In A Deserted Venice The Canals Become Crystal Clear

The world is looking a lot different these days, whether that be vacant malls, restaurants, transportation hubs, or city centers. Tourist attractions, freeways, and border crossings that are busy year-round are now quiet in March 2020 amid coronavirus lockdowns. Humans have all but disappeared….or at least that is how it must seem to Mother Nature.

Change In The Tides For Venice

Just like other large cities that have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, Venice is still. Traffic on the canal has been completely halted. Not a single gondola can be flagged down for a ride on the ancient waterways. The result? The waters have cleared, pollution dissipated, and forms of marine life have returned.

Signs of change to the canal system first appeared on Twitter, as one person shared pictures of the near-crystal clear waters. Soon more photos emerged of swans, fish, and even dolphins swimming up and down the waterways. Although the Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, downplayed the change in the canals, the public feels the clear water is no accident. Tourism and large cruise ships, which typically bolster the area, are thought to deter a healthy environment for wildlife. (1, 2)

One twitter user wrote On March 17, 2020, “Here’s an unexpected side effect of the pandemic — the water’s flowing through the canals of Venice is clear for the first time in forever. The fish are visible, the swans returned”. This tweet and others like it have quickly gone viral. The clear Venetian canals are thought to be a ‘silver lining’ to the challenges Italy and the world continues to face during this coronavirus pandemic. (1)

Venice hasn’t seen clear canal water in a very long time. Dolphins showing up too. Nature just hit the reset button on us pic.twitter.com/RzqOq8ftCj

— Gianluca De Santis (@b8taFPS) March 17, 2020

Environmental Time-Out All Over The World

Now that people have taken a step back, the environment all around the world is getting a well-deserved break as per climate experts. The coronavirus-related economic disruption of commercial production and manufacturing has been believed to most dramatically cut global air pollution. Yet, social policies limiting people’s ability to get out and travel are likely helping as well.

Regionally, the reduction in air pollution has been most noticeable in China during January and February in 2020. However, Italy has experienced a drop too! (2) Thanks to NASA and the European Space Agency, satellite images of major Chinese and Italian cities show a fall in nitrogen dioxide emissions. (3) Nitrogen dioxide is a harmful air pollutant, often in the form of a nasty-smelling gas. High levels of nitrogen dioxide can cause bronchitis, respiratory infections, and inflammation of the lungs among humans. As monitored by environmental scientists, other tiny air particles associated with pollution have fallen amid China’s national coronavirus outbreak. (4)

A Stanford professor, Marshall Burke, calculated what the health effects of this change in air pollution may mean for the future. He estimates urban residents will see the greatest improvement in air quality versus rural regions. In addition, Burke thinks thousands of lives (specifically of children under 5, and adults over 70) have been prolonged as a result of this break in pollution. Though the professors warn that these outcomes do not make the coronavirus pandemic good for health. Instead, he points out that our economy comes with hidden environmental and health costs. We are just getting a small break from these costs! (3)

Environment Over Economy?

A closely tied issue right now to both the environment and the coronavirus outbreak is the decline in the world’s economy. A large decline in oil prices, manufacturing, consumerism, and service contracts that keep society funded is concerning. Oil, in particular, has hit a multi-year low with reduced demand for the product during this pandemic (China is the world’s largest crude oil importer). As the virus spreads, a greater drop in all countries’ economic growth is expected too. Governments and researchers scramble to understand how household items and larger-scale projects will be altered by the changes in manufacturing. (5)

Though nothing can be accurately known, especially as so much changes day to day, it feels like a strange predicament to be in. Climate change was a massive concern in 2019, with millions of people striking at the doors of governments worldwide for action to be taken against climate change. However, in 2020, we have been forced into diminishing pollution at the expense of sickness and volatility elsewhere. Should we have been more careful about what we wished for? Or is this effect some mystical force of nature at play? (6)