Climate change during the COVID-19 outbreak: scoping future perspectives

Abstract

Neither war nor recession or any kind of prior disaster has been considered a prelude to the looming threat of climate change over the past era as coronavirus (hereafter COVID-19) has in only a few months. Although numerous studies have already been published on this topic, there has not been compelling evidence critically assessing the impact of COVID-19 by and on climate change. The present study fills this gap by taking a more holistic approach to elaborate factors, e.g., natural and anthropogenic factors, ocean submesoscales, radiative forces, and greenhouse gas/CO 2 emissions, that may affect climate change in a more prevalent and pronounced manner. Based on the statistical data collected from the NASA Earth Observatory, the European Space Agency, and the Global Carbon Project, the findings of this study reveal that the climate/environment has improved during COVID-19, including better environmental quality and water quality with low carbon emissions and sound pollution. In the lockdown during the epidemic, the emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) significantly decreased because of the lower usage of transportation, decreased electricity demand, and halted industrial activities. The policy implications of this study suggested that keeping the climate healthy even in the post-COVID-19 era is a serious concern that needs to be addressed by investing in clean and green projects, ensuring green energy evolution, dealing with a large volume of medical waste, building health-ensuring and livable societies, and halting the funding of pollution. For governmental and regulatory bodies, these factors will provide a strong foundation to build safer, healthier, and environmentally friendly societies for generations to come.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on air pollution: a global research framework, challenges, and future perspectives

“…According to a recent study, half of the premature deaths that occur each year are in China and India as a result of indoor air pollution (BBC, 2016 ). It has been demonstrated that better air quality and a cleaner environment can be achieved during a lockdown (Usman et al, 2021 ; Ching and Kajino, 2020 ). Globally, ambient air pollution causes 4.2 million deaths each year.…”

Sustainable Consumption in Consumer Behavior in the Time of COVID-19: Topic Modeling on Twitter Data Using LDA

“…For example, [130] investigated the impact of coronavirus isolation on lifestyle behaviors in Spanish children, while [131] investigated how COVID-19 reshaped lifestyles across societies. Similarly, various researchers are trying to explore the relationship between COVID-19 and climate change [132][133][134]. The second cluster is about responsible consumption.…”

Climate Change, Obesity, and COVID-19—Global Crises with Catastrophic Consequences. Is This the Future?

“…COVID-19 has provided crucial insight into what could be done to tackle the climate crisis. Governments around the world should keep the climate healthy by reducing the use of GHG-emitting means of transport and invest in innovative solutions to manage medical waste [83]. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented world leaders and policy makers with the opportunity to think more strategically.…”