Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Heavy Metal Contamination in Yamuna River Water of Delhi Region

Abstract

The present study was conducted to measure the levels of heavy metal pollution in Yamuna River water in the Delhi region during the COVID-19 lockdown period, which provided a unique opportunity to trace the sources of water pollution in the Yamuna segment in the Delhi region. As expected, the concentration of toxic heavy metals (chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, cadmium, and lead) were measured to be below the detection limit (BDL). While iron and manganese were in the ranges of 0.34 - 2.40 mg/l and 0.03 - 2.02 mg/l, respectively. A comparison with the values reported in the literature suggested that the sources of toxic heavy metals in the Yamuna water of Delhi are of primarily anthropogenic origin, whereas iron and manganese can arise from natural as well as anthropogenic sources.