Amid rising pollution levels, doctors advise residents to stay indoors, use face masks

Health experts have advised that proper precautionary measures must be taken by individuals, especially the young, the elderly and the immune compromised. Those with existing health ailments such as asthma, sinus, cardiovascular diseases, etc, must remain indoors.

With pollution levels continuing to rise in Noida and Greater Noida, doctors and health experts have advised residents of Noida and Greater Noida to remain indoors and take precautionary measures such as wearing face masks, using air purifiers, and keeping air purifying plants around the house to combat the impact of pollution on human health.

A Noida authority tanker sprays water on roads in Sector 53 to settle the dust on Wednesday. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Health experts have advised that proper precautionary measures must be taken by individuals, especially the young, the elderly and the immune compromised. Those with existing health ailments such as asthma, sinus, cardiovascular diseases, etc, must remain indoors.

Professor, paediatrics, Super Specialty Pediatric Hospital & Post Graduate Teaching Institute (Child PGI), Noida, Dr DK Singh said, “To ensure that the severe air quality has minimal impact on health, people are advised to stay indoors and must mandatorily wear face masks while moving out. People who run, jog, or engage in other outdoor activities must refrain from doing so until the smog settles. Using air purifiers and keeping air purifying plants in the surroundings also help in keeping toxic air at bay.”

On Wednesday, Greater Noida emerged as the most polluted city in the country for a fourth time in seven days, with an air quality index (AQI) of 478, in the severe category, and fine particulate matter (PM)2.5 was the prominent pollutant, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s daily bulletin. Both are markers of severe levels of pollution that can adversely affect even healthy people and seriously impact those with existing diseases, said health experts.

On Tuesday, too, Greater Noida had the highest AQI in the country at 457 (severe). It was the most polluted city for two consecutive days with an AQI of 494 and 490 on November 3 and 4, respectively.

On Wednesday, the AQI of Noida was recorded 405 (severe) with PM2.5 and PM10 as the main pollutants, which is a further rise from the previous day’s AQI of 355 (very poor), as per the CPCB.

The live air quality index, maintained by the CPCB, revealed that the AQI at Knowledge Park 3 in Greater Noida was 474 while at Knowledge Park 5, it was 482, at 2pm on Wednesday.

In Noida, on Wednesday, Sector 125 monitoring station recorded an AQI of 340, at Sector 62 an AQI of 427, Sector 1 an AQI of 382 and Sector 116 station an AQI of 459 at Sector 116, as per the CPCB.

Residents have been complaining of health complications such as breathing discomfort and burning sensation in eyes as the pollution continues to intensify every day.

Residents in the two cities complained of health complications and these include people having prior respiratory disorders as well as those with no existing breathing problems.

A resident of Sector 62 in Noida, which also happens to be the air pollution monitoring station, Divyansh Agarwal said, “There is a burning sensation in eyes and irritation in nose even though we have been ensuring that there is limited exposure as we step out only for very short periods.”

Residents in both cities said the visibility is very low even during the day owing to the thick layer of smog.

“We try to go out for a morning walk thinking it would be better outside during early hours but a thick layer of smog made visibility low,” said Saurabh Tiwari, a resident of Greater Noida’s Surajpur.

Officials at Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) said a meeting was called by district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma on Wednesday and necessary instructions were issued to various departments with regards to enforcement and implementation of guidelines.

UPPCB’s Noida regional officer Utsav Sharma said, “As directed, we will now be straight away imposing fine without physically visiting a site based on time stamped photographs posted on various social media platforms.”

“DM has assigned all three additional district magistrates (ADMs) -- ADM (finance and revenue), ADM (enforcement) and ADM (L/A) -- the task of monitoring violations on the ground and intensifying enforcement,” said UPPCB’s Greater Noida regional officer DK Gupta.