The central government declared a three-week lockdown starting at 12am on 25th March 2020. The world’s most populated democracy came to a halt to combat the novel coronavirus infection, COVID-19. All forms of transport, construction and factories were shut down. Whilst this was a blow to economic activities – as with the rest of the world under the same conditions – there was much to rejoice over. One such occurrence was the clearing of the smoggy veil over many of the Indian cities, polluting not only the environment but the lungs of their inhabitants. As of 7th April, only 2 cities from India featured as the most polluted places in the world (a reduction by 12 cities), based on data from IQAir.
Fresh data:
The Lower the Air Quality Index (AQI) number the better the air quality.
‘Good’ quality air (0-50) was observed in 23 cities, while an additional 65 cities breathing ‘Moderate’ quality air (51-100).
According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Delhi witnessed a drop of PM2.5 (fine particulates that pollute our lungs) by 30% and Ahmedabad and Pune saw a 15% reduction.
Nitrogen oxide pollution which causes increased risk of breathing issues – released mainly due to motor vehicles – saw a reduction. A 43% reduction was seen in Pune, 38% in Mumbai and 50% in Ahmedabad.
Jyoti Pande Lavakare, co-founder of the NGO ‘Care for Air’ said that, “the low AQI and blue skies proved beyond doubt that a lot of the air pollution” was created as a result of human activities.
The capital city, New Delhi before and after:
Monthly data from AQICN, reveals that on January 2020 we have spent 2 days with a ‘Hazardous’ AQI (300+), 13 days of ‘Very Unhealthy’ (201-300), 10 days of ’Unhealthy’ (151-200) and the 5 remaining days in ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’ range (101-150).
Contrary to this, in the month of March 2020, we have experienced AQI of 100-150 and below for 26 days. We had ‘Unhealthy’ air only for 5 days – an AQI ranged within 150-175 – before the lockdown was announced on the 24th of March. The March AQI results averaged across the Delhi regions showed drastic improvements in air quality. It must be noted that essential services – such as goods transportation – are still active in the country.
To put this into perspective, in 2014, Paris declared an emergency when AQI PM2.5 levels crossed 75, leading to an odd/even ban on vehicles – reducing pollution by 20%. In contrast, during the same year, New Delhi’s average annual AQI was 3 times that of Paris: 226.
Clean air helps vulnerable groups against coronavirus
In 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that 7 million people die prematurely every year because of air pollution (). Adding to this, more recent studies in March 2019 reveal that the human cost of lives is closer to 8.8 million per year. There is a strong link between pneumonia-related mortality and transport vehicle emissions.
India has the highest deaths due to chronic respiratory illnesses and the most deaths from asthma in the world. According to Sundeep Salvi, director of Chest Research Foundation in Pune, “half of all visits to doctors in India” are for respiratory issues. Lavakare emphasized that air pollution weakens the lungs, so countries like India with higher pollution and lower nutrition levels will be affected more by COVID-19 – mortality is likely to be higher. In evidence of what Lavakare had mentioned, a new study published by Harvard University on 7th April has established a direct link between pollution and COVID-19. For example, the study concluded that people living for decades in a region with high levels of PM2.5 were 15 percent more likely to die from the novel coronavirus.
However, at present, cleaner air in Indian cities may be a strong ally in the battle against the novel coronavirus which affects the respiratory system of infected individuals. Cleaner air will help vulnerable groups such as asthmatics. According to Pankaj Sayal, a pulmonologist in Delhi, “We are now able to treat asthmatic patients with minimum medications.” He added that he had a reduction in complaints by 20-30% than he normally would.
With such a large scale lockdown on human activities, the costs are steep. However, clean air comes as welcome gift, even if it is a country wide respite for only 21 days. Lavakare has also mentioned that “slowing down the economy to such a degree is not the ideal way to bring down air pollution, but at least it proves that it can be done. We can achieve the same outcome by doing this mindfully, using technology and low-emission alternatives.”
Note: If you have ideas or suggestions for cleaning up the air pollution in India, especially PM2.5, please get in touch with us here – contact us.
