Scientists have found that the levels of two major air pollutants drastically reduced globally since lockdowns began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a secondary pollutant -- ground-level ozone -- has increased in China.
The earth has been healing itself while we stay locked down in our houses. There are reports of Ganges water being sparkling clean, the Himalayas being visible from towns in Punjab, ozone layer sealing, air quality index improving significantly. All this shows the power nature possesses to make things right. It also gives us an opportunity.
After the hypnotizing sight of Dhauladhar mountain range, people on Twitter started coming up with edited pictures and jokes of various places like Canada, solar system, Burj Khalifa, Karachi, Eiffel Tower being visible from their windows and porch.
The mercury in the national capital dropped slightly on Thursday due to overcast skies and light rains in parts of the city.
India has once again topped the annual list of cities with the worst air quality in the world. According to a new report by AirVisual, which monitors international air pollution, 21 of the world's 30 cities with the worst air pollution are in India.
The air pollution level on Wednesday in Delhi-NCR stood at the 'poor' category. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was at 273, said the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
The pollution level in the national capital on Monday stood in the "very poor" category as the Met forecast thunderstorm with lightning by Wednesday.
The minimum temperature in the city settled at 6.1 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's normal.
Air quality of the national capital improved on February 06.
The raging Australian bushfires, one of the worst in its history, has killed at least 26 people, burned over 10 million hectares of land, destroyed over 2,000 homes and pushed many species towards extinction.
As the National Capital (NCR) witnessed shallow fog in several parts after the temperature dipped two degrees below, At least 26 Delhi-bound trains were delayed on Saturday by one to five hours due to severe fog in several parts of northern India.
The national capital recorded an above normal maximum temperature for the second consecutive day on Thursday after remaining in the grip of a prolonged cold spell, the longest since 1992. The city recorded a high of 23 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal, and a low of 4.6 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal.
The city recorded a low of 9.5 degrees Celsius and a high of 18 degrees Celsius, which was three notches below the normal. The government's air quality monitoring and forecasting service, SAFAR, said "huge" accumulation of pollutants occurred last night.
The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 179 at 9.45 am which falls in the "moderate" category as against 316 on Friday morning. The AQI recorded in Ghaziabad was 264, Greater Noida 241, Noida 254, Gurgaon 165, the Meteorological (MeT) department said.
Overnight rains in Delhi that continued till Friday morning, bought down the mercury and led to a significant improvement in the city's air quality. The national capital, which received 33.5 millimetres of rain since Thursday, recorded a minimum temperature of 12.8 degrees Celsius.
Delhi had witnessed drastic improvement in the air quality in the last week of November as the AQI was recorded in double digits at the 'satisfactory' category, after being seeing few of the worst air quality days the same month.
Weather department officials said the city recorded a low of 7.9 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, and a high of 23.2 degrees Celsius. On Tuesday, the mercury had dipped to the season's lowest at 7.4 degrees Celsius.
A concerned city dweller wrote: "We're at the point where smoke in Sydney is so bad, experts are calling for air pollution shelters" One user commented; "This is like Kuala Lumpur in 1993 when rainforests were taken down for agriculture. This smoke is sickening!"
People are advised to take more breaks and do less intense activities. The asthmatics have been advised to keep medicines ready if symptoms of coughing or shortness of breath occur, the SAFAR said.
An AQI between 0-50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor" and 401-500 "severe". An AQI above 500 falls in the "severe plus" category.
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