Lockdown benefits - clear skies, clean Yamuna in Delhi

As the country entered its 11th day of the 21-days lockdown, there has been a significant improvement in the quality of the air and water including the Yamuna River in the national capital, Delhi. India has been placed under a three-week lockdown since March 24, 2020, where over 130 crore people have been restricted in their homes to stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. The deadly virus that was first reported on January 30, 2020, in the country has claimed 68 lives with 2,902 lives being infected across India.

Normal life has been affected during this time, but a positive picture of the lockdown amidst all the difficulties is that during this time the air and water of the cities have become absolutely pure. The improvement in the Ganges has seen a significant improvement since enforcement of the country-wide restriction that has reportedly led to a reduction in the dumping of industrial waste into it as factories have been completely closed. Due to the closure of the factories, their dirty water is also not going into the rivers.

In Ganga-Yamuna, the level of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), has come down to 2.1. Due to the decreasing BOD level, the water of Ganga-Yamuna now looks completely blue.

The PM-10 level in the air i.e. Air Quality Index (AQI) has also reached the best level of the last few years. The AQI is 60 in Delhi at the moment which reaches over 600 during the Diwali.

Yamuna has never seen this colour in decades and we bring you the pictures of clear skies, the clean Yamuna in Delhi.