A wish for this Diwali

Here's a thought I'd like to share with everyone this Diwali!!

         As we all gear up our preparations this Diwali and look forward to meeting or e-meeting all our relatives with a brand new set of clothes and maybe a new car or bike, deep clean the house while stocking up on sweets and firecrackers. Here is a different thought I propose to all this Diwali. Take a deep breath in and try to remember the past year that has gone by. We are still in the middle of a pandemic that is far from over.

The cases maybe down for now, but our European counterparts have clearly shown that a second wave is about to hit us.

For the first time ever, there was a complete lockdown - that taught us to stay within the confines of our houses for weeks at a stretch. We have all cherished the family time, reconnected with long lost friends, and many have gotten to know ourselves better. With businesses shut, job losses, and empty roads, everyone felt the plight of migrant workers and tried to help by providing meals, clothes, money, and buses to get them home. However, with all of this, the most ignored benefit this lockdown has brought us is clear skies and fresh, clean air to breathe. 

With over 90% of vehicles off the road and most industrial activities suspended, our most congested & polluted cities like Mumbai and Delhi, which usually are covered under a layer of grey smoke at any given hour, saw clear blue skies. Moreover, since power consumption dropped, many thermal plants were operating at much-reduced levels. This summer did not feel very hot, and this November, Mumbai is already experiencing lovely, pleasant weather; this has a lot to do with Climate Change.

 Source:- Free Press Journal

Source: World Economic Forum

Source: - Reuters

This image of India Gate, Delhi, shows a stark contrast in the pollution levels and visibility before and after the lockdown.

The graph below shows how the terrible state of our air quality before the lockdown. With the lockdown, we can see that Delhi immediately saw drops in air pollution levels by 60-70%. As we resumed some activities from April 14th, the air quality started to drop again.

Source: - Science of Total Environment, Volume 730.

This pandemic has clearly shown that Climate Change is a real threat that can be combated effectively. A simple 3-week lockdown showed that if we slowed down our activities and took it down a notch, there can be irreversible benefits for the environment. However, this comes at a tremendous economic cost, and it makes it unviable.

So, what should we do?

There are two things I would like for everyone to think about this Diwali. Firstly, acknowledge that climate change is real, and it has a real effect on our health and environment. India is home to the world's most polluted cities, and as citizens, apart from blaming the government and politicians, we have done very little to combat this change. Secondly, there are very effective tools through which we can ensure we clear up the air for our kids and their subsequent generations.

How do we do it?

Air pollution is caused when we burn petrol in cars, coal/wood in factories, and coal in the Thermal Power Plants. With the advent of Solar Energy, we can choose to go Solar this Diwali. The building you live in, the office you work in, and the factories you see - Solar can power all. The more you fulfill your power requirements by Solar, the lesser coal we would need to burn. Moreover, going Solar is not rocket science, and it is not going to burn a hole in your pocket. There are many ways to go Solar, which can involve zero investment at your end. You can learn more about this by contacting us at contact@artha.energy, and you can even read my other blogs.

             The second option available is to push your company, your colleagues, government, your MLA’s, your politicians, and most importantly, yourself to raise your standards and focus on climate change. India needs to be the market leader for Electric Vehicles and Battery Storage to curb vehicular pollution and move away from coal to meet our energy needs. We need to keep our air clean and create those jobs that "Make in India" had hoped to bring in. Unfortunately, the government has been dragging its feet on announcing meaningful policy measures that will aggressively attract the purchase of Electric Vehicles and invite investments in Electric Vehicle manufacturing and Battery Storage.

Of the two solutions, I propose, the government has rolled out lucrative policies for Solar, and still, many citizens have not taken any action. Hence, this Diwali, think about this environment and the clean air and clear blue skies you saw this summer. We are losing our most precious resource by ignoring this thought, i.e., clean air to breathe.

Source:- Reuters

The picture shown above was taken in October 2020 at India Gate. With smog running havoc, the clear blue skies are gone, and India's gate is barely visible.

If we do give this a thought and do our bit to help the environment, we will bring back blue skies and bring back some surprises in record numbers.

These flamingos came in record numbers during the lockdown to Navi Mumbai due to the better environment on offer.

These flamingos came in record numbers during the lockdown to Navi Mumbai due to the better environment on offer.

Source: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP via Getty Images.

These flamingos came in record numbers during the lockdown to Navi Mumbai due to the better environment on offer.