I have been reading science fiction since the 1960s, and I assure you that many, many dystopian stories have used that idea. Indeed, the whole “it’s a lovely day out and yet we’re dying” (from radiation poisoning or disease or whatever) idea became a bit of a cliché in the 1970s.

I believe it was the Day of the Triffids (1951) where one of the characters not just comments on what a nice day it was, but wonders if the blue sky had something to do with the lack of air travel. In hindsight, this is so contemporary it hurts.

Great article overall!