Since the pandemic started back in March due to coronavirus, the river Yamuna in the national capital witnessed the days of glory. With the industrial activities were shutdowns for months, the water of the river which is expected to be beyond restoration finally breathed life.
A study by the researchers at the University of Chicago’s Tata Centre for Development, there has been a significant increase in dissolved oxygen (DO) in Yamuna water.
Real-time monitoring has been used by researchers for the river. They compared the date from February 12 to the reading from May and June, the lastest of which was collected on June 5.
“While the DO levels touched 9 mg/l in May, the average reading ranged around 2.82 mg/l for the month. In comparison, the DO levels — essential for sustaining aquatic life in the river — were 0 mg/l when the readings were taken in February,”.
Team head at the Water-to-Cloud Project, Priyank Hirani, said that DO levels ranged between 0 and 2.17 mg/l and had a median value of 0 mg/l; it improved to 2.31 to 9.16 mg/l in May-June, with a median value of 2.82 mg/l.
“While it did rain on June 4, which may have helped the river clean up, 1,232 data points collected on May 22 and May 27 ranged the DO levels between 2.31 and 7.92 mg/l. This signifies a drastic improvement in the DO levels present in the Yamuna, which is critical for a flourishing aquatic life,” said Hirani.
The monitor parameters like biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and e-coli levels will be monitored by the team as they planned which all of it requires a lab testing.
However, despite the improvement at certain levels, the river is nowhere close to where it should be.
Earlier research by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and the Central Pollution Control Board CPCB shows that there’s is an improvement in the quality of the water. The comparison was made during the lockdown caused by the pandemic as compared to data from before.
Source: India Times
