India, a country well-known for its dirty air, with a population of nearly 1.4 billion people, has been under lockdown since March 22 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As the lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19 in India continues, pollution levels across the country have dropped considerably. Some locals who live roughly 200 kilometers away from the Himalayan mountains are even able to see the beautiful snow-capped mountains for their first time in 30 years.
One of the locals, Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, who has been working to raise awareness of environmental pollution for over 30 years, said:
We can see the snow-covered mountains clearly from our roofs. And not just that, stars are visible at night. I have never seen anything like this in recent times.
In 2019, IQAIR reported that India topped charts as having the world’s most polluted cities. Now, India’s Central Pollution Board says that air quality across the country has significantly improved due to the nationwide lockdown and Janta Curfew.
Seechewal added:
Not just normal traffic is off the roads, but most industry is also shut down. This has helped bring the pollution level to unbelievably low levels.
On March 22-23 there was a reduction of 44% in PM10 in Delhi, compared to the previous day. While in the entire country on average the air quality index improved by 33% from March 16-27, according to the India Today Data Intelligence Unit (DIU).
A DIU report wrote:
Data shows that on average, Indian cities had an AQI of 115 between March 16 and 24. The air quality started showing improvements from the first day of the 21-day lockdown. The average AQI fell to 75 in the first three days of the lockdown.
An AQI of up to 50 means air pollution poses little or no risk, while an AQI between 51 and 100 is moderate. According to WHO, the safe limit for air quality is for levels of PM2.5 below 20mg/m3, PM referring to the size of particulate matter in the air. During most of the year, India records five times higher than the global safe limit, with PM 2.5 levels higher than 100mg/m3 on average.
Harbhajan Singh, a former Indian cricketer, wrote on a Twitter post:
Never seen Dhauladar range from my home rooftop in Jalandhar. Never could imagine that’s possible. A clear indication of the impact the pollution has done by us to mother earth.
Official figures suggest the lockdown has not only dropped air pollution but also has helped keep the spread of COVID-19 under control. For now, the beautiful Himalayan mountains symbolize the kind of world that we will live in when we take responsibility for the health of our people and our planet.
