Environmental impact of the war in Ukraine

Hello dear friends.

We are all attentive to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we are shocked to see the devastation caused by the incessant bombardment and alarmed to hear of the death toll and displaced persons resulting from the conflict. But such incidents not only leave death and destruction during their duration, but also have effects on health and the environment that may be felt long after the conflict has ceased.

The war in Ukraine will also have severe effects on the environment. Source: Wikimedia.org.

We can start by saying that since the beginning of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in the Donbas region, this territory not only suffers the consequences of contamination caused by bombs and ammunition, but also leaks of toxic chemicals have been registered from industrial facilities abandoned after the conflict, recently the Ukrainian military intelligence reported that an industry occupied by the Russian army did not have proper control of ammonia containers that were delivered there, and due to airtight breaches the product is being released into the atmosphere.

Not to mention that separatists have already in the past bombed the chlorine gas reserves of a water treatment plant in order to ruin the local water supply, not to mention the ecological and human damage that could be caused by a cloud of chlorine gas dispersing around the treatment plant and as far as the wind will carry it.

Now more recently we see that fighting is taking place in the cities of Kiev, Kharkiv and Mariupol, and Russian artillery is shelling not only residential and urban areas, but also industrial complexes and nuclear plants, which if set on fire by the attacks can release a significant amount of toxic and even radioactive substances into the air; so the bombs are not only causing immediate death and destruction, but threaten to leave contaminated air and water whose effects on residents could be felt even long after the conflict is over.

Attack on industrial facilities threatens to pollute the air. Fuente: pxhere.com.

On the other hand, Ukraine, as a highly industrialized country, already had poor air quality, with a pollution index 3.8 times higher than the WHO recommended value. And it is understandable that in times of war air quality monitoring is not a priority for Ukrainians, let alone implementing mitigation and emission control programs. So in these cities they will soon have to face even more complex air pollution, as in addition to their poor air quality they will have to deal with the effects of explosions and fires that spew a large amount of particles into the atmosphere, from concrete and asbestos from buildings to heavy metals from industrial facilities.

Suffice it to mention that during the third day of the Russian military operation, local media reported the bombing and explosion of an oil base near the city of Vasilkov, and it is easy to imagine the amount of substances that were released into the atmosphere.

An oil depot fire can release hundreds of substances into the environment. Source: wikimedia.org

In short, right now both civilians and soldiers are breathing air with a more complex pollutant load than that caused by the simple burning of fossil fuels, it is truly a toxic soup that will have its effects on people's health in the long term, such as increased cases of asthma, pneumonia and acute bronchitis.

Another point to consider is that as a result of this conflict, the prices of some energy products, such as gas, have increased considerably, which may encourage the consumption of other fossil fuels such as coal for industrial purposes and electricity generation, which would make it very difficult, or almost impossible, to meet the goals of the Glasgow climate pact.

Who knows who will retain power in Donbas, and what will happen in the rest of Ukraine, but what is certain is that when the war conflicts end, the health systems, severely affected by the treatment of the victims, may have serious difficulties to assume the work of cleaning and recovering the quality of soil, water and air, which will generate another type of conflict.

This is why this type of conflict between nations is not only a tragedy for humanity, but also the potentiator of environmental problems that continue to affect people even after the bombs stop falling.

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Thanks for coming by to read friends, I hope you liked the information. See you next time.

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