Air Pollution in India - A Silver Lining to COVID-19
With all the horrible news coming out about the COVID-19 global pandemic, there is still some room for positive news. Parts of the world where pollution has been at toxic and dangerous levels are experiencing an environmental cleanse. One of the countries experiencing this positive side effect is India, where air pollution is typically the worst in the world.
New Delhi, India’s capital, typically faces the worst of the air pollution in the country. For the Delhiites, breathing in the air over one day is equivalent to smoking about 50 cigarettes. The dirty air arises from a mix of weather conditions, urban emissions, and rural smoke that converges over India’s capital regions. One of the biggest emitters of pollution is vehicles, which contribute anywhere from 40% to 80% of the pollution each year. Another big emitter is stubble burning, which is when leftovers from the previous harvest are burned to clear the fields and restore the nutrients for the next year's crops. Pollutants such as sulfates, nitrates, and black carbon are in this dirty air. Exposure to such particles has been linked to lung and heart disorders and can impair cognitive and immune functions.
In recent days, pollution levels in India have begun to go down dramatically. The reduction in cars on the road and planes in the sky, along with lowered emissions from various shuttered businesses have reduced air pollution levels by 71% in just one week. According to Earthwatch, on March 20, the air had an unhealthy 91 micrograms per cubic meter, and by March 27th, the number fell to 26 micrograms per cubic meter. According to the World Health Organization, anything below 25 micrograms per cubic meter is considered safe. So for the first time in years, India’s pollution levels are reaching an acceptable range. Recent heavy rains in the country have also contributed to the reduction in harmful particles.
It should not take a global health pandemic for India to reduce its toxic air quality. Hopefully the country’s leaders will take this as an opportunity to revisit how they monitor and make improvements to their pollution reduction efforts. Otherwise, levels are likely to return to unhealthy levels as soon as the virus crisis is over.