As India enters Lockdown 4.0, with new rules, economic packages for the distressed and considerable relaxations in certain zones, there are also fresh challenges staring at us. While the number of COVID-19 cases in India has crossed 1 lakh, experts say, the country will not reach a uniform peak, after all. Amidst the ongoing phases of the nationwide lockdown, the environment has benefitted largely at the cost of global economic slowdown. Ever since the lockdown was imposed by the Central Government, there has been a growing concern over lives and livelihoods in India. One of the sectors that has been hit hard is the fishery sector. Though the sector was eventually exempted from the lockdown restrictions, the COVID-19 scare had already inflicted a daily loss of ₹224 crore.

This month’s cover story ‘Climate Change, COVID-19 Burden India’s Fisherfolk’ looks into the challenges faced by the sector because of the onslaught of cyclones and the COVID-19. In 2019, India faced the brunt of 19 cyclones. This year, cyclone Amphan is predicted to unleash devastating effects on the states of West Bengal and Odisha. With most small-scale fish vendors living a hand-to-mouth existence, the article delves into the multiple issues of losses and recovery for the fishery sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to marked behavioural changes in professionals. Going forward, many companies are thinking of opting for work-from-home as a permanent arrangement. Twitter was amongst the first to declare that its employees can choose work-from-home as a long-term option. TCS has announced that 75 per cent of its workforce would be working from home by 2025. Remote working may have beneficial impact on air pollution, but it will present yet another challenge for the automobile industry. In this issue’s Green Challenges section, we examine the challenge faced by the automobile industry transition during a period when it is facing slump in demand, due to poor economic growth and the cascading effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, as well as the additional issues in India, due to the recent transition to Bharat VI emission norms.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no direct evidence between climate change and the coronavirus outbreak. However, it points out that ‘most emerging infectious diseases, and almost all recent pandemics, originate in wildlife’. In this month’s special report, ‘Destruction of Nature: Is it Responsible for the Emergence of Pandemics?’, we try to understand the origin and spread of infectious diseases that cause pandemic and pandemonium. The article discusses a new study by Stanford University, which says that deforestation is to blame for the spread of viruses such as the coronavirus.

Every year, World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5, which aims to instil awareness of environmental concerns and encourage necessary socio-political action. In an era of the COVID-19, let us consider this to be yet another opportunity for us to appreciate and value our relationship with Mother Nature and the web of life we inhabit.