Every winter Delhi is engulfed by smog. Air quality drops to a very poor or severe category. The 2020-21 winter also coincided with opening up from the COVID-19 lockdown. While economic activity has still not reached its peak, air pollution in Delhi was only marginally better than the previous year. The number of smog episodes was lower than the previous two years. However, the seasonal average was higher than the previous two years...
Every winter, air quality in Delhi becomes critically dangerous. Here is a list of dos and don'ts to help you stay safe
World Health Organization has issued a strong warning about the effects of air pollution on children. On October 29, 2018, it released a report called Air Pollution and Child Health. It states that in 2016, 600,000 children died from acute lower respiratory infections caused by polluted air. What is worse is that 93% of the world's children under the age of 15 (1.8 billion) are exposed to high levels of PM 2.5 which are superfine air pollutants. Worst are those living in developing countries where 98 per cent of all children are exposed to very unhealthy air.
Most of us love fireworks during Diwali. But these bright and colourful crackers have a dark side It's the toxic metals that give fireworks the beautiful colours we find magical The red colour of a firecracker comes from Strontium, a metal that causes bone growth problems in children Barium, which gives fireworks the green colour, is harmful to the nervous system, the heart and can cause tremors, weakness, anxiety, shortness of breath and paralysis.
Green schools are taking initiatives to clean the polluted air around us
As we gear up for winter, we cannot ignore that this is the time when we experience the worst of air quality across cities and towns. The air we breathe is filled with toxic pollutants like nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM 2.5, PM 10), lead (Pb), ozone (O3), among others, arising from multiple sources such as vehicles, industries and power plants.
Delhi has been infamous for its air pollution, for years, especially after the World Health Organisation reported it to be the most polluted city in the world in 2014.
Moreover, Delhi residents are not alone in grappling with air pollution. Many other cities such as Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna and Kanpur are also equally at risk.
