Delhi breathes dirt amid COVID-19; Intelligent steps and some preventive measures to undertake from inhaling of bad air

Did you know that even a few days of exposure to a high level of air pollution can have incurable outcomes; especially among old age and children? The air quality is very bad for those people who are older in age as well as young children. First and foremost is that pollution is neither a Delhi-NCR centric issue nor is it only a winter phenomenon. It happens throughout the year and is a national problem. Pollution is one of the most common reasons for global climate change. But the increasing rate of air pollution in Delhi NCR is excess compare to other states and cities of India.

The bad air quality in north India is expected to deteriorate further from November to February due to several factors such as stubble burning, festive fireworks, and low wind speed conditions which lead to an improvement in vehicular and industrial pollution. Air quality in the national capital deteriorated extensively. This is due to a rise in the level of bad pollutants and the increase in the number of covid cases. Delhi records its highest single-day coronavirus cases. This, along with this inhaling of bad air quality is one of the biggest concern among people right now.

In the current scenario, the world is going through the worst ever public health crisis, multiple challenges are cropping up with infections taking place from viruses along with the bad air quality. The recent pandemic related to COVID19 has highlighted the importance of healthy wellbeing, considering the risk of communicable disease.

One should be cautious and have significant importance for a global pandemic; the impact of bad air pollution on lungs and respiratory health is well known to everyone especially in the time of the global pandemic. We are amid a disruptive era, and of course, a disruptive phase, where the way forward can lead to fruitful outcomes.

Read here to know more about its intelligent steps to undertake and some preventive measures from inhaling bad air.

• Staying home is the best option when you’re sick to dodge the risk of inhaling bad air quality; especially in the time of the ongoing rise of covid wave in the country.

• If you must be around others, wear a face mask to prevent spreading or breathing in germs.

• Switch to renewable sources of energy. These include solar, wind, as there are a lot greener than the conventional sources. They are also very cheap.

• Encourage the use of Electric Vehicle transportation over conventional transportation like petrol, diesel, and natural gas.

• Planting of more number of trees should be an option. We must plant trees and care from them to keep the air fresh and smog-free.

• Crops should be grown in the fields all the year-round to not expose the soil to erosion.

• Factories should have chimney filters. This will help in trapping the poisonous substances in the gases that factories let out.

• Use unleaded petrol and CNG compact natural gas for private and public transport.

• Vehicles must be fitted with special devices to reduce bad air quality.

• Keep your automobile well-tuned and maintained. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on routine maintenance. These include changing the oil and filters and checking tire pressure and wheel alignment.

• Air-purifier is an urgent need of an hour. The commercially graded air purifiers are manufactured as either small stand-alone units or larger units that can be affixed to an air handler unit (AHU) or an HVAC unit. Air purifiers may also be used in industry to remove impurities such as CO2 from the air before processing.

• Prefer the use of recycling products. It is less harmful to the environment and it takes less energy to manufacture.