The strange, lovely sight of clear skies in India amid COVID-19 gloom

[KY_EnviroGuy]

Commentary: The strange, lovely sight of clear skies in India amid COVID-19 gloom
By Aarti Betigeri
24 Apr 2020 06:07AM

Read it here: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/india-covid-19-coronavirus-pollution-climate-action-clear-skies-12670436

Excerpts:

CANBERRA: Almost immediately after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced there would be an almost month-long lockdown across the country from Mar 24 to help stymie the spread of COVID-19, the clouds started to clear.

For the first time in years, residents of New Delhi – usually ranking in the top five most polluted cities in the world – woke up to blue skies over the city, rather than its usual murky toxic pea soup. Instead of the usual traffic noise and endless tooting of horns, people could hear birds from their inner-city balconies: Bulbuls, kites, and, at dusk, even peacocks.

Millions of cars on the roads, combined with belching exhaust fumes from manufacturing facilities, added to the haze from burning crop stubble – all this has meant air quality in Indian cities is off-the-charts awful. In between sucking in great gulps of fresh air classed as only “moderately unhealthy”, rather than the usual “hazardous” level, Indians have spent the past few weeks endlessly posting photos of blue skies and car-free streets to social media.

Independent monitoring bodies announced that levels of PM 2.5 – the dangerous one that gets lodged in people’s lungs and intestines – fell by up to 70 per cent in the first week.

New Delhi, India, April 8, 2020

FILE PHOTO: Buildings are pictured after air pollution level started to drop during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to slow the spreading of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi, India, April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

The article goes on to say despite this bright spot for some of India's people, the catch is the fate of India’s many millions of rural and urban poor. For them, the shutdown has meant unrelenting privation and probable starvation.

India today....
Cases: 21,797
Deceased: 427


KY........

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. How wonderful to have clear skies.

But why am I so skeptical of the number of Covid-19 cases reported?

Social distancing is virtual impossible in that country. Vast numbers of people live in very crowded conditions. I'd think this would be spreading like the proverbial wildfire.