Amid worsening air pollution across the national capital, health experts on Saturday emphasised the need for solutions that work throughout the year and not for a short period.
Delhi’s air quality, as usual on Saturday, remained entrenched in the very poor category for the 15th consecutive day. With the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 338 at 7 am, the air quality has been a point of concern since the last few days.
Expressing his views on the concerning air quality across Delhi and the National Capital Region, Dr Anant Mohan, Professor and Head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorders, AIIMS New Delhi, while speaking to the media on Saturday, said, “We have reached an emergency in Delhi. The efforts to curb pollution cannot be only temporary, which may help immediately for a little while, but long-term solutions to this city are urgently required. We have to do something very urgently now at this stage,” as cited by news agency IANS.
Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI on Friday stood at 369, which extended its persistent run of very poor air quality through half the month.
Also, the forecasts from air-quality and weather agencies further indicated that conditions are unlikely to undergo any significant improvement over the coming week as well. The reason why weather agencies predicted no scope of improvement in the coming few days is because the meteorological factors remain largely unfavourable for the dispersion of pollutants.
Dr Saurabh Mittal further emphasised that, “We talk about pollution when November and December come, and those three months we are very active. We think there is so much in the media, but even in the summer, the air quality is not good. Air quality remains suboptimal as compared to the global standards, even when the weather is fine,” as per IANS.
“We need to work on solutions that work throughout the year, not for a short period of time,” Mittal added.
While other experts concerned about the deteriorating air quality emphasised that consistently unhealthy air levels are due to Delhi`s geography and man-made factors.
Gautam Menon, Dean at Ashoka University, further said that “The airshed for the Indo-Gangetic plains includes Delhi and has some of the highest pollution levels in the world. One reason is the unique geography of the region, which traps pollution during the winter months when winds slow. But this is exacerbated by many other factors that we have more control over, such as the ever-increasing numbers of vehicles, biomass burning, unlicensed factories, festivals which add to the polluted air, and constant construction,” as reported by IANS.
Air pollution has both short-term and long-term effects on health. Short-term consequences are coughing, eye irritation, headaches, and asthma attacks, while long-term impacts include severe chronic diseases such as respiratory diseases, including COPD and lung cancer, heart attacks, stroke, and nervous system damage, as well as developmental issues in children.
(With inputs from IANS)