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Residents in north India’s Punjab—where a nationwide coronavirus lockdown has curtailed daily activity—shared a rare look at the snow peaks of the Himalayas, a view that has for decades been obscured by the state’s heavy air pollution.
- India, with 1.3 billion residents, is consistently rated as one of the worst polluted countries in the world, according to IQAir, but the coronavirus lockdown has eased the problem’s severity.
- Accompanying a significant dip in automobile and flight traffic, at least 85 Indian cities had cleaner air, one study reported, following the first week of the March 25 lockdown.
- In Jalandhar, Punjab, air quality received a “good” rating 16 out of 17 days post-lockdown—a feat not achieved even once during the same period last year.
- “If the air cleans up like this, forget mountain ranges, we may even see god soon,” one Twitter user joked.
- The Himalayan mountain range is the world’s highest and includes Mount Everest.
The snow-capped Himalayas are now visible for the first time in 30 years for residents in India's north. The beautiful mountains are 200kms away but have not been visible for decades due to high pollution levels. 📷: @covsinghtj pic.twitter.com/M3nNLBq4sr
— news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) April 8, 2020
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
This was the view from our rooftop at home in Punjab India. For the first time in almost 30 years could clearly see the Himalayas due to India’s lockdown clearing air pollution. Just amazing! 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/WmWZYQ68lC
— Manjit Kaur Kang (@KangManjit) April 3, 2020
Northern India have been left in complete awe by their new view. The snow-capped Himalayas are now visible for the first time in 30 years. The beautiful mountains are 200kms away but have not been visible for decades due to high pollution levels. 📷: TjSingh/Khawar S Khawaja pic.twitter.com/0DBAgB3pgd
— David Solomone (@threegoodlanefj) April 8, 2020
So my dad sent me this from our apartment balcony. For the first time since he was a teenager you can see the himalayas from jalandhar, punjab a 100 miles away! I didn’t even know this was possible 😍😍😍 pic.twitter.com/fd7am1JuoX
— jaadu-tuna (@simbha2012) April 4, 2020
