Why Pollution is as important as ever, What can we all do about it?

What Impact Has Lockdown Had On Air Pollution Levels?

The sudden arrival of the coronavirus meant that many countries around the world had to go into total lockdown, in order to manage the rapidly growing cases. There were strict restrictions on travel; flights were cancelled worldwide and travel was not permitted.

This sudden change to human life and society was hard for people to adapt to, but it might have been what we needed to help clear up our atmosphere.

Lockdown meant that air pollution levels around the globe started to plummet, we had just been given a second chance of repairing what we had damaged. We have been given a solid foundation to build on to fight back against air pollution.

Many businesses already have policies in place to reduce air pollution, cycle to work schemes for example. However, the leaders obtain their ISO 14001 certification in order to help support environmental sustainability and change.

Effects of Lockdown on Pollution Levels

In an effort to understand what had changed during lockdown (1.0), we will take a look at some of the numbers pre lockdown (2019) and post (2020).

In order to measure these changes, look at the density of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in the air. It is well known for having disastrous effects on human health. Take a look at the graph below, we can see that NO₂ levels have dropped by an enormous amount, these effects can be seen Globally!

Countries like Portugal and Spain have seen a drop in as much as 50%.

(Source, CREA 2020)

However the biggest change belongs to China, if you take a look at the picture below by NASA. We can clearly see that within a month of lockdown, china has managed to lower air pollution levels by up to 70%.

(Source, NASA 2020)

Blackrock chief Executive states “How covid could save the planet”. Blackrock manages $8.7 trillion dollars of savers’ money, they note that companies have invested $288bn globally in sustainable assets. The move is definitively to avoid more threats of a similar scale as Covid-19 has been. Investing in sustainability in a bid to prevent environmental damage fuelled by the likelihood of growth in that market.

The Effects of High Pollution Levels

According to GOV.UK

• long-term exposure to high levels of pollution, can reduce life expectancy through increased chance of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and in some cases lung cancer.
• Short-term affects to increased levels of pollution can cause a range of health impacts too, ranging from hindering lung performance and worsening asthma symptoms.

These are really serious conditions with up to 36,000 deaths in the UK where air pollution could have had an impact, which could be easily changed if everyone played their part.

If more businesses implemented ISO 14001 this may be mitigated.

The Most and Least Polluted Areas In the UK

Researchers from Birmingham University (2019) found that the top 5 most polluted areas in the UK were

1. Luton
2. Crawley
3. Leamington Spa
4. Cardiff
5. Coventry

And the top 5 areas with pollution levels ‘better than expected’ were

1. Milton Keynes
2. Stoke-on-Trent (whoop whoop)
3. Weybridge
4. Aldershot
5. Macclesfield

Ways YOU Can Reduce Air Pollution.

Currently in the UK road transport produces the most amount of NO₂ pollution with 33.6%. If everyone took some action, such as taking a bus or walking instead of driving, we could see a major drop in these numbers.

Another simple way we can reduce air pollution is through consumer decisions, such as using energy efficient light bulbs or turning off lights and appliances when they are not in use.

It’s Crucial that we do whatever we can to help reduce pollutants in the air as they cause so much harm to human health and the environment; it can also damage plants and buildings. In extreme cases such as Dhaka, the pollution has got so bad that it’s started to affect visibility and created a thick haze as shown in the image below from a local news agency.

So, what now?

When it comes to air pollution it is no joking matter and should be taken quite seriously. People around the world are trying their best to come up with new and innovative ideas about how to tackle environmental problems.

As a business owner you can play a big part in this change, by setting an example to your customers and your local community. Showing you care for the environment and their wellbeing by making the change. If you’re confused about what to do and how to go about it, we recommend checking out ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems that can help outline these issues. YOU can become a leader and start to make changes for the better.