Abstract
Air and water are essential aspects of life on earth, and any changes in the quality have a significant impact on human beings. Although the current COVID-19 pandemic has some adverse effects on the environment, there are also some benefits from this pandemic. One of the significant positive effects of this pandemic is the Movement Control Order (MCO) that the environment had rejuvenated during this period. Many reports worldwide, including Malaysia, had reported that the air and water quality had shown some improvement. This paper reviews the impact of MCO on air and water quality in Malaysia. The MCO effects on air and water pollution were reviewed, highlighting the latest research carried out in these areas. The reviewed studies showed a positive effect on air and water quality in Malaysia, where it was improved to a great extent. For instance, there is a reduction in carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM) during the MCO period. As for the water quality studies, all the reviewed studies showed a remarkable improvement in the Water Quality Index (WQI), compared to before MCO. The review also shows that there are few studies on the effect of water quality during the pandemic, compared to air quality, probably because Malaysia is still under the MCO period.
