We all feel the pressure of the world, or have, at least, in the last two years. With a global pandemic on our hands, our societies have been challenged in a way that we have yet to see. From individual lives to the lives of an entire country, the global pandemic has made our lives very difficult. 

There have been some clear side effects of the pandemic and they have little to do with health, but more with how our society changed. Here are some examples.

Education Has Suffered Immensely

This has been one of the largest impacts of the pandemic. According to statistics, at least 1.6 billion students have been pushed out of school, worldwide. This is an incredibly large number which shows that as a society, we have been unable to prepare for an event that would include not being physically present at schools.

Not only that, but countries have failed to adapt even after a period of one and half years into the pandemic. With education suffering as it is, there will be a stagnation in the following years.

Industries Have Slowed Down

Some industries have all but stopped, slowing down production to a rate which allows for safe work. Working in a large company became much harder than before. Safety precautions were implemented and that made working hours more difficult. Some industries have lost profit by a huge margin and congestion was introduced everywhere in the world. There was a lack of everything at a certain time, from plastic bags, toilet paper, flour, to semiconductor wafers. Some of these are still lacking as the industries are slow to recover and demand makes prices higher. That leaves people with a lot of money and inflation suddenly takes place.

People Going Into Poverty

With businesses closing and stopping almost all work, a lot of people had serious financial trouble during the lockdown periods of the pandemic. Around 255 million people are estimated to go into poverty by 2030 due to the effects of the pandemic. Extreme poverty has gone up several percent compared to 2019 and 2018. 

Not only are individuals being set back, but so are the businesses, huge companies and frankly, the entirety of the world.

The Climate Story

Climate change is a very real problem we have been facing for a while. Due to many industries stopping or slowing down, the transition to cleaner and more renewable energy and toning down on waste has been slowed down, as well. This will set us back decades, which is not good news for the climate, or us.

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has left us with challenges we are not likely to overcome in this year or the next. It serves as a warning to prepare for the future and plan better.