Humans are the virus

Nowadays, the world is facing its biggest challenge in terms of coronavirus. The pandemic that emerged from the Chinese city of Wuhan has now killed more than 25,000 people and has spread in every single across the world. All countries are taking effective measures to halt the spread of the deadly virus. People have self-isolated themselves and some countries have imposed a complete lockdown.

Amid this entire situation, reports emerging around the world state that air pollution is decreasing dramatically. With humanity on lockdown, our planet Earth is healing. There is no evidence present to label coronavirus as ‘nature’s revenge.’ Humans have destroyed nature at an unprecedented rate and are eroding the foundations of food security, health, and quality of life. Humans are also responsible for global warming which has changed the future of the world.

WHO has estimated that air pollution kills seven million people worldwide around the globe. The health agency further stated that 9 out of 10 people in the world breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. Another report suggests that over the last 50 years, nature’s capacity to support us has plummeted.

Humans with their so-called developments have caused millions of lives including the destruction of wildlife and other species. We are the leading cause behind global warming, deforestation, soil depletion, and the melting of snow. The quality of air and water has reduced, the temperature of the world is constantly changing, and the ecosystem is depleting which poses a bigger threat than any other virus.

During the ongoing lockdown in several parts of the world, all kinds of transportation are closed, factories and industries are bolted, flight operations are shut, and the movement of people is curtailed.  In this regard, NASA has reported that pollution levels over China have been declined. The agency stated that levels of nitrogen dioxide – gas emitted by motor vehicles and industrial facilities – have fallen. Air pollution in several European cities has declined by an estimated 40 percent. Traffic and pollution levels across the United States have dropped. And now Karachi – which is also facing lockdown for several days – has also witnessed improvement in air quality.

After witnessing this situation, one can easily say that humans are the virus. The changes are temporary and cannot be termed as good news because the pollution will most likely jump back and will further increase after countries recover from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.