets of goggles[4].
Since most restaurants in Europe were closed for on-site dining, many moved to offering take away and delivery services using single - use plastic containers. Several large coffee retailers stopped allowing customers to bring refillable containers, using disposable cups in their place. Meanwhile, online shopping outlets have seen a surge in demand, with many products packed in single-use plastic.
While disposable plastic products have played an important role in preventing the spread of COVID-19, in the shorter term, the upsurge in demand for these items may challenge EU efforts to curb plastic pollution and move towards a more sustainable and circular plastics system. The production, consumption and disposal of additional single-use plastics will have had a greater impact on the environment and climate, such as increased air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, waste generation and risk of littering.
In addition to the direct effects stemming from increased demand for single-use plastics, other factors related to the pandemic should also be noted. Reduced economic activity has seen sharp falls in global oil prices. In turn, this has made it significantly cheaper for manufacturers to produce plastic goods from virgin, fossil-based materials rather than using recycled plastic materials. The economic viability of the European and global plastics recycling market is presently under significant pressure. Lower market demand for recycled plastics has also complicated the efforts of many of Europe’s local municipalities to manage their waste practices sustainably, with less desirable waste-disposal methods now being required for significant quantities of plastic waste.
关键信息
COVID-19 大流行进一步凸显了我们的自然系统和社会系统之间的相互关系:社会弹性取决于弹性环境支持系统。
生物多样性的丧失和密集的粮食系统使人畜共患病的可能性更大。
通常与社会不平等有关,空气质量等环境因素似乎会影响 COVID-19 的结果。
封锁导致对一次性塑料的依赖增加和低油价会产生负面影响。
COVID-19 大流行期间的封锁可能会对我们的环境产生一些直接的、短期的、积极的影响,尤其是在排放和空气质量方面,尽管这些可能是暂时的。
塑料、废物和回收
COVID-19 大流行已导致塑料的生产和消费以及塑料废物发生重大变化。大流行导致全球对个人防护装备 (PPE) 的需求突然激增,例如口罩、手套、防护服、瓶装洗手液等。 在阻止病毒传播的早期努力中,世界卫生组织 (WHO) ) 估计,全球每月需要 8900 万个医用口罩,以及 7600 万副检查手套和 160 万套护目镜[4]。
由于欧洲的大多数餐厅都因现场用餐而关闭,因此许多餐厅开始使用一次性塑料容器提供外卖和送货服务。几家大型咖啡零售商不再允许顾客携带可再灌装的容器,而是使用一次性杯子代替。与此同时,网上购物网点的需求激增,许多产品都是用一次性塑料包装的。
虽然一次性塑料产品在防止 COVID-19 传播方面发挥了重要作用,但在短期内,对这些产品的需求激增可能会挑战欧盟遏制塑料污染和迈向更可持续和循环塑料系统的努力。额外的一次性塑料的生产、消费和处置将对环境和气候产生更大的影响,例如增加空气污染和温室气体排放、废物产生和乱扔垃圾的风险。
除了对一次性塑料的需求增加带来的直接影响外,还应注意与大流行有关的其他因素。经济活动减少导致全球油价大幅下跌。反过来,这使得制造商使用原始化石材料生产塑料产品的成本大大降低,而不是使用再生塑料材料。欧洲和全球塑料回收市场的经济可行性目前正面临巨大压力。对再生塑料的市场需求下降也使欧洲许多地方市政当局为可持续地管理其废物实践所做的努力变得复杂,现在大量塑料废物需要采用不太理想的废物处理方法。
5. COVID-19 lockdown vs wild-life
As per the wildlife experts “The animal-borne disease is the outbreaks of the destruction of nature”. Human confinement during lockdown gives space to animals and birds which was usually occupied by a human and their activities. It was noticed that many animals around and coming into the spotlight during the coronavirus period globally. Deer, peacocks, monkeys, elephants, birds, dolphins, etc. are the best examples during lockdown who came out in notice much more frequently and greater in number
Some experts say that during this period few birds spreading their wings and breeding in the human-occupied areas which is now-a day's having no activity. Migratory birds are returning to lakes and water bodies more in number During this period we could see the difference in how birds communicate. As traffic noise is reduced so we can hear the perceived quality of their songs with more chirping sound. Now migratory birds can fly freely without human interference. All the fishing activity has stopped so dolphins do come closer to the shore.
Lockdown Wildlife Tracker app (Fig. 5b)on play.google.com by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was the great initiative to witness the real-time data using an app to share comfortable wildlife movement in human restricted zones (Wild Life Institute of India, 2020).
Ample evidence found in the various part of the globe to indicate the use of man-zones by wildlife. Coyote (Canis latrans) is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf that normally timid of traffic. It has been observed that coyote found near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA
Deer is pasturing near Washington homes which is just a few miles away from the White House. Italy, Barcelona and Bergamo witnessed wild boar becoming more bolder. Peacocks have strutted through Bangor and goats through Cap Town and sheep in Wales (Loring, 2020). A civet is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, Meppayur in Kozhikode (India) had an unusual visitor one afternoon: a small Indian civet. Some policemen got the attention that the civet used a zebra crossing (Singh, 2020). At last, we can say that nature has pressed the reset button and rejuvenate its wildlife during the lockdown. Although this is a short-term improvement, one day we go to back to business-as-usual, so we have to restore it. We have to find ways of using natural resources and live in harmony with it permanently.
5. COVID-19 封锁与野生动物
根据野生动物专家的说法,“动物传播的疾病是对自然破坏的爆发”。封锁期间的人类禁闭为通常由人类及其活动占据的动物和鸟类提供了空间。人们注意到,在全球冠状病毒期间,许多动物出现并成为人们关注的焦点。鹿、孔雀、猴子、大象、鸟类、海豚等是封锁期间最好的例子,它们出现的频率更高,数量也更多
一些专家说,在此期间,很少有鸟类在人类居住的地区展开翅膀繁殖,而现在已经一天没有活动了。候鸟越来越多地返回湖泊和水体在此期间,我们可以看到鸟类交流方式的差异。随着交通噪音的减少,我们可以听到他们歌曲的感知质量,并发出更多的啁啾声。现在候鸟可以在没有人为干扰的情况下自由飞翔。所有的捕鱼活动都停止了,所以海豚确实靠近了岸边。
印度野生动物研究所 (WII) 在 play.google.com 上的 Lockdown Wildlife Tracker 应用程序(图 5b)是一项伟大的举措,它使用应用程序来见证实时数据,以分享人类禁区内舒适的野生动物活动(Wild Life Institute印度,2020 年)。
在全球各地发现的大量证据表明野生动物使用了人区。土狼(Canis latrans)是一种原产于北美的犬科动物。它比它的近亲,通常对交通胆怯的灰狼要小。据观察,在美国旧金山金门大桥附近发现的土狼
鹿在离白宫只有几英里的华盛顿住宅附近放牧。意大利、巴塞罗那和贝加莫见证了野猪变得更加大胆。孔雀穿过班戈,山羊穿过卡普敦,绵羊穿过威尔士(Loring,2020 年)。果子狸是一种小型、瘦弱、主要是夜间活动的哺乳动物,原产于亚洲和非洲热带地区,尤其是热带森林。由于 COVID-19 的封锁,一天下午,科泽科德(印度)的 Meppayur 迎来了一位不寻常的访客:一只印度小灵猫。一些警察注意到果子狸使用斑马线(Singh,2020)。最后,我们可以说大自然在封锁期间按下了重置按钮并恢复了野生动物的活力。虽然这是一个短期的改善,但有一天我们会恢复正常,所以我们必须恢复它。我们必须找到使用自然资源的方法,并与它永久和谐相处。
Wildlife
Fish prices and demand for fish have decreased due to the pandemic, and fishing fleets around the world sit mostly idle.[77][78] German scientist Rainer Froese has said the fish biomass will increase due to the sharp decline in fishing, and projected that in European waters, some fish, such as herring, could double their biomass.[77] As of April 2020, signs of aquatic recovery remain mostly anecdotal.[79]
As people stayed at home due to lockdown and travel restrictions, some animals have been spotted in cities. Sea turtles were spotted laying eggs on beaches they once avoided (such as the coast of the Bay of Bengal), due to the lowered levels of human interference and light pollution.[80] In the United States, fatal vehicle collisions with animals such as deer, elk, moose, bears, mountain lions fell by 58% during March and April.[81]
Conservationists expect that African countries will experience a massive surge in bush meat poaching. Matt Brown of the Nature Conservancy said that "When people don't have any other alternative for income, our prediction -- and we're seeing this in South Africa -- is that poaching will go up for high-value products like rhino horn and ivory."[8][9] On the other hand, Gabon decided to ban the human consumption of bats and pangolins, to stem the spread of zoonotic diseases, as SARS-CoV-2 was thought to have transmitted itself to humans through these animals.[82] Pangolins are no longer thought to have transmitted SARS-CoV-2.[83] In June 2020, Myanmar allowed breeding of endangered animals such as tigers, pangolins, and elephants. Experts fear that the Southeast Asian country's attempts to deregulate wildlife hunting and breeding may create "a New Covid-19."[84]
由于大流行,鱼价和对鱼的需求下降,世界各地的捕鱼船队大多闲置。 [77] [78]德国科学家 Rainer Froese 曾表示,由于捕鱼量急剧下降,鱼类生物量将增加,并预计在欧洲水域,一些鱼类,如鲱鱼,其生物量可能会增加一倍。 [77]截至 2020 年 4 月,水生复苏的迹象仍主要是传闻。 [79]
由于封锁和旅行限制,人们呆在家里,因此在城市中发现了一些动物。由于人为干扰和光污染水平降低,海龟被发现在它们曾经避开的海滩(例如孟加拉湾海岸)上产卵。 [80]在美国,3 月和 4 月期间,与鹿、麋鹿、驼鹿、熊、美洲狮等动物发生致命车辆碰撞的事件下降了 58%。 [81]
环保人士预计,非洲国家的丛林肉偷猎活动将激增。大自然保护协会的马特·布朗说:“当人们没有其他收入来源时,我们的预测——我们在南非看到了这一点——盗猎将增加对犀牛角等高价值产品的盗猎和象牙。”[8][9] 另一方面,加蓬决定禁止人类食用蝙蝠和穿山甲,以阻止人畜共患病的传播,因为人们认为 SARS-CoV-2 已通过以下途径传播给人类这些动物。 [82]不再认为穿山甲传播了 SARS-CoV-2。 [83] 2020年6月,缅甸允许饲养老虎、穿山甲和大象等濒危动物。专家担心,这个东南亚国家放松野生动物狩猎和繁殖管制的尝试可能会造成“新的 Covid-19”。[84]
Wildlife and COVID-19: The good
One major and predominately positive benefit of the pandemic for wildlife is less human travel.
Due to the significant reduction in journeys, fewer people are hitting and injuring or killing wildlife on roadways.
A study from March 2021 found that hedgehog roadkill rates in Poland were more than 50% lower compared with pre-pandemic years, saving tens of thousands of hedgehogs in Poland alone. This may help reverse the long-term decline of European hedgehog populations.
Another study analyzing roadkill data from 11 countries found that roadkill rates fell by more than 40% during the first few weeks of the pandemic restrictions in Spain, Israel, Estonia, and the Czech Republic.
In addition, fewer ships are traveling through the world’s waterways and oceans for shipping, fishing, aquaculture, and tourism purposes.
In November 2020, experts predicted that global maritime trade would have plunged by 4.1% by the end of that year. Other reports estimated a 10% decline in the container trade for 2020.
A reduction in water travel and activity could reduce the risk of ships striking and injuring or killing marine animals. It may also reduce the marine disruption that occurs due to noise pollution from ships, fishing sonar, and recreational boats.
Birds might also be benefitting from the sharp decline in air travel, which may have vastly reduced the risk of bird strikes.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, between 1990 and 2019, there were about 227,005 wildlife strikes with civil aircraft in the U.S. In addition, U.S. airplanes reported some 4,275 more wildlife strikes at foreign airports. These strikes resulted in injury to 327 people.
The pandemic has also led to a declineTrusted Source in industry supply chains, reducing demand for commercial activities that exploit natural resources in many parts of the world. For example, lower fishing demand and activity may reduce the removal of animals from the wild.
And in India, anecdotal reports suggestTrusted Source that reduced fishing and vehicle traffic at nesting beaches may be boosting populations of the critically endangered olive ridley sea turtle.
The pandemic may even benefitTrusted Source wildlife by disrupting the hidden, generally illegal supply chains that destroy wild populations, including those that fuel the wildlife trade.
Going forward, authorities may start to take more immediate, forceful action against the illegal exploitation and transportation of wild animals globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) released a reportTrusted Source at the end of March suggesting that although the precise origin of the pandemic remains elusive, the global wildlife trade could have allowed the virus to enter China.
“This report highlights the urgent need to curb wildlife exploitation and signals that wildlife trade could have led to the pandemic,” says Tanya Sanerib, the international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
People are also reporting seeingTrusted Source wildlife in unexpected places, such as in large cities and commercial harbors. The increased number of animals in urban environments is likely due to reductions in human presence, air and water pollution levels, and noise pollution.
For example, people have spotted pumas wandering in downtown Santiago, Chile, and dolphins swimming in the usually choppy waters of the Port of Trieste, Italy.
野生动物和 COVID-19:好处
大流行对野生动物的一项主要且主要是积极的好处是减少人类旅行。
由于行程的显着减少,在道路上撞伤或杀死野生动物的人数减少了。
2021 年 3 月的一项研究发现,与大流行前相比,波兰的刺猬道路死亡率降低了 50% 以上,仅在波兰就挽救了数万只刺猬。这可能有助于扭转欧洲刺猬种群的长期下降趋势。
另一项分析来自 11 个国家/地区的道路死亡数据的研究发现,在西班牙、以色列、爱沙尼亚和捷克共和国大流行限制的最初几周内,道路死亡率下降了 40% 以上。
此外,为了航运、渔业、水产养殖和旅游目的而穿越世界水道和海洋的船只也越来越少。
2020 年 11 月,专家预测,到当年年底,全球海上贸易将下降 4.1%。其他报告估计,2020 年集装箱贸易将下降 10%。
减少水上旅行和活动可以降低船舶撞击、伤害或杀死海洋动物的风险。它还可以减少由于船舶、捕鱼声纳和休闲船的噪音污染而发生的海洋干扰。
鸟类也可能受益于航空旅行的急剧下降,这可能大大降低了鸟类撞击的风险。
根据美国联邦航空管理局的数据,1990 年至 2019 年间,美国约有 227,005 次野生动物袭击了民用飞机。此外,美国飞机在外国机场报告了约 4,275 次野生动物袭击事件。这些罢工导致 327 人受伤。
大流行还导致行业供应链中的可信来源下降,减少了世界许多地区对开发自然资源的商业活动的需求。例如,较低的捕捞需求和活动可能会减少野生动物的捕捞。
在印度,轶事报道表明,在筑巢海滩减少捕鱼和车辆交通可能会增加极度濒危的橄榄海龟的数量。
大流行甚至可能通过破坏破坏野生动物种群(包括助长野生动物贸易的供应链)的隐藏的、通常是非法的供应链,使可信来源的野生动物受益。
展望未来,当局可能会开始在全球范围内对野生动物的非法开采和运输采取更直接、更有力的行动。世界卫生组织(WHO)在 3 月底发布了一份报告,指出尽管大流行的确切起源仍然难以捉摸,但全球野生动植物贸易可能允许该病毒进入中国。
“这份报告强调了遏制野生动物开发的迫切需要,并表明野生动物贸易可能导致了大流行,”生物多样性中心国际法律主任坦尼亚萨内里布说。
人们还报告说,在意想不到的地方看到了可信来源的野生动物,例如大城市和商业港口。 城市环境中动物数量的增加可能是由于人类存在、空气和水污染水平以及噪音污染的减少。
例如,人们发现美洲狮在智利圣地亚哥市中心游荡,海豚在意大利的里雅斯特港通常波涛汹涌的水域中游泳。
Wildlife and COVID-19: The bad
However, many of the immediate positive effects of the pandemic on wildlife — such as reduced road, air, and ship deaths or disruption — will likely reverse if the world goes back to business as usual.
And in many cases, it will take generations of change to help thousands of species around the world recover from the impact of humankind. For example, it may take 10–15 years of sustained reduced fishing to allow the world’s depleted fish populations to recover.
Some studies have also found that the pandemic may actually be causing harm to wildlife.
In one studyTrusted Source, researchers found that reduced human disturbance relating to lockdown has benefitted invasive alien species by interrupting the actions that people were taking to control them. The authors also claim that pandemic restrictions have reduced the work of conservation and law enforcement organizations that care for wildlife and protected areas.
And this is a global trend, as the staff of preserves, game parks, sanctuaries, and other wildlife facilities are unable to perform their normal activities.
Also, the reduction in law enforcement may cause a sudden increase in illegal wildlife killing — in particular, that of endangered animals liable to persecution or poaching.
Some experts also worry that economic hardship in low income countries may lead to an increase in natural resource exploitation, such as unlicensed logging and the illegal wildlife market, as people run out of ways to earn a living.
According to satellite images, a surgeTrusted Source in deforestation is taking place in several hotspots. Also, illegal fishing rates are on the rise in Brazil and the Philippines.
The changes in human activity that the pandemic has necessitated may also be having some negative effects. For instance, some species that rely heavily on humans for feeding or scavenging, such as monkeys, gulls, and rats, may be strugglingTrusted Source during the pandemic.
People may also be using outdoor spaces such as parks and nature reserves more during lockdown, which could disturb resident wildlife unaccustomed to human interactions.
On the flip side, reduced ecotourism rates are crippling many organizations worldwide that rely on human visitors to feed and care for their animals.
Meanwhile, plastic pollution from improperly disposed-of single-use COVID-19 protective gear also seems to be increasing the global plastic pollution problem and causing wildlife deaths, as animals can ingest plastic items or become entangled or trapped in them.
According to one estimate, people are throwing away as many as 3.4 billionTrusted Source single-use face masks and face shields daily worldwide.
野生动物和 COVID-19:坏事
然而,如果世界恢复正常运转,大流行对野生动物的许多直接积极影响——例如减少道路、空中和船舶死亡或中断——可能会逆转。
在许多情况下,需要几代人的变革才能帮助世界各地成千上万的物种从人类的影响中恢复过来。例如,可能需要 10 到 15 年的持续减少捕捞才能让世界上枯竭的鱼类种群恢复。
一些研究还发现,大流行实际上可能对野生动物造成伤害。
在一项研究中,研究人员发现,减少与封锁相关的人为干扰,通过中断人们为控制它们而采取的行动,使外来入侵物种受益。作者还声称,大流行限制减少了保护野生动物和保护区的保护和执法组织的工作。
这是一个全球趋势,因为保护区、游猎公园、保护区和其他野生动物设施的工作人员无法进行正常活动。
此外,执法力度的减少可能会导致非法杀害野生动物的数量突然增加——尤其是那些可能遭受迫害或偷猎的濒危动物。
一些专家还担心,低收入国家的经济困难可能会导致自然资源开采增加,例如无证采伐和非法野生动物市场,因为人们没有办法谋生。
根据卫星图像,几个热点地区正在发生森林砍伐的激增。此外,巴西和菲律宾的非法捕捞率也在上升。
大流行所导致的人类活动的变化也可能产生一些负面影响。例如,一些严重依赖人类进食或觅食的物种,例如猴子、海鸥和老鼠,可能在大流行期间苦苦挣扎。
在封锁期间,人们也可能更多地使用公园和自然保护区等户外空间,这可能会打扰不习惯人类互动的常驻野生动物。
另一方面,生态旅游率的降低正在削弱全球许多依赖人类游客喂养和照顾动物的组织。
同时,不当处置一次性 COVID-19 防护装备造成的塑料污染似乎也在加剧全球塑料污染问题并导致野生动物死亡,因为动物可能会摄入塑料物品或被塑料物品缠住或困在其中。
据估计,全世界每天有多达 34 亿个一次性口罩和面罩被丢弃。
Wildlife
Air pollution
Impacts on air pollution
Data from EEA member countries show how concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) — a pollutant mainly emitted by road transport — have decreased in many European cities where lockdown measures have been implemented.
Although a decrease in concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) may also be expected, a consistent reduction cannot yet be seen across European cities. This is likely due to the fact that the main sources of this pollutant are more varied, including at European level the combustion of fuel for the heating of residential, commercial and institutional buildings, industrial activities and road traffic. A significant fraction of particulate matter is also formed in the atmosphere from reactions of other air pollutants, including ammonia — a pollutant typically emitted from the application of agricultural fertilisers at this time of year.
Other factors, such as weather conditions, may also significantly contribute to the reductions seen in pollutant concentrations. Conversely, changes in meteorology can also lead to increased air pollution, and coupled with the often non-linear relationships between changes in emissions and changes in concentrations, also explain why lower air pollution may not occur at all locations.
对空气污染的影响
来自欧洲经济区成员国的数据显示,在许多实施了封锁措施的欧洲城市,二氧化氮 (NO2)(一种主要由公路运输排放的污染物)的浓度是如何下降的。
尽管细颗粒物 (PM2.5) 的浓度也可能会下降,但欧洲城市尚无法看到持续下降。这可能是因为这种污染物的主要来源更加多样化,包括在欧洲层面为住宅、商业和机构建筑、工业活动和道路交通供暖的燃料燃烧。大气中的很大一部分颗粒物也是由其他空气污染物的反应形成的,包括氨——每年这个时候施农肥通常会排放这种污染物。
其他因素,如天气条件,也可能对污染物浓度的减少做出重大贡献。相反,气象变化也可能导致空气污染加剧,再加上排放变化与浓度变化之间通常呈非线性关系,这也解释了为什么并非所有地点都可能出现较低的空气污染。
Air pollution has long been one of the biggest killers, claiming an estimated seven million victims annually. However, the Covid-19 global pandemic showed how quickly we could clear the air once we cut the number of journeys we made...
长期以来,空气污染一直是最大的杀手之一,每年估计有 700 万人因此丧生。 然而,Covid-19 全球大流行表明,一旦我们减少旅行次数,我们就能多快地清除空气……
Stark difference
Emissions from fuel combustion account for almost a quarter of CO2 emissions from human activities.
So the impact of lockdowns on transport around the globe in the Covid-19 pandemic has been stark.
According to the International Energy Agency, average activity on the world's roads fell by almost 50% compared with 2019.
The improvement in air quality was clear to see.
截然不同
燃料燃烧产生的排放占人类活动产生的二氧化碳排放量的近四分之一。
因此,在 Covid-19 大流行中,封锁对全球交通的影响是显而易见的。
根据国际能源署的数据,与 2019 年相比,世界道路上的平均活动量下降了近 50%。
空气质量的改善显而易见。
What has the Effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Gas Emissions been?
The COVID crisis has had a direct impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at both global and EU levels.
Vehicles and aviation are both key contributors of emissions and contribute to almost 72% and 11% of the transport sector’s greenhouse gas emissions respectively. The demand for passenger transport has declined as a result of international travel restrictions and reduced commuting, tourism and business travel. The closure of the transportation industry has therefore brought a sudden drop of greenhouse gases emissions, with levels of air pollution in New York reduced by nearly 50% and nearly a 50% reduction of Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) and Carbon Monoxide (CO) due to the shutdown of heavy industries in China. Furthermore, The European Environmental Agency (EEA) have predicted that because of lockdown, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) emissions have dropped from 30-60% in many European cities including Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Rome and Paris. NO2 is emitted from the burning of fossil fuels, 80% of which comes from motor vehicle exhaust, and causes acid rain with the interaction of O2 and H2O, and several respiratory diseases.
These reductions have had health benefits, which have caused a little relief from the rising Covid-19 death tolls, as there were at least 11,000 fewer fatalities from air pollution in Europe. Breathing cleaner air also meant 6,000 fewer children developing asthma, 1,900 avoiding A&E visits and 600 fewer being born preterm₃.
There is no denying that global carbon emissions have fallen steeply during lockdown, as the months of empty roads and skies and slow economic activity reduced global greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 7%, which is the sharpest annual fall ever recorded. However, while these short-term reductions in emissions may make current targets seem achievable, with life slowly returning to normal any longer-term goals will require political decisions that prioritise recovery measures from the pandemic which contribute significantly to climate change mitigation.
Air pollution levels during the lockdown period can therefore provide us with valuable evidence of how air quality might change if greenhouse gas sources are reduced due to more permanent strategies, for example as part of the UK’s transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
What Gas Sensors does Edinburgh Sensors have to offer for Environmental Protection?
One of the most sensitive approaches for the detection of environmentally harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and methane is the use of infra-red spectroscopy. Both gases absorb infra-red radiation very strongly and have unique absorption patterns or spectral fingerprints that can be used for their subsequent identification. Infra-red detection can be used for both qualitative and quantitative identification and therefore can be used to detect very low concentrations of such gases or small changes in their concentration.
Edinburgh Sensors have over 30 years of expertise in the development of non-dispersive infra-red sensor technologies and offer a range of production options suitable for tracking greenhouse gas emissions on agricultural sites. Our products have been field-tested and are very successful at tracking methane production in a working environment.
ovid-19 大流行对气体排放有什么影响?
COVID 危机对全球和欧盟层面的温室气体 (GHG) 排放产生了直接影响。
车辆和航空都是排放的主要贡献者,分别占交通部门温室气体排放量的近 72% 和 11%。由于国际旅行限制以及通勤、旅游和商务旅行的减少,客运需求下降。因此,运输业的关闭带来了温室气体排放量的突然下降,纽约的空气污染水平减少了近 50%,一氧化二氮 (N2O) 和一氧化碳 (CO) 减少了近 50%。中国重工业关闭。此外,欧洲环境署 (EEA) 预测,由于封锁,包括巴塞罗那、马德里、米兰、罗马和巴黎在内的许多欧洲城市的二氧化氮 (NO₂) 排放量已从 30-60% 下降。 NO2 来自化石燃料的燃烧,其中 80% 来自机动车尾气,并通过 O2 和 H2O 的相互作用导致酸雨和多种呼吸系统疾病。
这些减少对健康有益,这让 Covid-19 死亡人数上升的情况有所缓解,因为欧洲空气污染造成的死亡人数至少减少了 11,000 人。呼吸更清洁的空气还意味着患哮喘的儿童减少 6,000 名,避免急诊就诊的儿童减少 1,900 名,早产儿童减少 600 名₃。
不可否认,在封锁期间,全球碳排放量急剧下降,因为几个月的空旷道路和天空以及缓慢的经济活动使全球温室气体排放量减少了约 7%,这是有记录以来最大的年度下降。然而,虽然这些短期排放减少可能使当前的目标似乎可以实现,但随着生活慢慢恢复正常,任何长期目标都需要政治决策,优先考虑从大流行中采取的恢复措施,这些措施对减缓气候变化有重大贡献。
因此,锁定期间的空气污染水平可以为我们提供宝贵的证据,证明如果由于更持久的战略而减少温室气体来源,空气质量可能会发生怎样的变化,例如作为英国向温室气体净零排放过渡的一部分。
Edinburgh Sensors 必须为环境保护提供哪些气体传感器?
检测二氧化碳和甲烷等环境有害气体的最灵敏方法之一是使用红外光谱。 这两种气体都非常强烈地吸收红外线辐射,并且具有独特的吸收模式或光谱指纹,可用于随后的识别。 红外检测可用于定性和定量鉴定,因此可用于检测此类气体的极低浓度或其浓度的微小变化。
Edinburgh Sensors 在开发非色散红外传感器技术方面拥有 30 多年的专业知识,并提供一系列适用于跟踪农业场地温室气体排放的生产选项。 我们的产品已经过现场测试,并且在跟踪工作环境中的甲烷产量方面非常成功。
Greenhouse gas emissions: short-term benefits and lessons for the future
In addition to affecting people’s lives, the COVID crisis is having a direct impact on energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at both global and EU levels. The European Commission’s forecast for the year 2020 estimates a 7.6 % contraction in GDP for the EU as a whole. Due to the effect of COVID-19 on the economy, in 2020, we can expect an unparalleled reduction in GHG emissions in the EU compared to 2019. We will only be able to fully quantify its magnitude after 2020.
The transport sector, a key source of GHG, is particularly affected by the crisis. The demand for passenger transport has declined as a result of international travel restrictions and reduced commuting, tourism and business travel. The International Road Transport Union (IRU) expects a 57 % decline in turnover from road passenger transport activity in Europe for 2020 compared to the previous year[1]. For air transport, figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show a 65.2 % drop in air passenger kilometres in Europe for the year-to-date ending July compared to the same period in 2019[2] . These figures point to a significant decline in GHG emissions from transport in 2020.
According to initial evaluations from the International Energy Agency (IEA), global energy demand in 2020 could fall by around 6 %. Therefore, the strong contraction in GDP and energy use might play a role in the EU achieving its 20 % renewable energy target and its objective to improve energy efficiency by 20 % in 2020, in addition to the effects of policies dedicated to reaching these objectives.
While the short-term reductions in energy use and emissions may make 2020 targets achievable, any longer-term goals will require political decisions that prioritise recovery measures which contribute significantly to climate change mitigation. Clearly, the transition of the energy and mobility systems must accelerate if we are to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Air quality, noise and (un)healthy environments
One of the most evident short-term effects of COVID-19 lockdowns has been the dramatic improvement in air quality, especially in some of the world’s most polluted cities. Although air quality levels appear to be returning to near-pre-lockdown levels in many parts of the world as stricter lockdown measures are lifted, this period has revealed some of the benefits that could be achieved from a lasting and sustainable reduction in air pollution.
The EEA’s Air quality and COVID-19 viewer tracks average weekly and monthly concentrations of nitrogen dioxide ( NO 2 ) and particulate matter (PM 10 and PM 2.5 ). Data show how concentrations of NO2 — a pollutant mainly emitted by road transport — fell sharply in many European countries where lockdown measures were implemented in the spring of 2020.
温室气体排放:短期利益和未来的教训
除了影响人们的生活之外,COVID 危机还对全球和欧盟层面的能源使用和温室气体 (GHG) 排放产生直接影响。欧盟委员会对 2020 年的预测估计,整个欧盟的 GDP 将收缩 7.6%。由于 COVID-19 对经济的影响,与 2019 年相比,2020 年欧盟的温室气体排放量将大幅减少。我们只能在 2020 年之后对其规模进行全面量化。
运输部门是温室气体的主要来源,尤其受到危机的影响。由于国际旅行限制以及通勤、旅游和商务旅行的减少,客运需求下降。国际道路运输联盟 (IRU) 预计,与上一年相比,2020 年欧洲道路客运活动的营业额将下降 57%[1]。对于航空运输,国际航空运输协会 (IATA) 的数据显示,截至 7 月的年初至今,欧洲的航空客运公里数与 2019 年同期相比下降了 65.2%[2]。这些数字表明,2020 年交通运输的温室气体排放量将大幅下降。
根据国际能源署 (IEA) 的初步评估,2020 年全球能源需求可能下降 6% 左右。因此,除了致力于实现这些目标的政策的影响之外,GDP 和能源使用的大幅收缩可能会在欧盟实现其 20% 的可再生能源目标和 2020 年将能源效率提高 20% 的目标中发挥作用。
虽然能源使用和排放的短期减少可能使 2020 年的目标得以实现,但任何长期目标都需要政治决策,优先考虑对缓解气候变化做出重大贡献的恢复措施。显然,如果我们要到 2050 年实现气候中和,就必须加快能源和交通系统的转型。
空气质量、噪音和(不)健康的环境
COVID-19 封锁最明显的短期影响之一是空气质量的显着改善,尤其是在世界上一些污染最严重的城市。尽管随着更严格的封锁措施的解除,世界许多地方的空气质量水平似乎正在恢复到接近封锁前的水平,但这段时期已经揭示了持久和可持续减少空气污染可以带来的一些好处。
EEA 的空气质量和 COVID-19 查看器跟踪二氧化氮 (NO 2 ) 和颗粒物 (PM 10 和 PM 2.5 ) 的平均每周和每月浓度。数据显示,在 2020 年春季实施封锁措施的许多欧洲国家,二氧化氮(一种主要由公路运输排放的污染物)的浓度如何急剧下降。
2.1. COVID-19 lockdown vs ozone layer
The ozone layer is found in the upper atmosphere called the stratosphere between 10 and 50 km from the earth. The ozone layer acts as a natural sunscreen and plays a very important function by absorbing the harmful Usingle bondV rays from the sun. Ozone-depleting substances (ODS) are gases such as chlorine and/or bromine which breaks the ozone layer in the stratosphere. Various ODS are present in the environment are chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFCs), Methyl chloride and various halones. By the reaction with UV sunlight, these gases form chlorine and bromine and they are responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer. The international community signed the Montreal Protocol on substances about the depletion of the ozone layer, 30 years ago. According to the protocol, the consumption and production of ozone-depleting compounds should be regulated. By banning chlorine-containing synthetic compounds the rate of depletion decline and scientists expect to recover back to the 1980 level up to 2070. As per the scientific data of 2018, the stratosphere recovered at the rate of 1–3% per decade since 2000. After the lockdown began on Jan 23, the particulate matter pollution decreased by an average of 35% and NO2 decreased by an average of 60%. At the same period, scientists found the average surface ozone concentration increased by a factor of 1.5–2. Emission of ozone-depleting substances is also natural or man-made. All man-made emission is controlled because of lockdown during COVID-19. Production and consumption of ODS are also reduced. The World meteorological Organization (WMO) states that economic activity has been limited during COVID-19 which results in a decline in CO2 emission. In 2019, As per NASA and NOAA reported that the south pole region of Antarctica has warm temperature in the upper atmosphere which caused a small ozone hole since it was first seen in 1982 (Fig. 2). On 23rd April 2020 Copernicus, atmospheric monitoring services (CAMS) announced that the largest hole was ever seen in the ozone layer over the arctic has been closed. Although lockdown is surely showing the prominent sign of nature balance restoration of the ozone layer is not related to COVID-19. Scientist of Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Services (CAMS) reported that is because of strong and long-lived polar vertex and not related to change to air quality.
2.1. COVID-19 封锁与臭氧层
臭氧层位于距地球 10 至 50 公里的称为平流层的高层大气中。臭氧层充当天然防晒剂,并通过吸收来自太阳的有害的使用键 V 射线而发挥非常重要的作用。消耗臭氧层物质 (ODS) 是破坏平流层臭氧层的气体,例如氯和/或溴。环境中存在各种消耗臭氧层物质,包括氯氟烃 (CFC)、氢氯氟烃 (HCFC)、氯甲烷和各种卤化物。通过与紫外线阳光反应,这些气体形成氯和溴,它们是臭氧层消耗的原因。 30 年前,国际社会签署了关于消耗臭氧层物质的蒙特利尔议定书。根据该议定书,应规范消耗臭氧层化合物的消费和生产。通过禁用含氯合成化合物,消耗率下降,科学家们预计到 2070 年将恢复到 1980 年的水平。根据 2018 年的科学数据,自 2000 年以来,平流层以每十年 1-3% 的速度恢复。 1月23日封城后,颗粒物污染平均下降35%,二氧化氮平均下降60%。与此同时,科学家们发现平均地表臭氧浓度增加了 1.5-2 倍。消耗臭氧层物质的排放也有自然的或人为的。由于 COVID-19 期间的封锁,所有人造排放都受到控制。消耗臭氧层物质的生产和消费也减少了。世界气象组织 (WMO) 表示,在 COVID-19 期间经济活动受到限制,导致二氧化碳排放量下降。 2019 年,根据 NASA 和 NOAA 的报道,南极洲南极地区的高层大气温度较高,导致自 1982 年首次出现臭氧空洞以来(图 2)。 2020 年 4 月 23 日,哥白尼大气监测服务 (CAMS) 宣布,北极上空臭氧层有史以来最大的空洞已经关闭。尽管封锁确实显示出臭氧层恢复自然平衡的显着迹象,但与 COVID-19 无关。哥白尼大气监测服务(CAMS)的科学家报告说,这是因为极地顶点强烈且寿命长,与空气质量的变化无关。
In the UK, 2 million people with respiratory conditions experienced reduced symptoms. The change was visible from space, where satellite picked up clear reductions of smog belts over Wuhan in China and Turin in Italy. Residents in many cities could also see the difference. In Kathmandu, Nepal, residents were astonished to make out Mount Everest for the first time in decades. In Manila, the Sierra Madre became visible again.
在英国,有 200 万呼吸系统疾病患者症状减轻。 从太空中可以看到这种变化,卫星在那里发现中国武汉和意大利都灵上空的烟雾带明显减少。 许多城市的居民也可以看到差异。 在尼泊尔加德满都,几十年来第一次看到珠穆朗玛峰,居民们惊呆了。 在马尼拉,马德雷山脉再次出现。
The necessity for action was driven home by another year of horrifying climate news: 2020 saw record smoke plumes from bushfires in Australia, a freakishly protracted heatwave in Siberia, the most tropical storms ever registered in the Atlantic, devastating blazes in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands, the highest flood levels recorded in east Africa, unusually devastating cyclones and typhoons in India, Indonesia and the Philippines, the hottest northern hemisphere summer in history, and temperature records in the Antarctic and the Arctic, where winter ice formation was delayed for longer than in any season in the satellite era.
又一年可怕的气候新闻使我们不得不采取行动:2020 年,澳大利亚的丛林大火产生了创纪录的烟雾,西伯利亚的热浪异常持久,是大西洋有史以来最严重的热带风暴,巴西潘塔纳尔湿地的毁灭性大火, 东非有记录的最高洪水位,印度、印度尼西亚和菲律宾发生异常破坏性的气旋和台风,北半球历史上最热的夏季,以及南极和北极的温度记录,那里的冬季冰形成延迟的时间比任何时候都长 卫星时代的季节。
Keeping a lid on global warming
“The most direct effect of reduced particle pollution on the weather will be on increasing the sunlight that can warm the surface, rather than being absorbed higher up in the atmosphere or reflected back to space,”
遏制全球变暖
“减少粒子污染对天气的最直接影响将是增加可以温暖地表的阳光,而不是被大气中更高的吸收或反射回太空,”
COVID-19 lockdown vs global environment
COVID-19 became the opportunity for the earth to build a clear blue sky and clean the air. During the period of lockdown across the world, the sight of the blue sky created a sense of optimism among the people towards a clean and better environment. Before COVID-19, all over the world are being suffered by a high level of urban air pollution especially in the form of CO2, SO2, NO2 and particulate matter The major sources of pollution such as transport, industries, power stations are responsible for the increased output of all these pollutants. From years back (2001 to 2019) various agencies all over the world announced such as clean air programs to reduce particulate matter pollution levels. These programs also pointed out the air quality standards, these are much weaker than the world health organization (WHO) guidelines, and more evidence of the health impact of air pollution was investigated. A report of WHO indicates that almost 8% of total death in the world is due to air pollution (WHO, 2016). Many respiratory diseases such as hypertension, heart attack, cognitive and mental illness are already triggered by air pollution. The only difference is that those diseases may not be as immediately lethal as COVID-19 and not transmitted by person to person. It has been established that before COVID-19, emission of CO2 was raised by 1% per year over the previous decade (Jackson et al., 2019). The positive effect of lockdown is to decrease the CO2 emission by −17% (−11 to −25%) by 7th April 2020 (Quere et al., 2020) with respect to the mean level of emission in 2019. Air quality index (AQI) is the assessment of air quality. The lower the AQI value, the better is the air. The normal air quality index range is (100−200) and presently it is in the satisfactory range (50–100) category as reported by Gurfam being a scientist at SAFAR. Zambrano-Monserrate et al. (2020) reported that the air quality index (AQI) is decreased by 44%, 33%, 29%, 15% and 32% in north, south, east, central and western India respectively. The same study also shows that from March 16th to April 14th, 2020, 22 cities of India show the reduction of PM10 (Particulate material), PM2.5, CO, NO2, by 43, 31, 10 and 18%. During the quarantine period in COVID-19, the amount of NO2 was decreased by 22.8 μg/m3 and 12.9 μg/m3 in Wuhan and China respectively. In 367 cities, the PM2.5 fell by 18.9 μg/m3. As per the report of CAMS 2020 reduction of 20–30% of PM2.5 is observed in a wide area of China. Mahato et al. (2020) investigated that after three weeks of lockdown period from 24th March 2020, pollution of the Delhi, India, has experienced a noticeable reduction of different air pollution causing materials in the following Table 1.
COVID-19 锁定与全球环境
COVID-19成为地球建立晴朗天空和清洁空气的机会。在世界范围内的封锁期间,蓝天的景象让人们对清洁和更好的环境产生了一种乐观情绪。在 COVID-19 之前,全世界都在遭受严重的城市空气污染,尤其是 CO2、SO2、NO2 和颗粒物 交通、工业、发电站等主要污染源是造成增加了所有这些污染物的输出。从几年前(2001 年到 2019 年),世界各地的各种机构都宣布了诸如清洁空气计划以降低颗粒物污染水平。这些项目还指出了空气质量标准,这些标准比世界卫生组织(WHO)的指导方针要弱得多,并且调查了更多空气污染对健康影响的证据。世卫组织的一份报告表明,世界上近 8% 的死亡总数是由空气污染造成的(世卫组织,2016 年)。许多呼吸系统疾病,如高血压、心脏病、认知和精神疾病,已经是由空气污染引发的。唯一的区别是,这些疾病可能不像 COVID-19 那样立即致命,并且不会在人与人之间传播。已经确定,在 COVID-19 之前,二氧化碳排放量在过去十年中每年增加 1%(Jackson 等人,2019 年)。锁定的积极影响是到 2020 年 4 月 7 日(Quere 等人,2020 年)将二氧化碳排放量减少 -17%(-11% 至 -25%),相对于 2019 年的平均排放水平。空气质量指数( AQI)是对空气质量的评估。 AQI 值越低,空气越好。正常的空气质量指数范围是 (100-200),目前它处于令人满意的范围 (50-100) 范围内,正如 Gurfam 作为 SAFAR 的一名科学家所报告的那样。 Zambrano-Monserrate 等人。 (2020) 报告称,印度北部、南部、东部、中部和西部的空气质量指数 (AQI) 分别下降了 44%、33%、29%、15% 和 32%。同一项研究还显示,2020 年 3 月 16 日至 4 月 14 日,印度 22 个城市的 PM10(颗粒物)、PM2.5、CO、NO2 减少了 43%、31%、10% 和 18%。在 COVID-19 隔离期间,武汉和中国的 NO2 量分别减少了 22.8 μg/m3 和 12.9 μg/m3。 367个城市PM2.5下降18.9微克/立方米。根据 CAMS 2020 的报告,在中国广大地区观察到 PM2.5 减少了 20-30%。马哈托等人。 (2020) 调查显示,自 2020 年 3 月 24 日起三周的封锁期后,印度德里的污染明显减少了下表 1 中的不同空气污染物质。
Stringent lockdown measures were first introduced in Wuhan, China – where COVID-19 was initially identified – on 23 January 2020, and quickly rippled out across the rest of the country to combat the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. With public transport shut down, schools, universities and workplaces closed, and people confined to their homes, the streets became silent and air pollution plummeted. Satellite data revealed, for example, that nitrogen dioxide had fallen by as much as 70% (figure 1) across eastern China, with some locations – including Wuhan – seeing drops of up to 93%. And as the virus swept around the world and other countries imposed their own versions of lockdown, the atmosphere responded, with smog being replaced by blue skies in New Delhi, the Himalayan mountain chain becoming visible from parts of northern India for the first time in 30 years, and city skylines being brought into sharp relief in Jakarta, Los Angeles, Paris and beyond.
严格的封锁措施于 2020 年 1 月 23 日在最初发现 COVID-19 的中国武汉首次实施,并迅速在全国其他地区蔓延,以对抗 SARS-CoV-2 病毒的传播。 随着公共交通关闭,学校、大学和工作场所关闭,人们被限制在家中,街道变得寂静,空气污染直线下降。 例如,卫星数据显示,中国东部地区的二氧化氮下降幅度高达 70%(图 1),包括武汉在内的一些地区下降幅度高达 93%。 随着病毒席卷全球,其他国家也实施了自己的封锁措施,大气做出了反应,新德里的雾霾被蓝天所取代,喜马拉雅山脉在 30 年来首次从印度北部的部分地区可见 年,雅加达、洛杉矶、巴黎和其他地方的城市天际线变得清晰起来。
Cleaner air brought more cloud for some
Axel Timmermann, a climate scientist at the IBS Center for Climate Physics in Busan, South Korea, agrees that in most locations the signal will be lost among the climate noise. However, in early February he realized that the massive drop in air pollution accompanying lockdown over eastern China was likely to be large enough to trigger changes that rose above the noise, and since then he and his team have been working flat out to decipher the story that they tell.
“We saw the massive drop in anthropogenic aerosols over eastern China and naively reasoned that fewer cloud-condensation nuclei would result in fewer clouds,” says Timmermann. But his team was in for an interesting surprise.
更清洁的空气为一些人带来了更多的云
韩国釜山 IBS 气候物理中心的气候科学家 Axel Timmermann 同意,在大多数地方,信号会在气候噪音中丢失。 然而,在 2 月初,他意识到随着中国东部地区的封锁,空气污染的大幅下降可能足以引发超出噪音的变化,从那时起,他和他的团队一直在全力破解这个故事。 他们告诉。
“我们看到中国东部上空的人为气溶胶大幅下降,并天真地认为云凝结核越少,云就越少,”蒂默曼说。 但他的团队遇到了一个有趣的惊喜。
Noise pollution
While we have grown accustomed to unhealthy noise levels in cities, the short-term reduction during lockdown allowed people to experience the immediate benefits of quieter cities. Several sources have also documented a dramatic fall in ground vibrations generated by human activity, such as road traffic and industrial activities, across the EU.
Environmental noise levels are reported over a prolonged period of time, as health effects appear when exposure is long term. It is safe to say that a reduction in noise levels over a few months would not significantly reduce the annual noise-level indicator used to measure the effects of noise, unless societal responses to COVID-19 result in longer-term reductions in traffic levels, air transport and other noise-producing activities.
虽然我们已经习惯了城市中不健康的噪音水平,但封锁期间的短期降低让人们能够体验到更安静的城市带来的直接好处。 一些消息来源还记录了整个欧盟人类活动(例如道路交通和工业活动)产生的地面振动的急剧下降。
环境噪声水平会在很长一段时间内得到报告,因为长期接触会对健康产生影响。 可以肯定地说,几个月内噪音水平的降低不会显着降低用于衡量噪音影响的年度噪音水平指标,除非社会对 COVID-19 的反应导致交通水平的长期降低, 航空运输和其他产生噪音的活动。
4. COVID-19 lockdown vs noise pollution
The noise comes under the National Ambient Air Quality standard and considered one of the major pollutants as per the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. Noise is an unwanted sound that causes a disturbance in communication (Berglund et al., 1999). Noise consists of unpleasant obtrusive, annoying, distracting, or persistent sounds that interfere with sleep or the ability to concentrate or enjoy life. The noise level should be 30db during the night for good sleep as per WHO guidelines. Several scientists have conducted studies on Noise pollution and found motor vehicular noise is predominant sources of noise pollution in India. Several studies have been conducted in various parts of the country to assess the ambient noise level. The majority of the total environmental noise is caused by motor vehicles (Banerjee et al., 2008). Day time noise levels measured along roads between two campuses of a University in Bangalore, Orissa, ranged from 70.1 dB(A) to 120.4 dB(A) which are above the permissible limits for road traffic noise (70 dB[A]). Long term exposure of high noise level can cause irritation, stress, mental disorders, annoyance, stress, hypertension, loss of concentration, sleeplessness, etc. (Ohrstrom, 1989; Rabinowitz, 2000; WHO, 2005; Stansfeld et al., 1996; Chakraborty et al., 1998). The ambient noise level in major cities of India i.e. Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai were ranged from 45 db to 86 db during day time, 37 db to 76 db during night time in a residential area, 63 db to 90 db during day time, 46 db to 78 db during night time in commercial area, 50 to 89 db during day time, 40–70 db during night time insensitive area however in Industrial area the noise level ranged from 44 db to 86 db during day time and 42 db to 70 db during night time (sources NIUF 2000). The level of noise pollution was decreased drastically in a different part of globe including India. It has been estimated that the Noise level was reduced up to 35% to 68% from 8 am to 4.00 pm. The noise pollution at Govindpuri metro station which earlier recorded the noise level 100 db now after lockdown the noise level reduced up to 50% and constituted 50 db noise level (Times of India 23rd April 2020). Most of the residential area of New Delhi the Noise level reduced from 55 db to 30–35 db. The noise level was found reduced up to 30 to 40% during the lockdown period and in most of the places of over stone quarrying and crushing areas, entire study units fall under the noise level < 65dBA (Mahato et al., 2020). COVID 19 also affected noise pollution and coral reef (Florina Jacob 30/4/20). The sources of noise pollution in the marine ecosystem are classified into two categories natural and anthropogenic sources (Hildebrand, 2009). Natural sources include tides, tsunami, earthquake, sea breeze rainfall and cyclone etc. The anthropogenic sources include navigation, commercial shipping, traffic noise and industrial around the coastal area, ship for commercial activities and recreational activities. In some places, radar is also used for fishing (Slabbekoorn et al., 2010). Noise pollution also harms wildlife. It is estimated that most of the marine noise that is derived from human activities is of low-frequency (Hildebrand, 2009). The coral reef is also found to be a noisy ecosystem (University of Rhode Island, 2001). Boat noise causes some negative effects on the coral reef and causes a decrease in the recruitment of reef fish and coral larvae, possibly due to greater difficulty in “listening” and finding a reef to settle in (Hollles and Stephen, 2013). Due to COVID 19 the lockdown also affected the marine ecosystem (Fig. 4), all transport processes in the marine ecosystem also stopped and the pollution level caused by human activities also reduced drastically.
4. COVID-19 封锁与噪音污染
根据 1981 年的《空气(污染预防和控制)法》,噪音符合国家环境空气质量标准,被视为主要污染物之一。 )。噪音包括令人不快的突兀、烦人、分散注意力或持续存在的声音,这些声音会干扰睡眠或注意力集中或享受生活的能力。根据世界卫生组织的指导方针,夜间噪音水平应为 30 分贝,以获得良好的睡眠。几位科学家对噪音污染进行了研究,发现机动车噪音是印度噪音污染的主要来源。已经在该国不同地区进行了多项研究,以评估环境噪声水平。大部分环境噪声是由机动车辆引起的(Banerjee 等,2008)。沿奥里萨邦班加罗尔一所大学的两个校区之间的道路测量的白天噪声水平范围为 70.1 dB(A) 至 120.4 dB(A),高于道路交通噪声的允许限值 (70 dB[A])。长期接触高噪音水平会导致刺激、压力、精神障碍、烦恼、压力、高血压、注意力不集中、失眠等(Ohrstrom,1989 年;Rabinowitz,2000 年;WHO,2005 年;Stansfeld 等人,1996 年; Chakraborty 等人,1998 年)。印度主要城市,即班加罗尔、加尔各答、钦奈、德里、海得拉巴和孟买的环境噪声水平,白天为 45 分贝至 86 分贝,住宅区夜间为 37 分贝至 76 分贝,63 分贝至 90 分贝db 白天,商业区夜间 46 db 到 78 db,白天 50 到 89 db,夜间不敏感区 40–70 db 但是在工业区,白天的噪音水平范围从 44 db 到 86 db时间和 42 分贝到 70 分贝在夜间(来源 NIUF 2000)。在包括印度在内的全球不同地区,噪音污染水平急剧下降。据估计,从上午 8 点到下午 4 点,噪音水平降低了 35% 到 68%。 Govindpuri 地铁站的噪音污染较早记录的噪音水平为 100 分贝,现在锁定后噪音水平降低了 50%,并构成了 50 分贝的噪音水平(印度时报 2020 年 4 月 23 日)。新德里大部分住宅区的噪音水平从 55 分贝降低到 30-35 分贝。发现在封锁期间噪音水平降低了 30% 到 40%,在大多数采石场和破碎区,整个研究单元的噪音水平低于 65dBA(Mahato 等,2020)。 COVID 19 还影响了噪音污染和珊瑚礁(Florina Jacob 30/4/20)。海洋生态系统中的噪声污染源分为自然源和人为源两大类(Hildebrand,2009)。自然源包括潮汐、海啸、地震、海风降雨和气旋等。人为源包括航行、商业航运、交通噪声和沿海地区周围的工业、商业活动和娱乐活动的船舶。在某些地方,雷达也用于捕鱼(Slabbekoorn 等,2010)。噪音污染也会危害野生动物。据估计,大部分源自人类活动的海洋噪音是低频的(Hildebrand,2009)。珊瑚礁也被发现是一个嘈杂的生态系统(罗德岛大学,2001)。船只噪音对珊瑚礁造成一些负面影响,并导致珊瑚鱼和珊瑚幼虫的补充减少,这可能是由于“倾听”和寻找珊瑚礁定居的难度更大(Holles 和 Stephen,2013 年)。由于 COVID 19,封锁也影响了海洋生态系统(图 4),海洋生态系统中的所有运输过程也停止了,人类活动造成的污染水平也急剧下降。
Noise pollution is considered to be the third most hazardous pollution after air and water pollution by the World Health Organization (WHO). Short as well as long-term exposure to noise pollution has several adverse effects on humans, ranging from psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression, hypertension, hormonal dysfunction, and blood pressure rise leading to cardiovascular disease. One of the major sources of noise pollution is road traffic and the WHO reports that around 40 % of Europe’s population are currently exposed to high noise/sound levels. This study investigates sound levels in Dublin, Ireland before and after the lockdown imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis was performed using measured hourly data from 12 noise monitoring stations between January and May, 2020. More than 80 % of the stations recorded high sound levels for more that 60 % of the time before the lockdown in Dublin. However, a significant reduction in hourly average equivalent sound and hourly minimum sound levels was observed at all stations during the lockdown period and this can be attributed to reductions in both road and air traffic movements.
噪音污染被世界卫生组织(WHO)认为是仅次于空气和水污染的第三大危害性污染。短期和长期暴露于噪音污染会对人类产生多种不利影响,包括焦虑和抑郁等精神疾病、高血压、荷尔蒙功能障碍以及导致心血管疾病的血压升高。噪音污染的主要来源之一是道路交通,世界卫生组织报告称,目前约有 40% 的欧洲人口暴露在高噪音/声级中。这项研究调查了因 COVID-19 大流行而实施封锁之前和之后爱尔兰都柏林的声音水平。该分析是使用 2020 年 1 月至 5 月期间 12 个噪声监测站的每小时测量数据进行的。在都柏林封锁之前,超过 80% 的监测站记录了超过 60% 的高声级。然而,在封锁期间,所有站点的每小时平均等效声级和每小时最低声级显着降低,这可归因于道路和空中交通活动的减少。
1. Introduction
The growth in urban populations around the world has resulted in the expansion of cities which are important for providings jobs, housing, and sustainable livelihoods (Brueckner, 2000; Forman & Wu, 2016; He et al., 2018; Peng, 1997; Sun, He, Zhang, & Wang, 2016; Zhou, Chen, & Zhang, 2016). Given the evolution of cities and particularly those that are more heavily dependant on car-based travel, pollution levels therein has shown an increaseover time (Hien, Men, Tan, & Hangartner, 2020; Lagonigro, Martori, & Apparicio, 2018; Rocha et al., 2017). Amongst all pollutants, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that noise pollution is the third most hazardous type of pollutant after air and water pollution (World Health Organization (WHO), 2005). Moreover, the European Union have estimated that more than 40 percent of the total European population is exposed to a Day-Evening-Night (Lden) noise level of 55 dB or greater, while 30 percent of the population is exposed to the same noise level during night-time (World Health Organization (WHO), 2017; Foraster et al., 2017; Pitchika et al., 2017; Basner & McGuire, 2018). Health impacts due to an increase in environmental noise are a concern worldwide (Alves, Silva, & Remoaldo, 2015; Merchan, Diaz-Balteiro, & Soliño, 2014; Nedic, Despotovic, Cvetanovic, Despotovic, & Babic, 2014; Ongel & Sezgin, 2016; Pathak, Tripathi, & kumar Mishra, 2008). For example, noise sensitivity can be an important contributor to psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression (Belojević, Jakovljević, & Aleksić, 1997; Fyhri & Aasvang, 2010; Ongel & Sezgin, 2016). Recent studies suggest that an increase of 5 dB roadside noise can raise the chance of hypertension by 3.4 % (Eriksson et al., 2012; Kim, Shin, Oh, & Jung, 2019; Oh, Shin, Kim, & Shin, 2019). Further studies indicate that exposure to a high level of noise can result in hormonal dysfunction and can also contribute to the rise in blood pressure which can severely impact the cardiovascular system in the body (Said & El-Gohary, 2016; Münzel & Sørensen, 2017).
Other studies have reported that pregnant women might be at a greater risk of being affected by noise pollution beceause of greater sensitivity to environmental stress factors (He et al., 2019; Murphy & Faulkner, 2018; Poulsen et al., 2018; Sears et al., 2018; Selander et al., 2019). Ashin, Bilenko, Friger, Sergienko, and Sheiner (2018) noted that road traffic noise can increase gestational diabetes mellitus, which leads to glucose intolerance that occurrs during the beginning of pregnancy. Based on 29 case study analysis where pregnant women were exposed to 80 dB or higher noise, Dzhambov, Dimitrova, and Dimitrakova (2014) documented that the risk for having gestational hypertension, small for gestational age and babies with congenital malformations increases significantly.
City soundscape studies (Lebiedowska, 2005; Léobon, 1995) have suggested that urban noise can be broadly classified in the following four categories: i) background noise: classified as unpleasant due to the presence of high pitched, piercing, strong, continuous, irregular, or intermittent noises that cause humming of the peripheral environment; ii) mechanical noise: noise caused by mechanical equipments such as vehicles, railway, and aircraft as well as large industrial plants generating noises; iii) human activity related noise: can generate from demonstrations, gatherings, sirens, trades, household noise due to usage of vacuum cleaners or drills etc.; iv) other environmental noise: can be attributed to the presence of storms, thunders, winds, and creaking.
The Noise Observation and Information Service for Europe (NOISE) suggest that the majority of the noise affecting the exposure of the population is being generated by road vehicle traffic (King & Murphy, 2016; Nedic et al., 2014; Śliwińska-Kowalska & Zaborowski, 2017; Voltes-Dorta & Martín, 2016; Yuan, Yin, Sun, & Chen, 2019; Das, Talukdar, Ziaul, Das, & Pal, 2019). Detailed studies and literature reviews have shown that the noise pollution from urban road traffic has the highest level of exposure given that roads are located in close proximity to built infrastructures such as schools, offices and residential buildings (Khan, Ketzel, Kakosimos, Sørensen, & Jensen, 2018; Paiva, Cardoso, & Zannin, 2019; von Graevenitz, 2018; Rey Gozalo & Barrigón Morillas, 2016; Cai, Lan, Zhang, & Wang, 2019; González, Morillas, Godinho, & Amado-Mendes, 2018; Ruiz-Padillo, Ruiz, Torija, & Ramos-Ridao, 2016; Zannin, Calixto, Diniz, & Ferreira, 2003). Moreover, research has shown that not only the noise pollution, but the duration of exposure to traffic-related noises negatively impacts health outcomes (Buxton et al., 2017; Cai et al., 2019; Khan et al., 2018; Tonne et al., 2016). The European Commission has reported that the noise from rail and road costs the European Union around 40 billion euros per year in terms of socio-economic damages (Andriejauskas, Vaitkus, & Čygas, 2018; Vaitkus, Čygas, Vorobjovas, & Andriejauskas, 2016). Beyond the socio-economic cost, studies have also revealed that human-generated noise pollution can potentially alter biodiversity by impacting the distribution and behavior of species and their habitat quality (Estabrook, Ponirakis, Clark, & Rice, 2016; Guttal & Jayaprakash, 2007; Siemers & Schaub, 2011).
Although noise levels are generally highest around the roadways and near transportation terminals, the exposure of the large majority of city inhabitants is determined by a city’s overall background noise (Khan et al., 2018; Mehdi, Kim, Seong, & Arsalan, 2011; Morillas, Escobar, Sierra, Gómez, & Carmona, 2002; Raimbault, Lavandier, & Bérengier, 2003; Stansfeld & Matheson, 2003). Other studies have further revealed that several factors such as morphology of the city (aspect ratios of buildings), current and projected population as well as household density, noise regulations laws and policies, traffic network design, availability of affordable public transport nearby of the area, frequency of traffic jams, the ratio of public vehicles to private vehicles on road, the average insulation of the homes and the noises escaping from the building, and the motorized driving behavior, possibility of construction of new buildings, etc. can determine noise levels at different scales (Ariza-Villaverde, Jiménez-Hornero, & Gutiérrez De Ravé, 2014; Bouzir & Zemmouri, 2017; Piccolo, Plutino, & Cannistraro, 2005; Abbaspour, Karimi, Nassiri, Monazzam, & Taghavi, 2015). Within that context, noise distribution assessment in a city should take into the local behavior of traffic flows, street, and urban maintenance or expansion initiatives, if being undertaken (Barros & Dieke, 2008; Mato & Mufuruki, 1999; Yu & Kim, 2011). Thus, noise mapping studies need to be conducted at the microscale as well as at a broader scale (Dutta, Pramanick, & Roy, 2017; Margaritis & Kang, 2016; Tiwari et al., 2019).
Other studies reveal that the material building blocks used for the construction of building infrastructure as well as building and street design at the nearby vicinity and neighborhood quality are correlative factors responsible for determining the level of noise (Onaga & Rindel, 2007; Picaut & Simon, 2001; Salomons & Pont, 2012). Similar studies suggest that the closed building blocks with low population density lead to lower noise levels than open building block constructions with higher population density (Silva, Fonseca, Rodrigues, & Campos, 2018; Zhou, Kang, Zou, & Wang, 2017; de Souza & Giunta, 2011; Costa & Lourenço, 2011; Nega, Smith, Bethune, & Fu, 2012). The percentage of quiet areas is correlated to the nature of the street and the influx of traffic and population present in the area (Liu, Wang, Zimmer, Kang, & Yu, 2019; Shepherd, Welch, Dirks, & McBride, 2013).
Within the foregoing context, this study investigates the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on changes in sound levels in Dublin, Ireland. After the imposition of a societal lockdown, traffic volume have reduced substantially and social events have been restricted considerably; therefore, a reduction in sound levels (and hence noise pollution) across the city might be expected. This study performs a regression-based trend analysis to investigate the changes in sound levels before and after the nation lockdown. Furthermore, a change-point analysis was performed to identify the exact date on which the change in the pattern of sound levels occurred in the noise monitoring stations; change-point analysis is useful for estimating the point at which the statistical properties of a sequence of observations change.
2. Methodology
An analysis of changes in sound level in Dublin, Ireland due to the lockdown is performed based on sound data obtained from 12 sound monitoring stations in Dublin. The geographic spread of the sound level metres are outlined in Fig. 1. It should be noted that the dominant noise source at all monitoring stations, except Ballymun Library (ID # 2) and DCC Rowing Club (ID #5) stations, is road traffic noise. This confirms that the data analysis is focussing predominantly on noise pollution from traffic as opposed to generic sound level analysis. Nevertheless, our analysis shows that noise from traffic does not fully explain sound levels at monitoring stations and, therefore, we use ther terms noise/sound interchangeably throughout the paper. The following sub-sections provide a detailed description of the data and the methodology used in the analysis.
一、介绍
世界各地城市人口的增长导致城市扩张,这对于提供就业、住房和可持续生计很重要(Brueckner,2000;Forman & Wu,2016;He 等,2018;Peng,1997;Sun , He, Zhang, & Wang, 2016; Zhou, Chen, & Zhang, 2016)。鉴于城市的发展,尤其是那些更严重依赖汽车出行的城市,其中的污染水平随着时间的推移而增加(Hien、Men、Tan 和 Hangartner,2020 年;Lagonigro、Martori 和 Apparicio,2018 年;Rocha 等等,2017)。在所有污染物中,世界卫生组织 (WHO) 报告说,噪音污染是仅次于空气和水污染的第三大危害性污染物 (世界卫生组织 (WHO),2005)。此外,欧盟估计超过 40% 的欧洲人口暴露在 55 dB 或更高的昼-夜-夜 () 噪音水平下,而 30% 的人口暴露在相同的噪音水平下夜间(世界卫生组织 (WHO),2017 年;Foraster 等人,2017 年;Pitchika 等人,2017 年;Basner 和 McGuire,2018 年)。环境噪声增加对健康的影响是全球关注的问题(Alves、Silva 和 Remoaldo,2015 年;Merchan、Diaz-Balteiro 和 Soliño,2014 年;Nedic、Despotovic、Cvetanovic、Despotovic 和 Babic,2014 年;Ongel 和 Sezgin , 2016; Pathak, Tripathi, & kumar Mishra, 2008)。例如,噪声敏感性可能是导致焦虑和抑郁等精神障碍的重要因素(Belojević、Jakovljević 和 Aleksić,1997 年;Fyhri 和 Aasvang,2010 年;Ongel 和 Sezgin,2016 年)。最近的研究表明,路边噪音每增加 5 分贝,患高血压的几率就会增加 3.4%(Eriksson 等,2012;Kim, Shin, Oh, & Jung, 2019;Oh, Shin, Kim, & Shin, 2019) .进一步的研究表明,暴露于高水平的噪音会导致荷尔蒙功能障碍,还会导致血压升高,从而严重影响体内心血管系统(Said & El-Gohary,2016 年;Münzel & Sørensen,2017 年) )。
其他研究报告称,由于对环境压力因素更敏感,孕妇可能更容易受到噪音污染的影响(He 等人,2019 年;Murphy & Faulkner,2018 年;Poulsen 等人,2018 年;Sears 等人) al.,2018 年;Selander 等人,2019 年)。 Ashin、Bilenko、Friger、Sergienko 和 Sheiner(2018 年)指出,道路交通噪音会增加妊娠糖尿病,从而导致妊娠初期发生的葡萄糖耐受不良。 Dzhambov、Dimitrova 和 Dimitrakova(2014 年)根据 29 个孕妇暴露于 80 分贝或更高噪音的案例研究分析证明,妊娠高血压、小于胎龄儿和先天畸形婴儿的风险显着增加。
城市声景研究(Lebiedowska,2005 年;Léobon,1995 年)表明,城市噪声可以大致分为以下四类: i) 背景噪声:由于存在高音、刺耳、强烈、连续、不规则而被归类为令人不快的,或导致周边环境嗡嗡声的间歇性噪音; ii) 机械噪声:车辆、铁路、飞机等机械设备以及大型工业厂房产生的噪声; iii) 与人类活动相关的噪音:可能产生于示威、集会、警报、交易、由于使用真空吸尘器或电钻等引起的家庭噪音; iv) 其他环境噪音:可归因于风暴、雷声、风和吱吱声的存在。
欧洲噪声观测和信息服务 (NOISE) 表明,影响人群暴露的大部分噪声是由道路车辆交通产生的(King & Murphy,2016 年;Nedic 等,2014 年;Śliwińska-Kowalska & Zaborowski , 2017; Voltes-Dorta & Martín, 2016; Yuan, Yin, Sun, & Chen, 2019; Das, Talukdar, Ziaul, Das, & Pal, 2019)。详细研究和文献综述表明,鉴于道路靠近学校、办公楼和住宅楼等已建成的基础设施,城市道路交通的噪声污染暴露程度最高(Khan、Ketzel、Kakosimos、Sørensen 和Jensen, 2018; Paiva, Cardoso, & Zannin, 2019; von Graevenitz, 2018; Rey Gozalo & Barrigón Morillas, 2016; Cai, Lan, Zhang, & Wang, 2019; González, Morillas, Godinho, & Amado-Mendes, 2018 Ruiz-Padillo、Ruiz、Torija 和 Ramos-Ridao,2016 年;Zannin、Calixto、Diniz 和 Ferreira,2003 年)。此外,研究表明,不仅噪音污染,而且接触交通相关噪音的持续时间也会对健康结果产生负面影响(Buxton 等人,2017 年;Cai 等人,2019 年;Khan 等人,2018 年;Tonne 等人等,2016)。欧盟委员会报告称,铁路和公路产生的噪音每年给欧盟造成约 400 亿欧元的社会经济损失(Andriej
auskas、Vaitkus 和 Čygas,2018 年; Vaitkus、Čygas、Vorobjovas 和 Andriejauskas,2016 年)。除了社会经济成本之外,研究还表明,人类产生的噪音污染可能会通过影响物种的分布和行为及其栖息地质量来改变生物多样性(Estabrook、Ponirakis、Clark 和 Rice,2016 年;Guttal 和 Jayaprakash,2007 年) ; Siemers & Schaub, 2011)。
尽管道路周围和交通枢纽附近的噪音水平通常最高,但大多数城市居民的暴露水平取决于城市的整体背景噪音(Khan 等,2018;Mehdi、Kim、Seong 和 Arsalan,2011; Morillas、Escobar、Sierra、Gómez 和 Carmona,2002 年;Raimbault、Lavandier 和 Bérengier,2003 年;Stansfeld 和 Matheson,2003 年)。其他研究进一步揭示了几个因素,例如城市的形态(建筑物的纵横比)、当前和预计的人口以及家庭密度、噪音法规法律和政策、交通网络设计、该地区附近负担得起的公共交通的可用性、交通拥堵的频率、道路上公共车辆与私人车辆的比例、房屋的平均绝缘和从建筑物逸出的噪音、机动驾驶行为、建造新建筑物的可能性等都可以确定噪音水平不同尺度(Ariza-Villaverde、Jiménez-Hornero 和 Gutiérrez De Ravé,2014 年;Bouzir 和 Zemmouri,2017 年;Piccolo、Plutino 和 Cannistraro,2005 年;Abbaspour、Karimi、Nassiri、Monazzam、2015 年)。在这种情况下,城市的噪声分布评估应考虑交通流量、街道和城市维护或扩建计划的当地行为(Barros & Dieke,2008 年;Mato & Mufuruki,1999 年;Yu & Kim,2011 年) )。因此,噪声映射研究需要在微观和更广泛的范围内进行(Dutta、Pramanick 和 Roy,2017 年;Margaritis 和 Kang,2016 年;Tiwari 等人,2019 年)。
其他研究表明,用于建筑基础设施建设以及附近附近的建筑和街道设计以及邻里质量的材料积木是决定噪音水平的相关因素(Onaga & Rindel,2007 年;Picaut & Simon, 2001 年;所罗门和庞特,2012 年)。类似的研究表明,人口密度低的封闭式积木比人口密度较高的开放式积木结构导致的噪音水平更低(Silva、Fonseca、Rodrigues 和 Campos,2018 年;Zhou、Kang、Zou 和 Wang,2017 年;de Souza 和 Giunta,2011;Costa 和 Lourenço,2011;Nega、Smith、Bethune 和 Fu,2012)。安静区域的百分比与街道的性质以及该地区的交通和人口的涌入相关(Liu、Wang、Zimmer、Kang 和 Yu,2019 年;Shepherd、Welch、Dirks 和 McBride,2013 年)。
在上述背景下,本研究调查了 COVID-19 封锁对爱尔兰都柏林声级变化的影响。实施社会封锁后,交通量大幅减少,社交活动受到极大限制;因此,整个城市的声级(以及噪音污染)可能会降低。本研究执行基于回归的趋势分析,以调查国家封锁前后声级的变化。此外,还进行了变化点分析,以确定噪声监测站声级模式发生变化的确切日期;变化点分析对于估计观测序列的统计特性发生变化的点很有用。
2. 方法论
根据从都柏林 12 个声音监测站获得的声音数据,对爱尔兰都柏林因封锁导致的声级变化进行了分析。声级计的地理分布如图 1 所示。应该注意的是,除了 Ballymun 图书馆(ID #2)和 DCC 赛艇俱乐部(ID #5)站外,所有监测站的主要噪声源是道路交通噪音。这证实了数据分析主要集中在交通噪声污染上,而不是一般的声级分析。尽管如此,我们的分析表明,交通噪声并不能完全解释监测站的声级,因此,我们在整篇论文中交替使用了噪声/声音这两个术语。以下小节详细描述了分析中使用的数据和方法。
water pollution
The Atmosphere's impact on water quality
The vast reduction of nitrous oxides in the atmosphere diffused far from the industrial borders of China. The metropolitan centers of New York, Paris, and London recorded 40% declines in nitrous oxide in the first two weeks of Spring 2020 in comparison to the prior year.[45] In March 2020, Los Angeles (notorious for both traffic and smog) saw a 20% increase in air quality due to the quarantine.[46] In the San Francisco Bay Area, traffic was down 45%, leading to a stark contrast in carbon dioxide emissions compared to previous years.[47] In the atmosphere, water particles mix with carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. The result of this mixing is acid rain. Air pollution means that water vapor absorbs more of these gases and becomes even more acidic. The acid rain pollutes rivers and lakes, which in turn, harms aquatic life.[48] Researchers have witnessed strong correlations between the improvement in air and water quality during the pandemic.[45]
大气对水质的影响大气中一氧化二氮的大量减少扩散到远离中国工业边界的地方。 2020 年春季的前两周,纽约、巴黎和伦敦等大都市中心的一氧化二氮含量与上一年相比下降了 40%。 [45] 2020 年 3 月,洛杉矶(以交通和雾霾而臭名昭著)的空气质量因隔离而增加了 20%。 [46]在旧金山湾区,交通量下降了 45%,导致二氧化碳排放量与前几年形成鲜明对比。 [47]在大气中,水颗粒与二氧化碳、二氧化硫和氮氧化物混合。这种混合的结果是酸雨。空气污染意味着水蒸气会吸收更多这些气体并变得更加酸性。酸雨污染河流和湖泊,进而危害水生生物。 [48]研究人员目睹了大流行期间空气质量和水质改善之间的密切相关性。 [45]
3. COVID-19 lockdown vs water pollution
The research on water quality assessment of Ganga river and Yamuna river and factor controlling ionic chemistry of water were studied by a number of researchers in and around the world (Raymahasay, 1970; Abbas and Subramanain, 1984; Krishnaswami et al., 1992; Dalai et al., 2002; Chakrapani, 2005; Chakrapani and Subramanian, 1996; Bahukhandi et al., 2008; Bahukhandi and Bartarya, 2012; Bahukhandi and Bartarya, 2014; Bahukhandi et al., 2015; Bahukhandi et al., 2017; Dudeja et al., 2011; Thakur et al., 2018). It was found that the water quality of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers were deteriorated over the past few decades due to increased urbanization, industrialization and changing the land use pattern (Chakrapani and Subramanian, 1996; Dudeja et al., 2011; Bahukhandi et al., 2017). Around 10% of toxic load comes from industries that constitute around 700 MLD per day discharge in the Ganga river as per the report of Singhal and Mato. It is estimated that in the Ganga river around 6500–6700 million liters per day (MLD) in its UP stretch were discharged and 30% of the total BOD load was due to industries along the river, which include 130–150 tons per day(CPCB). More than 80% of pollution in the Ganga is due to domestic sewage from surrounding towns and villages. The rest is contributed by industrial waste. This is also the fact that the surface water quality of i.e. Ganga river and Yamuna river improved drastically in the past few months. The industries were closed down after lockdown 1, Lockdown 2 and Lockdown 3 in India and the majority of the industrial effluent which were discharged in these rivers were also stopped. The water quality of all the major river of India has been improved due to shut down of industries (Singhal and Matto, 2020). An assessment of Ganga water quality at Rishikesh was carried. Among anions HCO3 was the most dominant (73%) followed by SO2−4 (15.4%), Cl− (6.6%), NO3 (4.8%), F− (0.6%) and PO4 (0.3%) and among cations, Ca2+ is the most dominant (71%) followed by Mg2+ (19%), Na+ (7.7%), and K+ (2%) Bahukhandi et al., 2017). The mean value of pH, TDS, Bicarbonate, Nitrate, Calcium were 7.9, 169 mg/l, 109 mg/l, 1.5 mg/l and 32 mg/l respectively at various sampling location at Ganga River at Haridwar. The water quality of the Assan river, which is sub tributaries of the Yamuna river was investigated. In Yamuna river the concentration of EC (Electric conductivity) were ranged from 54.2 micro Siemens/cm to 135micro Siemens/cm, TDS ranged from 91 mg/l to 553 mg/l, HCO3 were ranged from 21.0 mg/l to 366 mg/l and pH were ranged from 6.0 to 8.7 in all sampling location (Bahukhandi and Bartarya, 2014). Assessment of Major ion chemistry and spatial variation of Ganga river at Haridwar were carried out and abundance of various ions in the sample was in order of HCO3 (63.8 mg/l) > Ca (19.2 mg/l) > Mg (5.9 mg/l) Na (3.05 mg/l) > Cl (1.6 mg/l) > K (0.5 mg/l). The pH value was ranged from 6.2 to 7.5 with a mean value of 6.5. The EC was ranged from 89 μs/cm to 485 μs/cm with a mean value of 166.2 μs/cm. To clean Ganga river one of the biggest initiatives was taken by Government of India that is Namami Gange Project under National Mission for Clean Ganga Mission and number of effort being done to improve the quality of the Ganga River. Due to lock down the tourism industry also stopped this affected influx of tourism. Tourism was considered one of the important sources of pollution in the Ganga River. Due to tourism all markets near the Ganga river site at Haridwar, Rishikesh, Allahabad were affected. Hotel, shops, lodges, the restaurant all were discharged sewage waste in the Ganga river. In 2015, the biggest-ever initiative, Namami Gange was launched with a budget of over Rs 20,000. Despite numerous programs and huge funds were allocated for the lean Ganga mission but the number of pollutants keeps on increasing in the Ganga river. The Ganga water at Haridwar and Rishikesh were found clean and safe for drinking due to 500% decrease in sewage and industrial effluents after lockdown due to COVID 19 pandemic. A drop in the number of visitors at Ghats in Haridwar also helped in improving river water quality. The mean concentration of DO, BOD, were found respectively 8 mg/l, 2.1 mg/l, pH 7.9 in upstream Ganga Barrage, while in down-stream of Ganga barrage were DO (7.90), BOD (2.1 mg/l) and pH (7.9) during lockdown period due to COVID 19 of March 2020 (Source CPCB). The Uttarakhand state is the source of the Ganga river and it enters Uttar Pradesh in Bijnor district and passes through major districts such as Meerut, Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, among others. The nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25, 2020, and within 10 days the quality of the Ganga river improved significantly. The concentration of DO at Varanasi's Nagwa Nala was significantly improved from 3.8 mg/l on March 6 and increased up to 6.8 mg/l on April 4 during the lockdown period
3. COVID-19 封锁与水污染
恒河和亚穆纳河的水质评估和控制水离子化学的因素的研究得到了世界各地的许多研究人员的研究(Raymahasay,1970;Abbas 和 Subramanain,1984;Krishnaswami 等,1992;Dalai等,2002;Chakrapani,2005;Chakrapani 和 Subramanian,1996;Bahukhandi 等,2008;Bahukhandi 和 Bartarya,2012;Bahukhandi 和 Bartarya,2014;Bahukhandi 等,15;Bahukhandi27等人,2011 年;塔库尔等人,2018 年)。研究发现,在过去的几十年里,由于城市化、工业化和土地利用模式的改变,恒河和亚穆纳河的水质恶化(Chakrapani 和 Subramanian,1996;Dudeja 等,2011;Bahukhandi 等。 , 2017)。根据 Singhal 和 Mato 的报告,大约 10% 的有毒负荷来自在恒河每天排放约 700 MLD 的行业。据估计,在恒河上游,大约每天排放 6500-67 亿升 (MLD),总 BOD 负荷的 30% 是由于沿河工业,其中包括每天 130-150 吨( CPCB)。恒河80%以上的污染来自周边城镇和村庄的生活污水。其余由工业废物贡献。这也是过去几个月恒河和亚穆纳河的地表水质大幅改善的事实。在印度的封锁 1、封锁 2 和封锁 3 之后,这些工业被关闭,并且在这些河流中排放的大部分工业废水也被停止。由于工业关闭,印度所有主要河流的水质都得到了改善(Singhal 和 Matto,2020 年)。对瑞诗凯诗的恒河水质进行了评估。在阴离子中 HCO3 是最主要的 (73%),其次是 SO2−4 (15.4%)、Cl− (6.6%)、NO3 (4.8%)、F− (0.6%) 和 PO4 (0.3%),在阳离子中, Ca2+ 是最主要的 (71%),其次是 Mg2+ (19%)、Na+ (7.7%) 和 K+ (2%) Bahukhandi et al., 2017)。在 Haridwar 恒河的不同采样点,pH、TDS、碳酸氢盐、硝酸盐、钙的平均值分别为 7.9、169 mg/l、109 mg/l、1.5 mg/l 和 32 mg/l。对亚穆纳河支流阿桑河的水质进行了调查。在亚穆纳河中,EC(电导率)的浓度范围为 54.2 微西门子/厘米至 135 微西门子/厘米,TDS 范围为 91 毫克/升至 553 毫克/升,HCO3 的范围为 21.0 毫克/升至 366 毫克/在所有采样位置,l 和 pH 值范围为 6.0 到 8.7(Bahukhandi 和 Bartarya,2014 年)。对 Haridwar 恒河的主要离子化学和空间变化进行了评估,样品中各种离子的丰度顺序为 HCO3 (63.8 mg/l) > Ca (19.2 mg/l) > Mg (5.9 mg/l) ) Na (3.05 mg/l) > Cl (1.6 mg/l) > K (0.5 mg/l)。 pH 值范围为 6.2 至 7.5,平均值为 6.5。 EC 范围从 89 μs/cm 到 485 μs/cm,平均值为 166.2 μs/cm。清洁恒河的最大举措之一是印度政府采取的一项最大举措,即国家清洁恒河任务下的 Namami 恒河项目,以及为改善恒河质量所做的努力。由于封锁旅游业,也阻止了受此影响的旅游业的涌入。旅游业被认为是恒河污染的重要来源之一。由于旅游业,位于阿拉哈巴德、瑞诗凯诗、哈里瓦的恒河附近的所有市场都受到了影响。酒店、商店、旅馆、餐厅均排放恒河污水。 2015 年,作为有史以来规模最大的计划,Namami Gange 以超过 20,000 卢比的预算启动。尽管为减贫恒河任务分配了许多计划和巨额资金,但恒河中的污染物数量不断增加。由于 COVID 19 大流行而封锁后,污水和工业废水减少了 500%,因此 Haridwar 和 Rishikesh 的恒河水被发现干净且可以安全饮用。哈里瓦高止山脉游客人数的减少也有助于改善河流水质。恒河坝上游DO、BOD平均浓度分别为8 mg/l、2.1 mg/l、pH 7.9,而恒河坝下游DO (7.90)、BOD (2.1 mg/l)和由于 2020 年 3 月 19 日的 COVID 19,锁定期间的 pH 值(7.9)(来源 CPCB)。北阿坎德邦是恒河的源头,它在比诺区进入北方邦,经过米鲁特、布兰沙哈尔、阿里加尔、坎普尔、阿拉哈巴德、瓦拉纳西等主要地区。 2020 年 3 月 25 日全国实施封城,10 天内恒河水质明显改善。在封锁期间,瓦拉纳西 Nagwa Nala 的溶解氧浓度从 3 月 6 日的 3.8 毫克/升显着提高,并在 4 月 4 日上升至 6.8 毫克/升
500% decrease in sewage and industrial effluents in rivers.
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Dissolved oxygen(DO), Biological oxygen demand(BOD), pH of river water has been improved by 79%, 30% and 7.9 respectively
河流中的污水和工业废水减少 500%。
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溶解氧(DO)、生物需氧量(BOD)、河水pH值分别提高了79%、30%和7.9
Shared Planet captures a glimpse at the moment in time when the world came to a standstill for humans during lockdown and the environment and wildlife began to thrive. Influenced by the documentary ‘The Year The Earth Changed’ the work explores nature’s response to the low human activity during the global lockdown. Looking at wildlife, air and water quality the work acts as ‘visual activism’ to explore global warming, reflecting data and research to share the issues in an alternative form. seeking to open a conversation about how we can identify more harmonious ways for humans and wildlife to co-exist and how this can have a profound impact on nature and give us hope for the future of our planet.
Wildlife - This character focuses on how wildlife thrived during the global lockdown. Due to the lack of human activity especially in terms of the reduction in travel, the amount of animals killed on the roads was significantly reduced. The lack of tourists and locals visiting coastal locations saw an increase in sea turtles laying eggs on the beaches. The character encapsulates where animals were about to follow their natural instinct and resume these practises that are interrupted by humans.
Noise - This character references the effects of the lockdown on noise pollution, particularly in cities. During this time the amount of urban road traffic and city noise was significantly reduced, meaning that the negative impact of noise pollution was lower. Not only referencing the benefits humans experienced due to this activity, the character looks at the impact on animals in particular, for example communications between birds.
Water - This character is based on the effects of the global lockdown water quality and sea life. During this short period a restriction of industrial sectors and economic activities offered an opportunity for water quality in seas and rivers to increase. In turn the activity of sea life began to thrive, populations of fish became greater, the lack of water travel decreased the risk of marine animals getting injured.
Air - This character looks at the effects of the global lockdown on air quality during this time. As human activity was at a minimum, the air pollution levels were significantly lower. This resulted in changes in weather, fewer children were developing conditions such as asthma, skylines were clear enough to see sights that hadn’t been seen in decades. The characters comically move and dance as air particles not constricted by pollution in the air, furthermore referencing the freeness to breathe and healthier children in this time.
Menex - Music & Sound Design @dimitris_menex