If nothing else, the Coronavirus-induced lockdown led to a greener surrounding and a cleaner air. But five months down the line, the skies were grey again and eyes were fuming because of the chemicals in the air. And it wasn’t the industries emitting the smoke! This time it was the stubble burnt by farmers of Punjab and Haryana which turned Delhi into a fuming chamber, choking everyone to death.
Just a few days back, I was traveling towards Chandigarh with my family and had a brief moment of nostalgia. We’ve been living in Delhi NCR for the past many decades and the farmers had been doing their harvest the same way ever since. But just five years back, Delhi never felt this choked before Diwali. We became inquisitive and realised that indeed such huge levels of pollutants were never felt a few years back.
It’s only since 2016 that such a spike in AQI…