Air quality improves, Birds return to the city, Enjoy peace with lower pollution levels & Better environment

As the city locks down to prevent the spread of COVID-19, birds reclaim the sky and return to Indore city areas making the sight a delight. Giving nature a chance to heal from the pollution, lockdown has given city a chance to bring back its fauna especially birds.

The average air quality index (AQI) was spiking at 371-mark last month with average going over 200-mark. Guess what? The AQI reported stood at 46-mark on Friday!

Currently, the city’s average AQI is between 43 and 50. These figures indicate pure bliss, as particles in the air are often to be blamed for many physical illness especially allergies.

With lesser traffic and human activities, the suspended air particles are significantly lower in the atmosphere now.

Lower amount of suspended particles in the air has led to better visibility too. This is giving photographers and stargazers a much clearer view of Indore’s skyline and night sky.

Birds, which were rarely spotted in the city, are returning now. “Humming birds, which were still seen in some outskirts and quiet areas of the city, are even seen in busy areas of the city like Rajwada,” Komal Vyas, a resident of Rajwada, said.

“For the first time, birds have got peace. They are able to move properly. This is much needed. I pray that we learn the lesson to keep pollution and noise at bay,” Padma Shri Bhalu Mondhe said.  He added that rains have made the weather perfect for birds.

Some bird species that have made their way into the city are:

White breasted kingfishers: It is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Asia from the Sinai east through the Indian subcontinent to the Philippines. This kingfisher is a resident over much of its range, although some populations may make short distance movements.

Humming birds: They are the smallest of birds, most species measuring 7.5–13 cm (3–5 in) in length. They are known as hummingbirds because of the humming sound created by their beating wings, which flap at high frequencies audible to humans.

Green bee-eaters: They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water.

Bulbul: The bulbuls are a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds.

Cuckoo: The common cuckoo is 32–34 centimetres (13–13 in) long from bill to tail (with a tail of 13–15 centimetres (5.1–5.9 in) and a wingspan of 55–60 centimetres (22–24 in). The legs are short. It has a greyish, slender body and long tail, similar to a sparrowhawk in flight, where the wingbeats are regular.