SSC Selection Post 2022 PYQ — Question 5

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.
Amidst the corona pandemic, particularly during the lockdown phase, some positive effects
were observed on the wildlife. During the lockdown phase, animals had an increased and
uninterrupted territory. In some areas, wild animals were seen on roads and in residential
areas. Less traffic, less human intervention and less pollution gave space to wildlife to thrive.
It was definitely a rare phenomenon on the roads. Wildlife re-entered the areas snatched from
them. However, these positive and negative impacts were transient and were largely
observed during the complete lockdown phase only.
Some of the worst sufferers of the pandemic are stray animals like dogs and cats. They are
no longer able to survive on waste food material from restaurants and shops because of
shops being closed. Also, they are being abandoned by their owners due to unfounded fears
that they may spread COVID-19. The worst possibility is that the stray animals might eat
disposed masks and gloves, which can become lethal.
Overall although a few positive impacts of COVID-19 on the environment were seen, these
were the short-term effects induced largely by the nation-wide lockdown. Indeed, the
pandemic is expected to pose long-term adverse effects on the environment in future.
Some of the gravest long-term effects of corona are the dangers posed to the environment.
These are: the phenomenal increase in the use of chemicals that abound in hand wash and
sanitizers; the extensive use of plastic by way of masks and gloves; the huge amount of
hospital waste; and finally the effect of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications
that get into lakes, rivers and streams which ultimately pollute our waters. All these will
eventually contribute to a tremendous increase in environmental pollution.