New Delhi; The glad news gives rise to the hope that Delhi could see its cleanest winter in years.The residents of the national capital inhaled the cleanest air in more than five years, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) count settling at 41 .Delhi’s lowest reading since the pollution index came into being in April 2015, according to a report in the Times of India.This was the fourth such day in August when the AQI was 50 or below, which is considered to be ‘good’ in air quality-speak. Though the rainy months typically show lower pollution levels, this July was also among the cleanest July in record.
After Diwali, the air quality in Delhi and large swathes of north India typically drops to very harmful levels. Last year, in November, the AQI touched a meter-breaking 1,000 plus in Delhi, driven also by stubble-burning.Many environmentalists and other experts agree that the clean air is linked to reduced economic activity over the past several months due to the lockdowns of varying intensities that were put into place by the government to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But as Delhi goes through various stages of ‘un-lockdown’, many cars are back on the roads though perhaps not to the pre-lockdown levels of February.While some of the cleaner air could be because of better rain this season, the fewer people hitting the roads is certainly a contributing factor. Many migrant workers who left Delhi have not returned and industrial activity in and around Delhi is not 100 percent back to pre-lockdown levels.
Even though most lockdown restrictions have been lifted, a large number of people are continuing to work from home. Anecdotal evidence suggests that people are less inclined to go long distances within the city from their homes due to the pandemic.Many companies have already told their employees that they can continue working from home till the middle of next year.The HR departments of major companies are busy redefining a work culture that takes into account a large chunk of their employees working from home for the foreseeable future, even after COVID-19 has ended. This would automatically reduce the traffic on the roads.
These difficult months could also be a good time to implement policies such as promoting cleaner fuels and better public transport along with stricter environmental checks for factories and the construction industry so that we don’t return to our bad old ways.We also need to re-think our cities, to make them more sustainable for the entire population, including the poor. The ideas for change already exist, but now there has to be a sense of urgency to see them through. This is also an opportunity for companies to boost innovation in green energies. We need smart solutions to tackle stubble-burning.
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