In India, under a 'national lockdown,' Himalaya observed for the first time in over 30 years: "What happened as air quality improved"

An Indian citizen announced through social networking service (SNS) that the Himalayas were observed from Punjab, India for the first time in about 30 years. / Photo by Twitter capture

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] As the Indian government has imposed a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the Himalayan mountain range has begun to be observed in some parts of India. This is due to the air becoming clearer as factories and automobiles stopped operating during the lockdown.

On the 10th (local time), according to 'CNN', residents of Punjab state in northern India shared photos of the Himalayas on social networking services (SNS) such as Twitter.

One citizen said, "I haven't seen the Himalayan peaks for decades, but they have recently started to become visible again," adding, "India has not been able to see the Himalayas clearly for 30 years due to severe air pollution. It's amazing."

Another citizen lamented, "This happened as pollution levels dropped to their lowest," and said, "We can see clearly hundreds of kilometers away. Why did we ruin nature like this?"

Earlier, on the 25th of last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown for three weeks until the 14th. During the lockdown, schools, transportation services, and industrial facilities were all closed, and residents were only allowed to go out for essential purchases.

As a result, factories stopped operating and automobile traffic was greatly reduced, improving air quality. According to CNN, on the first day of the nationwide lockdown, air pollution in New Delhi decreased by 44%, and air quality across India improved by more than 80%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.