THE GREAT SMOG OF DELHI
-Ojus Sindwani
The capital of this country has been shrouded by smog in
recent days and has become no less than a gas chamber.
It has been reported as one of the worst levels of air
quality in Delhi since 1999.
The U.S. embassy in the
city, which routinely tweets air pollution levels in the city, recorded the air
quality index (AQI) to be at 1,010 at 4 p.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET) on
Wednesday. According to the embassy’s
website, a score of between 301 and 500 is deemed "hazardous."
We recently witnessed a
firecracker ban in the city due to the already increased amount of pollution in
the air and the reducing quality of air. But we were not even able to cope with
that when to top it all of, farmers started burning crop stubble to clear their
fields. This, in combination with current weather conditions of cool temperatures
and low wind speeds, resulted in smog festering in the city.
Delhi, home to nearly 19
million people, is among the world's most polluted cities according to the
World Health Organization.
The knowledge of our
environment is something that we, as people, have always kept ourselves aloof
from. But now it’s high time that we not only become aware of it but also start
doing something about it, because now it has started affecting us in ways that
we never imagined before. All of us have seen the viral video of a 24 car pile
up on Yamuna Expressway which gave us all goosebumps.
This environmental
condition is causing many health hazards like :
- · Breathlessness
- · Chest constriction
- · Irritation in eyes
- · Asthma
- · Allergy
A public health emergency
has been declared by doctors in Delhi, as the air quality in the world’s most
polluted city dropped to levels likened to smoking 50 cigarettes a day. Yes, 50 cigarettes.
Every year it’s the same
story - it starts with the fire crackers on Diwali and doesn’t end until the
beginning of March. Now is the time to make a difference. What is the fun of
living in a city where you have to wear masks while going out and cannot even
enjoy a breath of fresh air? Now is the time that political parties stop
feathering their own nest and start thinking about the quality of life of
people living in this amazingly beautiful city.
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