Shortness of breath: living in the world's strongest pollution

Shortness of breath: living in the world's strongest pollution

In Neu-Delhi is the first clinic that specializes in diseases due to environmental pollution. Deepak Rajak, a 64-year-old, has great difficulty breathing. In the past few days, his asthma has worsened, which is why his daughter brought him to the clinic. Rajak CNN reports in the waiting room that he is "very breathless" and cannot stop coughing. "It is impossible to breathe. I just came by bus and had the feeling of suffocation," he says.

a new health center for an acute crisis

The special clinic in the Ram Manohar Lohiya (RML) hospital was set up last year to help the growing number of patients affected by the dangerous air pollution that increases every winter in the Indian capital. A painful and poisonous smog pollution has laid out over the city since the end of the last month, the day is transformed into night, the flights are disturbed, buildings are no longer recognizable, and the life of millions of people is endangered.

Medical emergency and measures of the government

Last week it turned out that there was no other place on earth where air is so hazardous to health reported global air quality measurements. The Chief Minister of Delhi, Atishi, explained a "medical emergency", while the authorities closed schools and asked people to stay at home. But this is not an option for Rajak because he rely on his job in chemical cleaning to support his family. "What can I do? I have to leave the house to work," he explains and adds: "If I don't earn any money, how should I eat? When I leave the house, my neck will be completely blocked. In the evening I feel like lifeless."

The effects of air pollution

Rajak had to go to the hospital this year because the smog tightened its asthma. Since there is no improvement in sight, his daughter, Kajal Rajak, fears that he has to be hospitalized again - an additional financial burden because they already have trouble covering the costs for inhalators and expensive diagnostic tests. Even the way to the clinic was dangerous. "You can't see what is in front of you," says Kajal. "We were at the bus stop and couldn't even see the bus number or say whether a bus was coming - it was so foggy."

shocking air quality values

In some parts of Delhis, the values of air pollution over 1,750 have increased in the air quality index this week, which, according to IQAIR tracking tool, is considered to be health-hazard. A value over 300 is considered dangerous for health. On Wednesday, the value for the smallest and most dangerous pollutant pm2.5 was more than 77 times above the safe limit values defined by the World Health Organization.

pm2.5 comes deep into the lung tissue, where it can penetrate into the bloodstream and with , heart and lung diseases , cancer and other respiratory diseases as well as cognitive impairments in children.

personal reports from residents

In a conversation with about a dozen Delhi residents last week, most stated that they had breathing problems due to the pollution. Many described the feeling of suffocating as the harmful air burned their eyes and their throats itchy. "It feels like I have chilli in my eyes," said Mohammad Ibrahim, a long -time driver in the city. "When I come home in the evening and wash my hands and face, black stuff comes out of my nose. That never happened before," he added. Like Rajak, Ibrahim cannot afford to interrupt the work even though his health is at stake. "If I don't go out to work, how should I fill my stomach? How should I pay my rent? I'm a poor man," he said.

The challenges of life in Delhi

Some endangered residents express that it has become more difficult to survive in Delhi. The retired air force -member Aditya Kumar Shuckla, 64, said that he tries not to go outside on heavily soiled days. "You can't do anything (to protect yourself from pollution), even if you stay in the house, the pollution gets into it because the air is very dirty," he said and is treated in the Batra Hospital in Delhi for asthma. Shucla reports on three hospitalizations this year and would leave the city immediately if it could. "It causes stress and is very dangerous, but where can I go now?" he asks. "It makes me very angry, I want to leave Delhi, but there are no opportunities in India, especially for people with asthma and lung diseases."

The increase in respiratory diseases

In the clinic, Dr. Amit Jindal that he and his colleagues have determined a significant increase in patients with breast and breast problems since the pollutant values have shot up. He confirmed that this increase is directly related to the smog. Patients suffer from persistent cough, breast and lung pain as well as burning eyes, with particularly endangered people with existing health problems such as Rajak and Shuckla or people who work outside are more susceptible. Dr. Gaurav Jain, a pulmonary doctor in the Batra Hospital, explains that even non -smokers suffer from chronically obstructive lung diseases (COPD) - a lung disease that restricts the air supply and causes breathing problems.

long -term crisis coping

Delhi has been fighting with high air pollution values for over twenty years. The air quality deteriorates every year when the summer heat dies the cooler months. Castle means that smog hovers of agricultural waste fires, coal -fired power plants and traffic across the sky of the city. The Indian environmental authority announced on Sunday that several parts of Delhis have a "very bad" air quality and tried to alleviate the SMOG by implementing emergency measures such as stopping no required truck traffic and construction work.

Official also states that streets are sprayed with water and dust binders and that street cleaning is reinforced. However, experts warn that these measures that are carried out every year are only temporary solutions that are not the causes" Air pollution tackle. "Very little has been undertaken in relation to actual measures to reduce emissions, and I can almost certainly say that the intensity of the government's response to contain these dangerous pollutant values does not match the urgency of the emergency," explained the environmental analyst Sunil Dahiya.

In 2019, the Indian government introduced the National Clean Air Program to improve air quality in cities, and several other commissions were set up on both national and state level to counter air pollution. Nevertheless, analysts say that governments focus more on emergency measures than on sustainable efforts to improve air quality. While the burning of Stroh tightens the pollutant values during the winter harvest time, the crisis must be tackled all year round, according to Dahiya. "We have to work on systematic and comprehensive measures that reduce pollution on the source, which means that we have to talk about how much emissions from the transport sector, power sector, industry, waste and what geographical areas are available," explained Dahiya.

In the clinic, Kajal Rajak is concerned about her father's deteriorating health, which prevents him from breathing and going. She is angry, but says that anger will not solve the problem. "The government has to do something."