Seasonal “airpocalypse” in India’s national capital

The clock is ticking in India’s national capital, Delhi. During the month of October, in what has become a dreaded seasonal occurrence, a cloud of thick, brown, smog-engulfed Delhi. Following the festival of Diwali, millions of residents are left gasping for breath because of notorious air pollution. Delhi’s air quality deteriorated to “very poor” with the maximum temperature reaching 31.2 degrees Celsius, slightly below the season’s average. According to the Swiss organisation, IQAir, the air quality in Delhi was due to an increase in the burning of stubble, the use of firecrackers, and relatively unfavourable climatic circumstances, that permitted the accumulation of pollutants.

Globally, outdoor air pollution kills around 4.2 million people each year.

It is notable that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government had last month proclaimed a whole ban on the production, sale, and use of all kinds of firecrackers until January 1, 2023, including the festive occasion, that’s been observed for the last 2 years. The air in Delhi and surrounding areas hung heavy with acrid smoke as people burst firecrackers on Diwali in a blatant disregard to the government’s ban on it. The air quality in the metropolis on Diwali was recorded within the ‘very poor category,’ making it the foremost contaminated city in the world.

According to a report, the capital was the most polluted city in the world on October 24, 2022, followed by Pakistan’s, Lahore. Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) on Monday was around 312. It, however, was the best AQI on Diwali day in seven years as favourable environmental conditions diluted the result of firecrackers and chaff burning An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. Pollution levels crept up on the night of October 23 amid a drop in temperature and wind speed, and due to people lighting firecrackers and a rise in the number of farm fires.

Over 116,000 infants in India were estimated to have died in their first months of life, due to exposure to high levels of air pollution in 2019.

–The State of Global Air

The effects of air pollution range from skin and eye irritation to severe neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, lung capacity loss, emphysema, cancer, and increased mortality rates. Globally, outdoor air pollution kills around 4.2 million people each year. Several health problems can result from chronic exposure to toxic air, including high blood pressure, underdeveloped lungs in infants, chronic lung diseases in adults, cancers, low immunity, and depression, according to experts. According to the Global Burden of Disease report, air pollution caused 1.67 million deaths in India in 2019.

According to a report, the capital was the most polluted city in the world on October 24, 2022.

A Lancet Global Health study published in 2018 found that ambient and household air pollution contributes to over half of the cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in India. It is estimated that 80% of COPD cases occur in developed countries due to smoking. Dr. Anurag Agarwal, director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, who has worked on asthma and lung health, said: “I don’t think there are exact data for Delhi, but it appears reasonably certain that this level of exposure for this duration is associated with significant damage. There will be an earlier onset of COPD, more asthma exacerbations, and more lung fibrosis. Aging will be faster.”

People at greatest risk from air pollution are those with already damaged lungs and those in occupations with very high levels of exposure, such as traffic police, street vendors, and delivery workers. High levels of contamination are also associated with premature births and deaths from childhood pneumonia. The State of Global Air reported that over 116,000 infants in India were estimated to have died in their first months of life due to exposure to high levels of air pollution in 2019. Pneumonia is the leading cause of death among children under five, second only to malnutrition, which killed an estimated 126,535 children in India in 2017. The report, titled Fighting for Breath – A Call to Action, said 27% of that was due to outdoor air pollution and 22% to indoor air pollution.

Air pollution caused 1.67 million deaths in India in 2019.

–The Global Burden of Disease report

Experts say that spikes in contamination levels can cause symptoms in seemingly healthy people, as well as those with chronic illnesses. “Even people without a history of chronic illnesses can experience symptoms such as thirst, itchy eyes, coughing, fatigue, and trouble sleeping when exposed to such high levels of contamination,” said GC Khilnani of AIIMS, former Chief of Respiratory Medicine and Chair of the PSRI Pulmonary Intensive Care Institute.