Amidst the craziness of the coronavirus, it can be difficult to remember to stay positive. Even in the direst of circumstances, there is always a silver lining and something that can lift our hopes. While certainly not in the worst circumstances ever seen, people are still looking for something encouraging – and it looks like they found it!

The water in the Venice Canal has cleared up in the wake of the reduced traffic, due to coronavirus lockdown.

While some are going crazy having to sit inside all day, there are some benefits to taking every human off of the streets for a time. This is evident in Venice, Italy. With the lockdown in place, there has been a noticeable drop in environmental agitation and pollution! With the people inside, nature gets a chance to breathe.

Through satellite sensing, there has been a clear decrease in N02 levels in northern Italy.

The satellite Copernicus Sentinel-5P and its team measured that the reduced N02 in the Po Valley is most likely the result of reduced human pollution. Check out this satellite imaging from the satellite and team:

The Sentinel is one of the most accurate tools in use today, so there is a degree of accuracy that we can trust! It may be a wakeup call to see the reeducation of pollution after only a few weeks.

With Venice being one of the main tourist attractions across the country, it often faces the brunt of the side effects of tourism.

With trips being canceled and people no longer traveling due to the lockdown, there is a clear drop in tourism (there is none). Through this drop in tourism, the changes to the city are becoming more and more pronounced. Besides just the N02 levels decreasing, the air quality is better, and the canals are beginning to clear up!

With the canals clearing up, the locals can actually see to the bottom and are finding interesting things.

While the water is clearer, it’s not due to “improved water quality”.

One of the rumors that were being spread was that the water was clearer because the water pollution levels had dropped. The mayor chimed in to provide some insight into the phenomena.

The reason that the waters have cleared up had something to do with the reduced traffic from boats across the canals. With a lockdown and total lack of tourism, the sand and sediment had a chance to settle and show the wildlife contained within.

Little fish were revealed in the now clear canals.

With the clearer canals, people are starting to see the little fish that had apparently been there all along! Maybe there is some value in allowing the nature around us to have a break from us occasionally.

Facebook comments came rolling in with similar sentiment:

“Maybe there needs to be a yearly month-long lockdown every year so nature gets a break”

In all circumstances, don’t forget to look for the good.

With the fear present across the world, always keep a lookout for the things that can inspire us and lift our mood.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: Venezia Pulita, Bored Panda