• Question: What do think of the reports stating that the environment is improving due to the quarantine; do you think that the change in the environment due to the vastly reduced amount of people etc, will be noticeable in the long run?

    Asked by anon-257469 on 19 Jun 2020.
    • Photo: Chloe Carter

      Chloe Carter answered on 19 Jun 2020:

      I am sceptical as to if the improvements seen during lockdown will last. There has already been a spike in air pollution levels as more people are going back to work using cars etc. I know that where I live there is a lot more litter and rubbish on the floor from where bins have overflowed or people having a picnic in the park have not taken their rubbish with them. I found this BBC article really interesting https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200326-covid-19-the-impact-of-coronavirus-on-the-environment

    • Photo: Steve Thackeray

      Steve Thackeray answered on 19 Jun 2020:

      This is a very interesting question, and I have heard very similar suggestions. My feeling is that there might well have been some temporary improvements in some ecosystems (because of a lower impact from, say, visitors). However, previous research suggests that after disturbances ecosystems might either “bounce back” to the way they were before, with greater human impacts, or might show longer-term effects. Environmental scientists are definitely looking into these ideas at the moment – the key is careful monitoring of how the environment has changed during lockdown, and how it changes over the coming months.

    • Photo: Linsey Cottrell

      Linsey Cottrell answered on 19 Jun 2020: last edited 19 Jun 2020 12:37 pm

      I think I am a little more optimistic. On a very local level, I’ve noticed so many more families out enjoying walks, on routes which previously I didn’t usually meet anyone. I think with lockdown, many recognise the importance of our local environment and with people’s world shrinking, it highlights the importance of access to green space.

      The big shift of many people having to work-from-home is also very positive. I think many people will now expect the ‘new normal’ to include home working options – we have adapted quickly to new work patterns and having on-line meetings. It will make many of us think twice about what ‘work travel’ is really necessary in the future.

    • Photo: Alec Christie

      Alec Christie answered on 19 Jun 2020:

      Great question and there’s a lot of debate amongst scientists (as you can see here!). It depends what you mean by the environment – there will be temporary benefits in lowered air pollution, and maybe some species will have better breeding seasons with fewer people. However, it’s often never that simple. For example, in some places there will be less disturbance of breeding birds, in other places there may be more as more people get outside, walk their dogs, and exercise. In the Seychelles they have tentative evidence that fewer tourists has actually led to more predation on nests of seabirds there – that’s because predators that are usually disturbed by tourists are now more active during the day. As the scientific and medical advisers to the government keep saying, we really won’t know for sure what the impact has been for at least a year or so until we can compare what’s happened this year to information we have for previous years. There will be winners and losers and probably some unexpected changes!

    • Photo: Emily Cheek

      Emily Cheek answered on 19 Jun 2020:

      From an air pollution perspective we are very interested in this and are continually looking at how levels are changing during the lockdown period. Although there is evidence of reductions in some pollutants there is a risk of increases in others such as ozone which highlights the need to tackle and reduce all pollutants. Also as people are spending more time indoors they are offsetting any potential health benefits due to increased exposure to cooking and cleaning etc. Lockdown has highlighted what a future could look like and it is important we act on this and learn and not slip back to past levels.

    • Photo: Emma Markham

      Emma Markham answered on 20 Jun 2020:

      Most of the news I have seen on this topic is looking at wild animals who live on the edge of our communities starting to come into the cities now there is fewer cars and people around (I have seen photos of deer in cities and dolphins in Venice). These animals have had their habitat reduced due to human expansion and they have learned to avoid humans by only coming into suburban areas at night, when people are not around. We have seen animals exploring cities more under lockdown, because they are looking for food or new territory while there are no people, but once lockdown ends these animals will be pushed back out to the edges of where we live.

      Other changes I heard in the news include wildflowers in road verges, as councils are unable to mow them. There is a campaign to minimise the mowing to support wildflowers and insects in the future, but this will likely be a council-by-council decision, but could improve small areas.

      Generally speaking, lockdown was for only a few months, which is just not long enough to make any meaningful difference in terms to environmental improvement, unless we choose to protect these plants and animals in a long-lasting way, and the biggest challenge is providing suitable protected habitats for them to live.

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