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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment

For instance, a study was conducted on the river Damodar, located in the Jharkhand state in India, in January 2021, revealing a significant change of the water quality during the pandemic. In the pre-lockdown period, the Water Pollution Index (WPI) of all samples from the river fell between 1.59 to 2.46, indicating a high level of pollution. In contrast, during the lockdown the WPI for water samples ranged from 0.52 to 0.78, indicating that most samples were either ‘good water’ type or of the ‘moderately polluted water’ category. The significant change in WPI demonstrates that due to the shutdowns of heavy industries, there was a reduction in toxic pollutants; thus, increasing the water quality.