Locals in Jalandhar, Punjab, (200 kilometers away) shared many images of the snow-capped Himalayan mountain range claiming that they can now see them after a very long time.
14 Indian cities out of 20 feature in the world’s most polluted cities in a 2019 World Air Quality Report. However, with the 21 day lockdown to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus infection, COVID-19, there has been a significant reduction in air pollution across the country (see our complete news on this).
The famous environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, 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.
He added that industry and transport being shut down “has helped bring the pollution level to unbelievably low levels.’
According to a report from the India Today Data Intelligence Unit, “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.”
The claim on news and social media that the ranges have been seen after 30 years has been found to be anecdotal or plain ‘Chinese whispers’.
