Worldwide quarantine from the coronavirus outbreak is having a significant impact on the global economy and markets. Factories have been temporarily shut down; businesses have been put on hold. Governments have ordered their residents to stay home to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Across the globe, countries are implementing measures to restrict public interactions, including closing down establishments, cancelling concerts and encouraging working from home, slowing down the economy of its citizens.
However, it seems the lockdown has had an unintended yet uplifting benefit: blue skies and clearer water.
The worldwide quarantine to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus has had one unexpected side effect. It has reported a sustained drop in air pollution. In Wuhan province, lockdowns have dramatically improved air quality.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using modified Copernicus Sentinel 5P data processed by the European Space Agency
NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) pollution monitoring satellites have detected a significant decrease in nitrogen dioxide or NO2 and drops in harmful greenhouse gas emissions over China’s atmosphere. This phenomenon is partly related to the economic slowdown following the outbreak of coronavirus.
The improved air quality around the world isn’t likely to remain long term, as scientists predict circumstances will likely return to normal levels when businesses and industries resume after the outbreak clears. However, Some people choose to share the silver-lining of their country's lockdown.
People tweeted, and reporting that they are able to hear birds singing and see a clear sky for the first time in Wuhan city. And the water in the canals is running clear for the first time in years in Italy's famous city, Venice.
The canals are usually polluted with fuel and congested with tourist boats. With Italy in a state of lockdown, however, the water is clear, and the bottoms of the canals are visible. Fish can be seen swimming around in the clear water, which seems to be quite uplifting in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
On Facebook, citizens of Venice are exchanging messages of support and appreciation for the beauty of the city's canals in the "Clean Venice" Facebook group.
The coronavirus lockdown is the latest in a series of problems Italy's best-known tourist destination has had to confront recently. Venice was hit by its worst flooding in 50 years last November, with damage worth over hundreds of millions of euros. Along with over-tourism, The city is also struggling with the sinking of its historic buildings into rising seawater and the city's overpopulation.
Together with China news reported that there are no new local coronavirus cases for the first time since the pandemic began at ground zero Wuhan this Thursday, the blue sky in Wuhan Province and the clear water of Venice might be the highlight of the day.
