Delhi’s Air Pollution Crisis
Is it safe to travel to Delhi during the smog?
BY RYAN AMAR | 5th NOVEMBER, 2019
It breaks my heart when I see recent reports about Delhi’s air pollution crisis.
This time 2 years ago, I was in Delhi and experienced first hand the exact same thing. It felt like the apocalypse. In the morning we had departed from Shimla, where the air was clean and fresh in the lush foothills of the Himalayas, but by night we had reached Delhi (shrouded in smog) and it felt like we had stepped into a scene from a Dickens novel!
I remember sitting in my hotel room, downtown in Paharganj, using an air quality app to desperately search for a nearby city where we could escape. I will never forget being in that hotel room. Even with the doors and windows sealed tight, there was still this thick cloud of smog overshadowing us inside the room! If you were in Delhi at that time, no matter where you went, you couldn’t escape the toxicity!!!
For me, the saddest thing about this situation is the fact that Delhi continues to turn into a gas chamber every year, always at the same time and for the exact same reasons, yet those who have power and influence to prevent those causes have done nothing about it 😐!
Ayurveda is the world’s oldest health system, the sister science of Yoga and one of India’s greatest gifts to the world. What Ayurveda teaches us over and above anything is the value of PREVENTION rather than CURE, when it comes to our health and wellbeing.
I really wish those in power would take a page from Ayurveda’s ancient book of wisdom and take action now to prevent this recurring situation from happening again, year after year.
This in my opinion, would be much more effective than attempting to resolve the situation with unproven systems like restricting vehicles from driving (I’m referring to the odd/even vehicle registration system) or even banning firecrackers at Diwali. Sure, I agree these two things are probably adding fuel onto the fire, but the root cause is HAPPENING ON AN INDUSTRIAL LEVEL, where farmers in the neighbouring states are burning crop stubbles to clear their fields. This mass-level burning creates a lethal cocktail of particulate matter and gases, which is then exacerbated by changing wind patterns and a change in temperature/pressure over Delhi and the rest of north India. If you look at Delhi’s geography, you will also notice it is landlocked and sits on a flat plain that is blocked out by the Himalayas, which acts as a big wall that stops the smog from drifting away.
So to sum up the situation…
# we can’t change the weather.
# we can’t change Delhi’s geography and proximity to the surrounding mountains.
# We can’t change the date of India’s most popular festival.
But…
# we can explore alternatives for how Delhi’s surrounding farmers clear their old crops.
I really hope someone with the power and influence can take the necessary steps for the sake of the 19 million people that live in Delhi.
WHY ARE THE SURROUNDING FARMERS OF DELHI BURNING CROPS EVERY YEAR?
The main reason farmers are burning the stubble is because it is a CHEAP and EFFECTIVE system for clearing their land and also because a law was passed a decade ago, intended to preserve ground water, which effectively compelled farmers to plant their rice crops in mid-June rather than at the end of April (as was the tradition). This was to enable them to make use of monsoonal rains to grow the heavily water-dependent crop. This delay in the planting cycle meant the harvesting cycle was also delayed. Farmers now have much less time to prepare their fields for the next crop cycle and burning stubble is a cheap and effective way to clear the land.
MY TOP TIPS TO STAY SAFE DURING THE AIR POLLUTION CRISIS IN DELHI...
1) Get a proper air pollution respirator (cloth masks won’t do).
I remember 2 years ago I purchased one of those simple cloth face masks, thinking it would help, but after doing some research, I came to understand that…
SIMPLE SURGICAL MASKS OR CLOTH MASKS WON’T DO SWEET F.A!
What you really need is what’s called a SMOG mask with a respirator. The brand leader that makes these is 3M and you can get yourself a pack of 10 masks on [amazon.in] for only 324 RS.
If you check this link 👆 on Amazon’s website, you can also see a cool little video in the product description that helps to explain the main difference between masks and respirators.
If you live in Delhi or planning to spend more time on the ground during this season, then its probably best to get something a little more robust like this…
Just remember that it needs to…
surpass Pm 2.5 Specifications And Meet the N99 Testing Criteria.
2) Avoid strenuous activities.
The same goes for hard labour if possible and exercising indoors. Anything that is going to get you breathing heavily, so also try not to get too stressed or angry during this time! If you’re breathing deepens/increases then you are potentially taking the harmful particles much deeper into your respiratory system.
3) Only go out if essential.
Avoid main roads, downtown and congested areas as these places tend to more polluted. I know it’s not an option for everybody, but even consider going to stay with relatives or getting outside of Delhi until the situation changes.
4) Share vehicles for journeys.
Of course it would be ideal if people could try and ride-share or pool together for trips during this period to reduce the number of cars on the road.
5) Move slowly
I always advise people to move slowly when travelling in India, but this rule is especially important during this time, when visibility is reduced, causing a greater risks from road traffic.