EARTH DAY 2020, During all these years there have been people admitting concerns about the deteriorating atmosphere. Several environmentalists have put up protests, slogans mentioning to save the planet have been chanted numerously, campaigns have been organized in abundance, but people never paid heed.
Now that the world is under the impact of a deadly virus and has been potentially brought down to a virtual halt, people are obliquely contributing towards allowing Mother Nature to heal. The 50th anniversary of Earth Day, demonstrating support for environmental protection was indeed well celebrated as it let nature breathe more easily amid the coronavirus lockdown unlike the years so far. Human movements were brought down to a certain minimum during this lockdown season, resulting in benefits for Mother Nature after years.
The planet is expected to see it’s first fall in global emissions since the 2008-9 financial crisis.
As mass gatherings were not favorable in the situation, celebrations included other digital activities like Great Global Clean up, Advocacy, Citizen Science, Education, and Art.
A digital event organized for Earth Day 2020 laid out the message saying “The coronavirus pandemic doesn’t shut us down. Instead, it reminds us of what’s at stake in our fight for the planet. If we don’t demand change to transform our planet and meet our climate crisis, our current state will become the new normal- a world where pandemics and extreme weather events span the globe, leaving already marginalized and vulnerable communities even more at risk”.
In addition to this, the 16-year-old environmentalist Greta Thunberg told on Earth Day event that “Countries have a chance to choose a new path as societies begin to return to normal after lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus”. Thereby letting out a very important message to the world about being conscious of the planet’s health even after lockdown is lifted.
Starting from China, then Italy and now the UK, Germany, India, and dozens of other countries are observing temporary falls of pollutants like carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in the air around.
The continuous lockdown in nations has brought about a drastic change in the earth’s atmosphere over time. Initially, the changes were observable from outside the earth through satellite pictures of the planet. And now it can be felt around us as the skies are turning to be clearer, the winds feel fresher and the air has turned cleaner. The atmosphere’s improvement is certainly commendable.
There has been a drastic cut down in air traffic, nearly halved. Also, a 70% decrement has been observed in the UK’s road traffic. In China, the world’s biggest source of carbon emission have gotten down by 18% between early Feb and mid-March. The air quality has improved a lot thereby reducing a great number of risks linking to respiratory disorders.
Thus it is hoped, the current air quality influences people’s instincts about environment protection and evokes a sense of responsibility to protect Mother Earth howsoever it can be done.
Isha Smriti
City-Patna, Bihar
Isha is an aesthete when it comes to word wizardry and literature. She has a keen interest in reading both fictional and non-fictional story writings.
