Having the world go on lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus is not easy. It is not a simple thing to take lightly. Businesses are financially suffering, mental health is suffering due to lack of social activities, and there simply is not a single person who is not affected by this situation in some way, shape or form.

While we were beginning to feel quite hopeless after suffering so many losses, we recently discovered one cool thing to come out of this: pollution has gone down in India by 71 percent (it is home to 21 of 30 of the most polluted cities in the world).

Pollution has majorly decreased because there are less cars on the road and all businesses and construction have been put on temporary hold. Essentially, there are no people or machinery outside to do all of the polluting!

Just when we were thinking that was the ultimate silver lining, there is actually another great, positive thing to come from this.

The Himalayas are now visible from other parts India.

Since there is less pollution in India, this also means that people can finally see the Himalayas from Jalandhar. There is less murky fog in the air, which is essentially clearing the sky and making the mountains seem more visible.

The snow-capped Himalayas are home to some of the highest points on Earth, including Mount Everest.

It is said that they can be seen from 200 kilometers away for the first time in thirty years.

Not only is India finally seeing a significant improvement in air quality, but they are literally seeing what is considered to be one of the most beautiful sights ever! Right in front of their eyes!

“We can see the snow-covered mountains clearly from our roofs. And not just that, stars are visible at night. I have never seen anything like this in recent times,” Mr. Seechewal said.

Photos of the Dhauladhar range have been shared numerous times all over the Internet, as everyone is so surprised.

“Never seen Dhauladar range from my home rooftop in Jalandhar..never could imagine that’s possible… Clear indication of the impact the pollution has done by us to Mother Earth,” Harbhajan Turbanator wrote on Twitter.

India has been on lockdown since March 22 due to the current pandemic.

“Not just normal traffic is off the roads, but most industry is also shut down. This has helped bring the pollution level to unbelievably low levels,” Mr. Seechewal shared.

“Data shows that on average, Indian cities had an AQI of 115 between March 16 and 24. The air quality started showing improvements from the first day of the 21-day lockdown. The average AQI fell to 75 in the first three days of the lockdown,” according to the India Today Data Intelligence Unit (DIU).

While this global health issue is less than ideal, it is encouraging to see a positive change come from it. It’s amazing that we’re even able to find a silver lining through all of this and this specifically, is an enormous problem to have fixed.

Let’s hope we can keep India’s air quality this great even after all of this is over!

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Source: SBS