The SARS-CoV-2 (or COVID-19) lockdown in India, which started at an early stage of its infection curve, has been one of the strictest in the world. Air quality has improved in all urban centers in India, a major emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG). This study is based on the hypothesis that an abrupt halt in all urban activities resulted in a massive decline in NO₂ emissions and has also altered coastal nitrogen (N) inputs; in-turn, this affected the trophic status of coastal waters across the country. We present the first evidence of an overall decline in pre-monsoon chlorophyll-a, a proxy for phytoplankton biomass, in coastal waters off urban centers during the peak of the lockdown in April. The preliminary field data and indirect evidence suggests the reduction in coastal chlorophyll-a could be linked to a net decline in nutrient loading, particularly of bioavailable N through watershed fluxes and atmospheric deposition. The preliminary results stress the importance of a further understanding of the relationship between fluctuations in anthropogenic N, due to lockdown measures and coastal ecosystem responses, as countries open-up to a business-as-usual scenario.

Assessment of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) in the Chilika Lagoon, India, revealed a significant spatio-temporal variation in surface water (analysis of variance: n = 120, p < .01), whereas insignificant variation in sediment samples. The lagoon exhibited the highest PHC concentration during summer, attributed to higher boat activity and mixing of PHC from bottom sediment. For PHC in both the water of the lagoon and regions adjacent to jetties, the northern sector exhibited highest concentrations, followed by the southern, outer channels and central sectors, in order. The highest PHC level was due to the highest density of fishing boat operations and maintenance activities, as well as the resuspension of lake sediments across the shallowest region of the lagoon. The PHC found in the water and sediment in the jetty regions were relatively high in comparison to the rest of the lagoon, again attributed to the maintenance and operational activities of the motorised boats in the jetties. The sediment PHC concentration was ∼1000 times higher than the respective value for water, which could result from long-term deposition. The overall PHC concentration in the lagoon and jetties was found to be under the threshold limit and hence there is no risk to the existing biodiversity of the Chilika Lagoon.