INDIA-POLLUTION Delhi gasping for breath as winter air turns highly toxic

Record ID: 217085

  • Title: INDIA-POLLUTION Delhi gasping for breath as winter air turns highly toxic
  • Date: 5th March 2015
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) DOME OF INDIA'S PRESIDENTIAL PALACE ON A SMOGGY DELHI MORNING TRAFFIC MOVING IN FRONT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE MORE OF TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD WITH PRESIDENTIAL PALACE DOME VISIBLE IN THE BACKGROUND VARIOUS OF INDIA GATE WAR MEMORIAL SCANTLY VISIBLE ON A SMOG FILLED AFTERNOON TRAFFIC ON A BUSY ROAD ENVELOPED IN A THICK LAYER OF SMOG NEW DE
  • Embargoed: 20th March 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA2ZZ0FGKV4DJICJ8VWCNYNFRDN
  • Story Text: Smog engulfing the Indian capital tells a sorry tale of the worsening pollution levels leaving Delhiites gasping for breath.
    Poor visibility in New Delhi's central vista - the road leading from the Presidential home to the iconic India Gate war memorial, usually considered one of the greener and cleaner patches - is a disturbing sign of the pollution that hangs heavy in the air.
    An increasing number of Delhiites are waking up to coughing, wheezing and related respiratory issues, making the cocktail of pollution a major health hazard for a city of nearly 17 million people.
    The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a leading green organisation fighting for a cleaner air for New Delhi, released a study last week showing dangerous levels of suspended particulate matter in the city's air, linking them to the residents' health and well being.
    Pollution levels in Indian cities have often been compared to Chinese counterparts such as Beijing, notorious for the smog that prompted some Anglophone residents to dub it "Greyjing".
    A World Health Organization study of 1,600 cities released in May last year found India's capital had the world's dirtiest air. India, however, rejected the report.
    Sunita Narayan, director of the CSE, said the levels were not only alarming but, if left unchecked, would have a huge impact on the health of the city's children as well.
    "(The) level of pollution in Delhi is definitely toxic, it is definitely bad. I am not going to get into whether Delhi is little better than Beijing or little worse than Beijing. We do not want to be ranked in the world in terms of how bad we are. I think what we need to accept is the level of pollution in Delhi is a public health emergency. The level of pollution in Delhi, by government's own data, in any day of winter is two to four times above what is considered normal," Narayan said.
    In front of the Delhi Police headquarters, where an image of iconic independence leader Mahatma Gandhi overlooks one of city's busiest intersections, traffic police cops bear the brunt of air pollution, inhaling noxious fumes belched out by hundreds of thousands of motorbikes, scooters, cars, trucks and buses passing through the choked crossing.
    Vehicular emissions are the cause of close to three-quarters of Delhi's air pollution, the Delhi government estimates.
    Two-wheel riders are forced to cover their faces with handkerchiefs to avoid inhaling the slow poison emitted by the nearly 8.4 million vehicles that ply the traffic-choked roads of Delhi and its surrounding areas.
    "It becomes difficult to breathe, one ends up inhaling dust and pollution which leads to various ailments, that is why we have to tie this handkerchief," said Bunty Babu, a daily commuter on a motorbike on Delhi's deadly roads.
    Tarun Aggarwal, a lawyer and another daily commuter, said the air on the roads is so toxic that even a two minute halt feels like a health hazard.
    "The pollution poses several health risks, like damage to lungs, asthma, bronchitis. In just a few minutes one starts getting breathless, eyes start watering, there is a burning sensation in the eyes even when you stand for just two minutes at a traffic light," Aggarwal said.
    During winter, hospitals see a surge in the number of patients with respiratory and heart ailments as thick smog and pollution hangs in colder air. Doctors say the number of such patients rises by at least 20 percent because of bad air.
    "Probably pollution affects any and every organ of the body, but heart and the lungs are the two main problems. We see there is increase incidents of lung infectionS, bronchitis and we get asthma kind of an attack, or even heart attacks and uncontrolled blood pressure. Those kind of ailments also increase during the winter months," said Doctor O.P. Yadava, a cardiothoracic surgeon and chief of Delhi's National Heart Institute.
    As per the Global Burden of Disease report released last year, air pollution is the fifth largest killer in India and a study by the World Allergy Organisation says allergy-related problems will increase further as air pollution increases.
    However, in the middle of all the gloom, there is a ray of hope. Experts like Narayan say there is a definite roadmap which, if followed, can lead to cleaner air and healthier life for the residents of Delhi.
    But the roadmap entails constant air monitoring, implementing advanced emission standards, improved public transport system and restrain growth of private vehicles.
    When an Indian court banned all vehicles older than 15 years from the streets of New Delhi in a bid to clean up the air last year - a step in the right direction - the problem faced was being able to effectively enforce the ban. This is the massive challenge the government now faces.
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