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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to COVID-19, a double-edged sword for the environment: a review on the impacts of COVID-19 on the environment
ClearCOVID-19 and Environment: a Review
This review examines both the negative and positive environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that while lockdown measures improved air quality and reduced water and noise pollution in many regions, the pandemic also dramatically increased plastic waste from single-use items and personal protective equipment. The authors assess how pandemic-era disruptions to human activity reshaped pollution patterns across multiple environmental domains.
The long-term impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on environmental health: a review study of the bi-directional effect
Researchers reviewed how the COVID-19 pandemic created a two-way relationship with environmental health, finding that lockdowns temporarily improved air and water quality while simultaneously driving a surge in single-use plastic waste and biohazard materials. The review calls for long-term sustainability policies that balance economic recovery with environmental protection, including reducing plastic pollution.
Positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 on the environment: A critical review with sustainability approaches
This review examines both the positive and negative environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. While lockdowns temporarily reduced air, water, and noise pollution, the massive increase in disposable masks, gloves, and plastic packaging created a surge in microplastic contamination. The study highlights how the pandemic exposed the tension between public health measures and environmental sustainability.
Covid-19 and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities
This review examines both the environmental challenges and unexpected opportunities created by the COVID-19 pandemic, including temporary reductions in air pollution alongside a surge in single-use plastic waste from masks and PPE. The pandemic highlighted trade-offs between public health measures and plastic pollution.
Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on environment, society, and food security
Researchers reviewed the environmental and societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that while lockdowns temporarily reduced air and water pollution, the pandemic increased release of microcontaminants and biomedical plastic waste while severely disrupting global food security, particularly for vulnerable populations in low-income countries.
COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on the environment: A global perspective
This global perspective reviews environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting sharp increases in single-use plastic waste, pharmaceutical pollution, and medical waste that more than offset short-term pollution reductions seen during lockdowns. The authors argue that pandemic-driven plastic surges created a new wave of microplastic contamination entering aquatic and terrestrial systems.
Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Environment and Proposals for Sustainable Strategies
This review examined the environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding significant improvements in air quality, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and lower water pollution during lockdowns, alongside negative consequences including increased medical waste from masks, gloves, and disinfectant containers.
Environmental Dimesion of the COVID-19 Pandemic: New Chance for Green Economy
This paper examined how the COVID-19 pandemic had both positive and negative environmental effects — reducing industrial pollution temporarily while dramatically increasing single-use plastic waste. The pandemic-driven plastic surge is expected to worsen microplastic contamination in soils and waterways for years.
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment, waste management, and energy sectors: a deeper look into the long-term impacts
This review examines the environmental consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that while short-term air quality improvements occurred during lockdowns, the long-term negative effects are far more significant. Researchers documented massive increases in single-use plastic waste from masks, gloves, and packaging, contributing substantially to microplastic pollution. The study highlights that the pandemic reversed progress on waste reduction and created new challenges for environmental management across waste, energy, and pollution sectors.
Water Quality and Water Pollution in Time of COVID-19: Positive and Negative Repercussions
This review assesses the positive and negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on water quality across different continents. While lockdowns temporarily reduced some pollution, the pandemic also increased plastic waste from personal protective equipment and single-use items, contributing to microplastic contamination of water bodies.
COVID-19's environmental impacts: Challenges and implications for the future
COVID-19's positive environmental effects (especially CO2 emission reductions) were temporary and only detected in 2020, while its negative impacts -- particularly medical waste containing antibiotic resistance genes, heavy metals, and microplastics -- represent lasting challenges. International aviation CO2 dropped 59% in 2020 but industry emissions fell only 3.16%.
COVID-19 impact on agriculture and environment in India
This paper reviews the environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, covering both positive effects (improved air quality, reduced GHG emissions) and negative ones (increased plastic and medical waste, microplastic pollution from disposable PPE). It examines how pandemic-related disruptions to human activity temporarily improved some environmental indicators while worsening plastic contamination.
Effects of COVID-19 on coastal and marine environments: Aggravated microplastic pollution, improved air quality, and future perspective
Researchers conducted a comprehensive review of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected coastal and marine environments between 2020 and 2023. The study found that pandemic-related waste, particularly personal protective equipment, significantly increased microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems, while lockdowns temporarily improved air quality. Evidence indicates that the environmental legacy of COVID-19 includes lasting microplastic contamination that will require long-term mitigation strategies.
Plastic and its consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers examined the dual role of plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic — as life-saving material in medical and personal protective equipment and as an environmental pollutant when improperly discarded — highlighting how pandemic-driven plastic use worsened water body contamination and public health risks.
The Post-pandemic Impact on Nature and the Need for Sustainable Recovery Strategies
This review examines the dual environmental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting short-term improvements in air and water quality due to reduced industrial and transport activity while warning that without sustainable recovery strategies, pollution levels will quickly rebound and exceed pre-pandemic baselines.
Impacts of COVID-19 on the Aquatic Environment and Implications on Aquatic Food Production
This review examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected aquatic environments, finding that while reduced human activity temporarily improved water quality, the surge in plastic and biomedical waste created new contamination threats to aquatic ecosystems and food production.
A Review of the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Solid Waste Management
This review examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on solid waste management systems globally, highlighting how increased medical waste, face mask disposal in waterways, and disrupted collection services created new pollution burdens, while pandemic-related lockdowns also produced temporary environmental benefits including reduced carbon emissions.
Understanding of environmental pollution and its anthropogenic impacts on biological resources during the COVID-19 period
Researchers reviewed how the COVID-19 pandemic intensified plastic pollution across terrestrial, marine, and atmospheric environments by driving surges in single-use plastics and inadequately managed medical waste, with plastic-related contamination projected to pose escalating transboundary risks through 2030 and beyond.
Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdown: National and Global Scenario
Researchers examined the environmental impacts of COVID-19 lockdown measures at national and global scales, analyzing how the curtailment of industrial, transportation, and economic activity affected air and water quality, waste generation, and ecological conditions across 213 affected countries.
A sustainable trend in COVID-19 research: An environmental perspective
This review analyzes the sustainable research trends linking COVID-19 and the environment, examining how the pandemic affected environmental conditions including increased plastic waste from personal protective equipment and medical supplies.
SARS-CoV-2 variants and environmental effects of lockdowns, masks and vaccination: a review
Researchers reviewed how COVID-19 control measures — lockdowns, face masks, and vaccination — affected environmental pollution, finding that while lockdowns improved air quality, the surge in disposable mask waste and cold-chain vaccine logistics introduced new environmental burdens.
Microplastics and other emerging contaminants in the environment after COVID-19 pandemic: The need of global reconnaissance studies
This review examines how COVID-19 pandemic waste, including disposable masks, gloves, and disinfectants, has increased microplastic and chemical contamination in the environment. These contaminants enter waterways through improper disposal, wastewater plants, and surface runoff. The study calls for global monitoring to understand the full impact of pandemic-related pollution on ecosystems and human health.
Plastic pollution induced by the COVID-19: Environmental challenges and outlook
Researchers used bibliometric analysis to map research on plastic pollution generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that wealthier nations led early inquiry while developing countries followed, and revealing that pandemic-related plastics — from masks to medical waste — are creating cascading contamination from land to ocean to atmosphere.
Increased pollution due to COVID-19 pandemic and bioremediation: A dire need of management
This review examines how the COVID-19 pandemic increased plastic pollution — particularly from PPE and single-use plastics — and discusses bioremediation strategies for cleaning up the resulting environmental contamination. The authors assess both short-term cleanup approaches and long-term strategies for preventing the accumulated pandemic plastic waste from becoming a persistent source of microplastic pollution. The review covers microbial and plant-based remediation options.