It came. It spread. It conquered.
Ever since Wuhan reported its patient zero for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in November, 2019, the world has not been able to heave a sigh of relief. The virus has penetrated and continues to penetrate into receptacles of almost every country you can name – the burden being distributed asymmetrically. The streets have been deserted, flights and trains have been suspended, companies have come to a standstill, and the common man has been trapped inside the four walls of his own house – for a period of time that even the highest authorities are unable to state. Quarantine and social distancing have taken the role of those uninvited guests in our day-to-day life, who barge inside without a knock. Hygiene and sanitisation practices have taken birth as a new religion, while people all around are going frenzy over immunity boosting techniques. As healthcare and pharma giants worldwide struggle to find a potential cure, SMEs and start-ups are also joining forces and working round-the-clock amid this invisible battle – or rather microscopically-visible battle. Albeit, keeping the possibility of mass commercial availability of a viable vaccine at bay, let us break down and scrutinise the consequences of this pandemic on businesses – sector by sector.
Environment
While the peoples of the world are suffering, the planet Earth is healing. COVID-19 has portrayed shocking and unbelievable results on the environment. Due to the lockdowns imposed for suppressing coronavirus, the planned transportation reduced 75 per cent. As all the roads are almost empty, all the industries are almost closed, with only a handful of vehicles plying providing essential services; CO2 emission, fossil fuel emissions, oil refining, and petrol and coal consumption, have reduced drastically. China alone has reported 200 million metric tonnes fewer CO2 emission. CO2 emissions have reduced by eight per cent and air pollution globally has reduced 25 to 40 per cent, and may reduce even further if lockdowns continue. With flights ported and construction work at halt, the levels of noise pollution have also gone down significantly.Add alt text
For the first time in 50 years, the Mount Everest in Nepal was visible to the naked eye from 120+ miles away from Kathmandu valley.
Eighty-eight cities in India record cleaner air with cities that 30 cities earlier having Air Quality Index (AQI) of 201-300 having now improved to 101-200; 33 cities with earlier 101-200 having improved to 51-100; and 23 cities falling in 51-100 window now showing 0-50 AIQ. New Delhi was ranked as the ‘most polluted city’ in the world by WHO in May 2014, AIQ of around 200. Now, it is down by 23 steps. The skies are suddenly a rare piercing blue. Even India Gate, where blankets of fog used to make the sight of the monument blurry, is now a scenic clean picture. Ravina Kohli, environmentalist and part of the #MyRightToBreathe campaign, said it was a ‘huge wake-up call’ for governments obsessed with development at the cost of the environment.
Tens of thousands of flamingoes have gathered in the city of Navi Mumbai, and its the most heavenly sight ever. The birds normally migrate to the area every year, but never have they turned up in such a large numbers.
Critically endangered, South Asian River Dolphins also known as Ganges Dolphins have been spotted back in the Ganga river after 30 years. Due to the reduced pollution in water, the South Asian River Dolphins have been spotted at various Ganga Ghats of Kolkata.
For the first time in decades, water of river Ganga has been found fit enough for drinking purposes after decades, since the lockdown, anthropological activities in the vicinity of river have dropped to zero, revealed recent research by Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. This has enabled the river to breathe and unfurl its true form. The results have been tested the waters of the river on 28 parameters of Bureau of Indian Standards.Add alt text
No measures, no strategies, no efforts, no plannings, no wars, no battles, no recessions, no inflations, not even any epidemics, endemics, or pandemics in this entire century, have had such a phenomenal impact on the environment, that has been done in the last five to six months.
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Have I missed out on any major sector? Which sector do you belong to? Has COVID impacted your business positively or negatively? What are the KPIs that you would like to highlight in that impact? Would you like to share your inputs on this topic?
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