COVID-19: 5 Surprising Ways the Pandemic is Changing the Environment

In a matter of weeks, COVID-19 has turned the world upside down; striking down old habits and assumptions, as we scramble to control the pandemic. Central to our efforts has been social distancing. People are staying home fearful of catching the virus or spreading it; only venturing out to get groceries, or for their daily dose of exercise. City centres have shut down, factories have closed. If aliens arrived tomorrow, they’d quickly get the message: we’re closed for business.

However, in our abrupt absence, the environment is undergoing a metamorphosis. As the saying goes, nature abhors a vacuum. Here are five ways COVID-19 is changing the world as we know it.

1. Air Pollution is Dropping Off

The once-bustling streets of New York are eerily quiet. Times Square is a ghost town. The entire city seems to be stuck in the opening credits of a zombie movie.

Traffic levels are estimated to be down thirty-five per cent compared with a year ago, resulting in a nearly fifty per cent drop in carbon monoxide according to preliminary results by researchers at Columbia University. Professor Roisin Commane explained, ‘New York has had exceptionally high carbon monoxide numbers for the last year. And this is the cleanest I have ever seen it. It…