As air pollution plummets, Indians are posting photos of the Himalayas from 100 miles away
India is home to 21 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities.
Many of those cities have seen air pollution cut almost in half during the last two weeks the country’s citizens have been quarantined to their homes for the coronavirus pandemic.
As a result, the majestic Himalayan mountain range is visible from Punjab, over 100 miles away, for the first time in 30 years:
What nature really is and how we screwed it up.
This is Dhauladhar mountain range of Himachal, visible after 30 yrs, from Jalandhar (Punjab) after pollution drops to its lowest level. This is approx. 200 km away straight. #Lockdown21 #MotherNature #Global healing. pic.twitter.com/cvZqbWd6MR
— Diksha Walia (@Deewalia) April 3, 2020
With factories and office buildings shut down, cars off the roads and planes grounded, airborne particulate matter has settled, allowing Indians to breathe easier when they need clean, fresh air most.
Unfortunately, however, many of the country’s mountains (including Mount Everest) are closed to climbers, who would probably benefit greatly from the vitamin D and outdoor air.
Still, we’ll take all the silver linings we can get during these crazy times.