Environmental impacts of COVID-19 on Victoria, Australia, witnessed two waves of Coronavirus
- 28 January 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Environmental Science and Pollution Research
- Vol. 28 (11), 14182-14191
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12556-y
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic not only has created a global health crisis but also has dramatic effects on the environment. To fight the spread of Coronavirus, governments imposed social distancing policies, which caused negative and positive impacts on the environment. Victoria, the second-most populated state in Australia, was hit by two waves of COVID-19. During the second wave of the pandemic, Victoria, especially Melbourne, experienced one of the most stringent and longest lockdowns globally. In this study, the changes in mobility trends, traffic, air pollution, noise pollution, and waste generation during the first and second waves of COVID-19 in Victoria are evaluated and compared. It was observed that the pandemic had both positive and negative impacts on the environment. During the second wave of the pandemic in Victoria, the mobility trends of public transport hubs, retail and recreation venues, and workplaces experienced a significant drop in movements at respective values of 85%, 83%, and 76% compared to the period of 5 weeks from 3 January to 6 February 2020. PM2.5 levels were lower by 23% at Alphington and 24% at Footscray from 16 March to 1 May 2020 compared with the average PM2.5 levels in the past 4 years. It was estimated that the respective daily generations of used face masks during the first wave and second wave of the pandemic in Victoria were approximately 104 and 160 tons.Keywords
This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit:
- Minimising the present and future plastic waste, energy and environmental footprints related to COVID-19Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2020
- COVID-19 Pandemic Repercussions on the Use and Management of PlasticsEnvironmental Science & Technology, 2020
- Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak on NO2 Pollution Assessed Using TROPOMI and OMI ObservationsGeophysical Research Letters, 2020
- Improper solid waste management increases potential for COVID-19 spread in developing countriesResources, Conservation and Recycling, 2020
- Evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: A global health emergencyScience of The Total Environment, 2020
- Indirect effects of COVID-19 on the environmentScience of The Total Environment, 2020
- Can the human coronavirus epidemic also spread through solid waste?Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy, 2020
- Changes in air quality during the lockdown in Barcelona (Spain) one month into the SARS-CoV-2 epidemicScience of The Total Environment, 2020
- Iranian mental health during the COVID-19 epidemicAsian Journal of Psychiatry, 2020
- Transboundary health impacts of transported global air pollution and international tradeNature, 2017