Where are those days right now where one woke up suddenly and stared at the ray of bright sunshine? In a year where nothing’s quite gone right for anyone, Pandemic, Coronavirus, Fatalities, Job Loss, Shrinking Economy being the most commonly heard phrases, there was something else too that stood out. Something that’s had a positive effect on all of us already consumed by harsh clouds.
It was air quality- don’t you think? With the lockdown being in full swing, it wasn’t hard to note why the quality of air, particularly in New Delhi, was clear and gave us something to cheer about.
There being no cars with next to no public or private movement, all that blossomed in the national capital was the air quality in Delhi. That being said, it hurts to note that with the city and its NCR region reopening, the big positive of the city is dwindling gradually. What do you think?
In fact, so much so that, at present, the air quality in Delhi, has been declared ‘poor.’ Surely, doesn’t help to note that having seen much better days in the past, literally speaking, even that pleasure is being taken away from the denizens of India’s beating heart.
Furthermore, the condition is such that even as full-blown winters are yet to arrive, the air quality in Delhi isn’t showing signs of improvement. Among the contributing factors to this unwanted scenario happen to be stubble burning in the state of Punjab. Add to it, the frustration- yes, there’s no other word- that there aren’t too many in the city who seem determined to opt for the change.
And just what is that change? Not too hard to note electric cars. Is India not making them? Is the national capital of the city not already overburdened with cars of all types? Where’s the shakeup among people toward the realisation that perhaps it is about time we took a good hard look at ourselves? And only so we could realise the damage we’ve extolled upon the city’s roads, parks, avenues, and every little space where life breeds in various forms, but now faces a threat since we don’t want to change or follow certain basic hygiene standards that allow change to happen?
Meanwhile, here’s what NDTV had to say about the dwindling air quality in Delhi:
Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 251 at 10 am. The 24-hour average AQI was 315 on Thursday, the worst since February 12 (AQI 320).
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
A senior scientist at weather department said the dip in pollution levels was likely because of an improvement in the wind speed (up to 10 kilometres per hour).
Going forward, one would hope that the factors that can be looked after, which already are stress points, do not come into play. These are important pointers like farm fires. Need to be done away with provided one can find sustainable and workable solutions to fix the problem amicably.
The only hope now is to see the air quality in Delhi returning to a state of normalcy, though one’s not sure how soon.