The Environmental Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic – An Illustrated Guide

COVID-19 caused by the novel coronavirus affected every country around the world, and on 11 March 2020 the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a COVID-19 Pandemic.

As the COVID-19 Pandemic progresses around the world, it threatens lives and puts pressure on the global economy. It has also had a profound impact on the environment. Some of these effects are positive and some are negative.

Scientists first noticed a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in China, where the pandemic began. As the outbreak spread around the world and industrial activity declined, greenhouse gas emissions, considered one of the main causes of global warming, continued to fall.

Meanwhile, rapidly spreading social media posts began to reveal scenes of wildlife in urban areas, prompting comments such as "nature has pressed the reset button."

Less attention was paid to the dramatic increases in medical waste and packaging from online shopping (see: An issue forgotten during the COVID-19 Pandemic: MEDICAL WASTE).

In this article, we will look at all the environmental effects of the COVID-19 crisis to date and the lessons we can learn from this tragedy to combat climate change in the future. Let us examine the data through our special infographic:

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