Amid complete lockdown, major cities in India witnessed clear blue skies on Tuesday. A complete lockdown in the country and enforcement of drastic measures to curb the spread of coronavirus has resulted in localised improvement of air quality.
With almost no industrial units working or vehicles plying on the road, the air quality index has improved drastically in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai. According to System of Air Quality and Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), both PM 2.5 and PM 10 pollutants in Mumbai are in "satisfactory" category and stood at 55 and 92, respectively. In Delhi, PM 2.5 pollutant is in "satisfactory" category at 104, while PM 10 pollutants is in "moderate" category at 104.
In Chennai, PM 2.5 pollutant is in "moderate" category at 65. On the other hand in Kolkata, PM 2.5 pollutant is in in "poor" category at 113, while PM 10 pollutants is in "satisfactory" category at 55.
The quality improved after the government imposed one-day curfew in the country and thereafter put it under a complete lockdown. On Monday, the observations undertaken by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) also showed that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels reduced significantly during the lockdown in both China and Italy.
"Efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic have reduced economic activity and led to localised improvements in the air quality. But it is too early to assess the implications for concentrations of greenhouse gases, which are responsible for long-term climate change," the statement by WMO further added.
(Inputs from Agencies)
