There’s one person winning from the Coronavirus: Mother Nature.

  As the pandemic continues to sweep across the globe, countries are shutting down and going into quarantine. In the countries that have been hit the hardest like China and Italy, everyday life has come to a stop. Workplaces and schools have shut and there’s not a car on the road. 

  Mother Nature took the word “quarantine” a little differently than us humans. She’s using this time to take a breather from all the damage we done, hoping we’ll take the hint. 

  Since the outbreak, there has been a significant decrease in pollution levels. As a manufacturing powerhouse,  China contributes about 30% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions annually, making it the world’s biggest polluter and Mother Nature’s biggest enemy. Carbon dioxide emissions are tied to industrial activity, electricity production, and transportation. As China went into a nationwide quarantine, these activities stopped, and so did their emissions. 

  According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), from February 3 to March 1, there was a 25 percent drop in CO2 emissions due to measures related to the coronavirus. This is one of the most dramatic drops that essentially went into effect overnight. NASA scientists have reported seeing similar effects taking place in other countries, even the United States.

  San Francisco and New York City have been hit like a truck with the virus. With both cities under shelter-in-place orders, emissions have dropped significantly. San Francisco’s average concentration of fine particulate matter has dropped almost 40 percent below where it’s been for the past year. New York City saw a 28 percent decrease and Seattle a 32 percent. 

  Another unintended benefit has been in Venice, Italy: the canal city. As Italy continues to make efforts to limit the Coronavirus outbreak, there’s been an absence of boat traffic in the city’s waterways. Without the boat traffic, Venice’s once murky waters are clear and full of life. Pictures of fish swimming through the waters are circulating around social media, and there was even a rumor that there were dolphins swimming with them. 

  However, experts remind us that these improvements are only temporary. Once the pandemic passes and countries and economies reboot, so will their emissions, possibly reaching higher levels than before. Unless major societal or infrastructure changes are adopted, these accidental benefits will go back to the clouds they are.

  As climate change becomes more serious and permanent everyday, it continues to be overlooked as human’s faults. Mother Nature is dropping hints that when we stop with our everyday activities that hurt her, she thrives and helps us. These benefits are evidence that we are killing the planet and climate change is real. 

  Mother Nature just sent us all to our rooms because she got tired of us abusing her planet.