“Every cloud has a silver lining”

This very popular saying could identify what is happening now with nature, and I mean to the impact of COVID-19 in our world and its improvement. There are some good news we should highlight from this disease that is bringing a lot of deaths, sadness and desperation over the countries. The fact is that this virus is improving our environment, to the extent that we can breathe purer air, see the blue sky cloudless and unpolluted by the smoke from the factories that daily expelled many chemicals into the air, and even observe the birds singing in the mornings, see the swans crossing the waterways and rejoice with the surprise that, thanks to this change, several species have managed to escape from their extinction.

Then, we affirm that world is taking a breath after a long time, and it’s getting better related to its status and structure. According to Meaghan Wray (2020), she says that a hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica is repairing itself due to industries are closed and people are staying at home in order to stop the spread of this virus. Likewise, reports from Carbon Brief have showed that “the drop in the use of coal and crude oil together suggest a CO2 emission decrease of around a quarter or more compared with the same two-week period last year” (FutureLearn, 2020). However, the head of the UN Environment Programme says that this positive impact on nature would last a short time because these are “temporary because they come on the back of tragic economic slowdown and human distress” (Inger Andersen, 2020).

To end up, it’s remarkable to see the positive changes that this pandemic has caused in our environment, and there is no denying that thanks to this, climate change will be reduced compared to previous years. Although its impact is temporary, I believe that it’s proving to be quite effective in terms of improvements for the world. I therefore believe that when people come out of quarantine, they will see a before and after in our nature, and I am sure that the memory of this great change will not be temporary.

Sources:

- FutureLearn. (2020). COVID-19: Its effects on China's carbon emissions. FutureLearn. Taken from: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/covid-19-emissions-drop

- Meaghan Wray. (2020). Ozone layer repairing, redirecting wind flows, new study says. Global News. Taken from: https://globalnews.ca/news/6734991/ozone-layer-repairing-wind-flows-study/

- João Roberto Ripper. (2020). First Person: COVID-19 is not a silver lining for the climate, says UN Environment chief. UN News. Taken from: https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061082