The year 2020 did not portend well for humanity for myriad reasons. Even when we are at the fag end of this disastrous year, the entire world is still reeling under a virus-induced pandemic and is not likely to vanish any time soon. The Spanish Flu was a virulent pandemic that wracked the entire world and caused more than 500 million deaths. It is estimated that the pandemic during the First World War wiped out a third of the total world population from the face of the earth. The bubonic plague that erupted in Europe in the 14th century was equally deadly resulting in more than 200 million fatalities. The Corona pandemic pushed 300 million people or 90% of the total population to hitherto unprecedented quarantine. By March, the world's second most populated country India with its 1.3 billion people too entered into a nationwide locked down. The world had come to a standstill. Metropolis cities like Tokyo, New York, London, Moscow, and Delhi which were once a beehive of activity was relegated to a cesspool. The streets bereft of its constant flock of people were reduced to a widow's weeds. Schools, theatres, parks, offices, industrial centers, manufacturing units, technology hubs, gymnasiums, theatres, temples and churches, and all other public gathering spaces were shut down. Consumption reduced significantly, which in turn triggered a decline in production. Factories cut back on production; air-rail-road transportation was severely limited, tourism plummeted, and megacities went to an eerie slumber. Sure, all these grim realities looked very bleak originally, but something good was taking shape as well. Mother Earth got her much-required breather. Since air transport dwindled by 60-95%, the birds reclaimed their true home. With reduced consumption of fuel, power, and electricity, our environment began to heal from centuries of egregious manual misuse. When mobility reduced by 90%, our skies were clearer, our air less polluted, and our oceans less contaminated. When black sooty clouds receded and azure sky once again resurfaced, the world witnessed what was until now thought as impossible. Himalayan peaks were to be seen from a 200 km distance with the naked eye. The Mount Uludah in Istanbul was visible from 180 kilometers, and the Mount Elbrus could be seen from a distance of 240kilometers. Reduced transportation caused a 30% reduction in nitrogen dioxide pollution.
