Since the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), society has been forced to function in a new way, affecting our work lives, social lives and how we go about day-to-day living.
One of the unforeseen consequences has been the environmental impact. Neither global lockdown nor our behavior prior to the coronavirus are environmentally sustainable, but we can use data insights from such extreme conditions to plan for a more environmentally sustainable future. We’ve seen the impact of significantly reducing travel, tourism and industrial activity, we have also established and adapted our business models to support this. Can we use these data insights to forecast the impact of a smaller sustainable travel reduction alongside fuel alternatives?
Our ‘lockdown’ lifestyle has resulted in both reduced travel and industrial activity, leading to a decrease in air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and other fine particles. A reduction in tourism has resulted in animals and sea life returning to their natural habitats. There have been reports of fish returning to the waters of Venice and increased bird song in large cities.
Prior to the pandemic the environment was in a state of global emergency, but since lockdown, key industrialised locations around the world have witnessed environmental recovery. NASA noted a significant decrease in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) over China. This reduction was initially noted around the Wuhan area, but as quarantine locations spread over the country, so did the reduction in NO2. NASA has commented on previous significant events that have resulted in a drop in NO2. The 2008 economic recession resulted in a gradual decrease in NO2 levels in some countries. The Beijing 2008 Olympics led to a small reduction, but this was localised to the city and soon rose again after. Neither of these cases have shown environmental impacts as significant as those found in our current situation.
Data scientists are already creating models for varying scenarios to predict future CO2 levels, incorporating policy and lifestyle decisions at a macro level. If we incorporate our current lifestyle into these models, we can establish a clear plan moving forward. However, public and government buy-in is crucial. If world leaders put climate change in the back seat during economic re-stimulation, the potential lessons learnt from our current experience will go un-utilised and a great opportunity to use data to help the environment missed.
Meet Victoria
Victoria Palmer, Advisor Data Science, has a MSci Mathematics from the University of Exeter (UK) where she developed a range of technical skills and experience within mathematical modelling. Recent projects include Network Rail (UK) performance improvement working as the sole data analyst specifically within the Southern region of NR, and key contributor in the wider Network Rail performance team. Victoria also worked to identify asset management improvement opportunities and subsequent reduced expenditure for a MOD sites across the UK. She conducted a wide spread exploratory analysis of asset data to pinpoint key areas of improvement. For more information, please contact Victoria Palmer at Victoria.Palmer@ghd.com.
