As toxic air chokes Delhi, doctor raises concerns: ‘People complaining of…’

Dr Nikhil Modi, a pulmonologist at Apollo Hospital in Delhi, said advised people to avoid going out as much as possible and wear a face mask if going out.

As Delhi's two crore residents woke up to "severe" and "hazardous" pollution on Thursday, there are calls from parents to close schools. The air quality level (AQI) exceeded 450 at many places early in the day, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board. A reading over 400 affects healthy people, with serious impacts on those with existing diseases, the government says.

Commuters in Anand Vihar walk through a dense blanket of smog in the early hours of Sunday in New Delhi. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

The index was over 800 in some pockets of the city, according to data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.

Dr Nikhil Modi, a pulmonologist at Apollo Hospital in Delhi said advised people to avoid going out as much as possible and wear a face mask if going out.

“Go out during afternoons when the pollution level is low. Use a face mask if going out. Maintain a healthy diet with vegetables and fruits containing antioxidants. Do regular indoor exercises to keep lungs healthy,” news agency ANI quoted Dr Modi as saying.

Dr Modi added that respiratory problems are increasing due to smog. Symptoms in asthma patients increasing. “People without issues complaining of runny nose, sneezing, nose block, throat irritation and breathing difficulties. Pneumonia and other infections increasing,” Dr Modi added.

Chairman of the Institute of Chest Surgery at Medanta Hospital, Dr Arvind Kumar said such a situation qualifies as a "medical emergency". "This is a medical emergency as people are affected by short-term and long-term impacts of the pollution. You are immediately affected when the lungs are exposed to this air," Dr Kumar told ANI.

Dr Kumar further said as the smoke goes inside the chest, it causes immediate acute inflammation in the windpipe and lungs; followed by these toxic chemicals getting absorbed from the lungs and reaching the blood. They then move everywhere from head to toe thus affecting every organ, he added.

Meanwhile, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Part also rules Punjab where crop burning is rampant, said on Twitter the “people of Punjab and Delhi are taking all steps at their level” to tackle pollution.

The national capital has already stopped most construction and demolition activities to curb smog and environment minister Gopal Rai appealed to residents to share car and motorcycle journeys, work from home when possible and reduce the use of coal and firewood at home.

The share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution jumped to 38 per cent on Thursday, which, experts said was the reason behind the thick layer of pungent smog over the national capital.

The increase in stubble burning has kicked off a political slugfest, with Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday saying that there had been a 19 per cent rise in farm fires over 2021 in Punjab and that the AAP had turned the national capital into a gas chamber.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI)