Huge tracts of geographical space and teeming urban population all combine to pose great problems in the realm of air quality in india. The Air Quality Index (AQI) has therefore been developed to show how safe or Unsafe the air is to breathe. While there are many states struggling with high levels of pollution there are equally many that are characterized by high standard living conditions dominated by clean air. Strikingly, some these states have a rather pleasant contrast to what you’d expect in terms of debilitating smog.
Okay now, let’s try to expel a breath of fresh air and get into the states in India that enjoy the best AQI possible for their residents and guests.
1. Himachal Pradesh: A Mountainous Oasis
Situated in the ambit of the Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh is a state that has successfully created a model of clean air. This station is located at high altitudes with dense vegetation cover around it, and a clean environment are factors that explain better AQIs. Right from Shimla to Manali, the environment is fresh and free from the polluted environment characteristic of most cities. The state makes it one of the best places to breathe freely in India due to sustainable practices launched by the state and natural landscapes adorning the place.
However, it’s not only about mountains and cool breezes, or any other phenomena that we can observe daily. The state has recently worked on the realization of environmental conservation in tourism; it has easily upheld its quality air status with developing tourist attributes.
2. Sikkim: A Green Paradise
Located in the northeastern part of India, Sikkim is an environmental plus. As earlier discussed, Sikkim is well endowed with favorable geographical features and easily accessible structures including the top of the second highest mountain Kanchenjunga and has always embraced sustainable development. The state has committed a lot of resources to organic agriculture, applying the no-trash policy and restricting any economic activities which might threaten the integrated beauty of the state. Therefore, many days Sikkim wakes up to an AQI that is light years ahead of the national number. It has a clean, pure, fresh air – an element not easily found in some areas of our country.
The efforts of Sikkim to conserve its forest and to decrease air pollution to a great extent is visible in the present air quality of Gangtok being almost too good to be a hill station. People have commented that there is always fresh and clean air within the state, more so in the various natural reserves.
3. Uttarakhand: Here, people began to shrink the gods down with the air.
Of the remaining states, Uttrakhand a state situated in the North of India which is also having a natural mountainous topographical structure provides the good quality air to its residents. Since a major portion of the state comprises of protected forest area, its cities, including Dehradun, Nainital, etc. are known to occupy a very high AQI list. This clean and cool air in these areas does not only helps but is a necessity to them and can only be sourced from the countryside away from the hooliganism of the urban areas.
The state has also adopted eco-tourism and has contributed to the decrease in the emission of carbon and pollutants. Nainital is, as a matter of fact, encircled by lakes and accompanied by forests, which make it one of those few places in India that enjoys the purist air in the country. That means it produces high-quality and fresh air, along with a rich culture of trees and plants to make it a perfect retreat from polluted cities.
4. Kerala: A Coastal Breeze
Although Kerala has many attractions ranging from backwater tourism, beautiful beaches, and home to the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, it is as ranked among the cleanest states having conducive air quality in the country. Agriculture, Forestry, and eco-tourism are the major economic activities on the coast that help Kerala to sustain the fresh coastal breeze in the state. Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are least polluted cities compared to many of the other cities in the country.
The fact that the government emphasizes the correct usage of resources, and the state has less industrialization also provides a big contribution to good quality of air. Kerala appropriately follows a cleaner energy and environmentally friendly living standards thus keeping clean its AQI as it becomes urbanized.
5. Andaman and Nicobar Islands: A Secluded Paradise
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are situated in the distant Bay of Bengal and due to this continue to offer some of the cleanest air as compared to most parts of India. Being one of the least industrialized areas in the world and h o m e to large sea b e d s , air quality remains very high. This is for instance in its environment where most of the region is relatively a bit far from major urban centres or areas with high human, mineral and animal population concentrations so as to guarantee an AQI that is constantly stable throughout the calendar year.
Tourism to these islands has not affected the regional outlook in a significant way and tourists will fondly comment that the region has an innocent look to it with its surroundings being very clean. Whoever looking for genuine shelter, these islands are the lungs and the minds salvation.
Hence, there are still a number of states that demonstrate improved status of air quality in India, although the general picture is quite worrisome. Whether it is the mountain state of Himachal, the organic state of Sikkim, the environmental conscious state of Uttrakhand, the tropical feel of Kerala or the pristine island of Andaman, these state provide fresh air – literal and metaphorical – that proves that with a little push, even the worst sin of modern development – urban sprawl – can be off set.