Amid the COVID-19 lockdown, rising cases and deaths, one thing that the citizens can take heart is the improved air quality index which is down to less than 50 in many parts of the country, a number that had stood at 222 a couple of months back in Delhi-NCR. SHALINI SAKSENA speaks with experts to tell you more
Back in the 70s, 80s and even 90s, there was a time when azure sky was a norm. Then everything changed. Globalisation opened doors and the almost empty roads and no traffic snarls soon became a thing of the past. Soon the air quality index was touching 1,000 and beyond and many people ended up with several breathing problems.
Cut to March 25, 2020. Clear blue skies, a smattering of stars in the night sky and a clear view of the Capital for miles on end from the roof top without the usual haze is what Delhiites are waking up to since the lockdown. While the circumstances that have led to the present situation is extremely unfortunate given that the number of COVID-19 cases as of April 4, 2020 stands at 3,474 and deaths at 91, there are a few numbers that are falling and people can take heart from it and breathe easy due to improved air quality.
According to a data by SAFAR (March 30, 2020), the Capital has seen a reduction of 63 per cent in NOx and 49 per cent fall in PM2.5. Mumbai too witnessed a decrease in numbers — NOx 57 per cent down and PM2.5 down by 53 per cent, Pune: NOx stands at reduced percentage of 55 and PM2.5 at 38 per cent.
According to Anumita Roychoudhary, associate director general at the Centre for Science and Environment, the overall air pollution levels have dropped sharply after the lockdown because vehicles, factories, construction has stopped. “We don’t want to depend on this kind of emergency to bring this change. But this crisis has proved that if health risk perception can provoke emergency response it can galvanise far reaching changes. Collective community action during this pandemic has forced us to reinvent solutions to reduce our vulnerability to toxic risk. We have made massive lifestyle adjustments to practice social distancing,” Roychoudhary says.
She tells you that whether this crisis induced change can throw up long-term solutions to air pollution is a question that we need to address. This means that we have to make systemic changes to institutionalise some of the emergency responses in terms of maximising potential of digital world to alter the concept of workplace, scale up public transport options to reduce vehicle miles travelled and personal vehicle numbers, roll out electric mobility to move towards zero emissions, ensure zero tolerance for non-compliance with emissions control regulations and standards, among others, only then post pandemic period can gain from this short term breather from emergency action.
“Health risk associated with the ongoing air pollution problem also needs emergency response. There are concerns that during post pandemic period, it will be business as usual and pollution will go out of control once again. But people need to understand that air pollution kills 1.2 million people and makes many more ill annually. This requires similar emergency response and public support for strong action. This pandemic has also brought to light the evidence that air pollution increases vulnerability to pandemic because poor air pollution has already compromised lungs and overall health of people. It is important to deepen awareness and public understanding of this connection and overall health risk associated with air pollution to build the momentum for hard action. We need strong and sustained action across regions and give our national clean air programme effective teeth,” Roychoudhary says.
Environmentalist BS Vohra tells you that the reduced AQI levels has one message to give. “It was all manmade. It was our fault that we allowed polluted industries to function and we allowed vehicular pollution to reach levels that people in Delhi were choked. Nature has given us a strong message — when we try and correct the wrong — when we stop things that create pollution — things change for the better,” Vohra says.
Also, there is now no scope of ambiguity. “Today, we know the exact reason for the high AQI levels. Earlier, there were many studies that threw up different reading on what was contributing to the air pollution. Now, we know the real reason. We are being told that the mistake was ours and we need to take corrective action,” Vohra tells you.
He paints a dismal picture if we don’t learn the lesson this lockdown has taught us. “First, the lockdown was not something that human did to combat air pollution. It was forced due to COVID-19. The improved AQI doesn’t mean man has done something. If the virus has not been there, things would be as it was before. There would have been no improvement in AQI levels. Second, there is going to be no long-term impact. If today, the lockdown is opened, it would not take more than a fortnight for things to be back to what they were. The AQI is going to shoot up once again if we allow the industries to work at the same pace and just as many vehicles to ply on the roads,” Vohra says.
Dr Gufran Beig, chief project scientist, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology tells you that they have put up data of the last two years to compare the NOx levels and PM 2.5 in the four SAFAR cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. “This lockdown has given us chance to validate inventory emission levels. Once we are back to normal, we will be in a position to combat pollution levels. It is unfortunate that COVID-19 has forced this situation on us but it has made it possible for us to correct the earlier findings and provided us an opportunity to set our priorities right for the future,” Beig explains.
Besides the AQI, another pressing question staring at us is whether this will have an impact on the climate. Beig tells you that when one studies climate, one looks at a long-term impact. He tells you that it is early days but some ongoing international studies suggest that there may be changes. “Some changes are taking place in the air circulation leading to faster recovery of the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. But these are early days to reach any concrete conclusions for now,” Beig says.
Prarthana Borah, India director, Clean Air Asia, that propagates reduced economic activity as a strategy for reduced air pollution, tells you that what is encouraging is that sectors will now think of reorganising activities to benefit air quality and use new technology like virtual platforms to replace existing ways of work, travel and conducting business which may lead to a positive impact on air quality.
“We don’t need something as drastic as the fear of death from a pandemic caused by a virus as a solution to air pollution. We must try to understand that while air quality has improved it has improved due to the complete absence of economic activity be it traffic -- road, rail, air, stopping of construction and industry and any other polluting activity. This can never have a long-term impact as we can’t envisage a world of no economic activity. In the last week, PM2.5 was as low as 35 and PM 10 between 55 and 70. This means while it is not as good as the WHO standards, we are capable of having a baseline that meets the national ambient AQ standards. This will guide the process of targets we need to set for ourselves with increased economic activity and how much of this increase matches with achieving the 20-30 per cent decrease in air pollution levels we want to achieve,” Borah opines.
She tells you that it is easy to maintain the present AQI levels once things are back to normal. “What we need is to figure out the right way to reduce our negative impact on the environment. For this we need regulations that limit our activities. We need to set targets and then work on restricting or improving economic activity by introducing the right technologies that will continue to restrict air pollution. Once these quantitative figures are in place it will be easier to work on developmental work that prioritise clean air targets. However, there is also a danger that priorities post COVID-19 will be different and many other pressing issues like air pollution and climate change may take a back seat. We can already see this in the postponement of the 2020 COP Climate talks. The same may be with air as cities will be battling with COVID-19 recovery and it may take some time for them to start talking about air,” Borah says.
The lockdown has left its mark on wildlife as well. There are several videos on social media doing the rounds where people have filmed a civet in Kerala, deer in Haridwar, Nilgai roaming the deserted streets of Noida, leopard spotted in Chandigarh and a pod of dolphins spotted along the seashores of Mumbai. There are many who believe that since humans are now confined to their homes, this is Nature’s way of claiming what was its territory.
According to Dr Ravi Chellam, CEO, Metastring Foundation & director of Mission Secretariat, National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Well-being, this is one of way of viewing it.
“It does tell us about the remarkable resilience of Nature to come back if we give it the slimmest of opportunity. It is time that we humans recognise, accept and work with the fact that we are part of Nature and it is the foundation for our existence and development. There is a price to pay for destroying Nature and the cost will always be higher than any projected economic benefit. Even places like Chernobyl which was abandoned after the nuclear disaster became a thriving wildlife habitat. Nature is very resilient and when given an opportunity it would try to re-colonise and make a comeback,” Chellam says.
Pawan Sharma, founder of Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare, based out of Mumbai agrees with Chellam and tells you that one can say that is partially true that Nature’s way to take back what was rightly its.
“There is need to co-exist with the animals. Till now they co-exited with us, now it is our turn to give back. What we are witnessing that had led to the lockdown is the damage human intervention can do. Nature has its way to balance itself out. We had only read it in books but today we are living it. It is time to slow down. In our quest to develop we destroying Nature but development and conservation needs to go hand-in-hand. Animals don’t understand manmade boundaries. Man has encroached on their habitat and damaged it. Since there is no disturbance now, animals are curious and are out exploring,” Sharma says.
Chellam is quick to point out that reports of wild animals roaming the streets need to be viewed in the right perspective. “Even before the lockdown it was not unusual to see lions, leopards, elephants, gaur, rhino, many species of deer and antelopes including nilgai and blackbuck, many other smaller mammals like jackals, mongoose, many reptile species including monitor lizards, different species of snakes, many species of birds including large ones like Sarus cranes, either on or by Indian roads. These sightings were when things were normal. With the lock down, human presence and disturbance has gone down drastically and hence we are getting to see these animals much more frequently and also more often during day time,” Chellam explains. There are several reasons why these animals are in the cities to begin with.
First, many of these animals live around cities and their habitat may be fragmented by the city and hence they would be using the city for passage from one part of their habitat to another which would have been difficult when there was traffic and human presence. It should not be forgotten that it is we humans who have settled in wildlife habitats and in some sense, we are the intruders and not the animals. Second, could be that the city offers resources, primarily food (mostly in the form of garbage and food plants in our gardens and parks), domestic animals including dogs and pigs and water. It is also important to understand that these animals haven't settled in the urban areas. They are only using it for some time.
Chellam sees a way forward. “It is absolutely crucial that humanity learns the right collective lessons from this pandemic. It would be a huge mistake to revert to business as usual once the worst of the pandemic is over or a vaccine is developed. If we continue to develop in ways that destroy Nature and pollute the environment and without compassion for all fellow human beings, such tragedies are only bound to be repeated. We have to recognise that we live in an inter-connected world not just with citizens of other countries but equally if not more importantly with Nature and all species that occur in the wild. We need to completely re-prioritise and invest more in restoration of Nature and functional ecosystems, basic but very essential needs of all people like health, sanitation, adequate nutrition, safe housing and education instead of grandiose infrastructure projects and the military. The re-prioritised development model will enable much greater levels of equity, much more sustainable development and build resilience,” he tells you.
