"Even though the air has been cleaner as a result of the global lockdowns, a more polluted future has been brewing while we weren’t looking." - Nat Geo
The benefits many found heartening early on from cleaner air to birdsong newly audible as cars and planes went quiet were always likely to be temporary. And with lockdowns easing, they have already begun to dissipate. Now, some experts fear that the world risks a future with more traffic, more pollution, and climate change that worsens faster than ever. It’s too soon to know whether that gloomy scenario will play out, but concerning signs seem to be growing all around the world. In early April, with shutdowns widespread, daily global carbon emissions were down by 17 percent compared to last year. But as of June 11, new data show that they are only about 5 percent lower than at the same point in 2019, even though normal activity has not yet fully restarted. We have a chance to reverse some of the impacts of climate change and we need to do everything we can to help our Earth.
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