India's extended lockdown to prevent spread of the new coronavirus has drastically improved air quality and visibility, turning the skies over New Delhi a rare blue. The lockdown that saw schools, workplaces, industries and transport shut, forcing India's 1.3 billion people to stay home, also allowed particulate matter in the air to settle. On the first day of the unprecedented lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the average PM 2.5 levels in the air decreased by 22% and average nitrogen dioxide reduced by 15%, according to air pollution data analyzed by Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.