The Effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Environment following One Year in Lockdown

Introduction
The global outbreak of Covid-19 has affected every part of human lives, including impacting the physical world in which we live. This is primarily due to the measures that have been taken around the world to control the spread of the virus and the consequent slowdown of economic activities, which have had significant effects on the environment.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) have reported that the restrictions imposed to fight Covid-19 have provided some short-term positive impacts on Europe’s environment, including temporary improvements in air quality, lower greenhouse gas emissions and lower levels of noise pollution. However, the report stresses that there have also been negative consequences such as increased use of single-use plastics, and that ways out of the pandemic should focus on achieving long-term environmental benefits.

In this article we explore the main positive and negative effects of the covid-19 pandemic on the environment, before taking a look at the ways gas sensing can play a part in protecting our precious environment.