TRASCRIZIONE 🔗
WEBVTT
1
00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:06.240
Hi, I'm Shashank Bhargav and you're listening to Three Things,
2
00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:08.119
the Indian Express news show.
3
00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:13.060
Dr.
4
00:00:13.080 --> 00:00:15.859
Khilani, you have been in the city for a while now.
5
00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.140
Do you recall a time when the air quality in
6
00:00:18.219 --> 00:00:19.570
Delhi was actually good?
7
00:00:20.429 --> 00:00:22.989
Of course, we all know that the air quality in
8
00:00:23.030 --> 00:00:25.670
Delhi was amazing during COVID times.
9
00:00:26.289 --> 00:00:28.370
When there was.
10
00:00:28.269 --> 00:00:31.370
No traffic on the road, there was no movement, there
11
00:00:31.390 --> 00:00:35.479
was no factories running, the schools were closed, and you
12
00:00:35.549 --> 00:00:38.420
could see the blue sky which you see in New York,
13
00:00:38.450 --> 00:00:39.509
San Francisco.
14
00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:40.100
Or Europe.
15
00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:43.950
That was the time, and I have a picture of it,
16
00:00:44.070 --> 00:00:46.810
which I keep showing, and I show the India Gate,
17
00:00:46.829 --> 00:00:49.850
which is so clearly visible.
18
00:00:50.429 --> 00:00:52.729
Besides that, Delhi.
19
00:00:52.530 --> 00:00:57.429
Always had a very bad air pollution, especially in winter season.
20
00:00:58.229 --> 00:00:58.829
That's Dr.
21
00:00:58.909 --> 00:00:59.250
G.C.
22
00:00:59.289 --> 00:01:02.840
Khilani. He's the chairman of the Pulmonary Critical Care and
23
00:01:02.899 --> 00:01:06.180
Sleep Medicine at the PSRI Hospital in Delhi. And he's
24
00:01:06.219 --> 00:01:08.760
also a member of the Technical Advisory Group on Air
25
00:01:08.780 --> 00:01:12.799
Pollution and Health at WHO. And in today's episode, we
26
00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:16.019
are dedicating the conversation to speaking to him about everything
27
00:01:16.099 --> 00:01:20.099
related to air pollution. What AQI levels actually indicate, how
28
00:01:20.260 --> 00:01:23.439
air pollution affects our bodies, the steps individuals can take,
29
00:01:23.810 --> 00:01:26.290
and what the government can do to reduce a city's
30
00:01:26.370 --> 00:01:30.189
pollution by half. And while this conversation is centered around Delhi,
31
00:01:30.530 --> 00:01:33.069
it has important lessons no matter where you are in
32
00:01:33.109 --> 00:01:35.950
the country. So here's Dr. Khilani telling us the reasons
33
00:01:36.090 --> 00:01:38.719
why the capital's pollution is so bad.
34
00:01:38.739 --> 00:01:43.980
So Delhi's air quality is bad, one, because of the geography,
35
00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:48.200
because the low-lying area is a part of the gigantic
36
00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:52.200
region where the air pollution is high, but.
37
00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:54.750
Delhi is highest. As you know, it is the.
38
00:01:55.420 --> 00:01:58.480
worst polluted city in the world. And there are so
39
00:01:58.519 --> 00:02:01.519
many reasons. So one of the reasons is the transport,
40
00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:05.260
that is vehicles. The number of vehicles in Delhi are
41
00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:10.900
more than Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai combined. So the numbers
42
00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:15.800
are too large. Although everything is there, that pollution check
43
00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:19.080
is there and certificates are there, but there are issues
44
00:02:19.180 --> 00:02:22.599
about engine quality in city of Delhi also.
45
00:02:22.870 --> 00:02:24.689
So that is transport is one.
46
00:02:25.210 --> 00:02:26.669
And is that the biggest contributor?
47
00:02:27.389 --> 00:02:28.340
More or less, yes.
48
00:02:28.530 --> 00:02:32.439
That is the biggest contributor on an average.
49
00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:33.860
It depends upon season.
50
00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:37.879
But if you take annual average, then transport is the
51
00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:43.599
number one cause of air pollution. Besides this, the road
52
00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:47.840
dust and the construction dust, that's a very big contributor
53
00:02:47.860 --> 00:02:51.349
which is less talked about. You would have seen that,
54
00:02:51.389 --> 00:02:54.629
you know, big trucks moving and if you are, you know,
55
00:02:55.229 --> 00:02:58.009
or buses for that matter, if you are driving behind,
56
00:02:58.050 --> 00:03:03.050
you can see actually dust coming up, and every fourth
57
00:03:03.090 --> 00:03:07.849
house is being reconstructed or constructed, and demolition is going on,
58
00:03:08.050 --> 00:03:12.189
and the norms are not followed. So the construction and
59
00:03:12.250 --> 00:03:16.939
demolition is another cause of air pollution. Beside this, 3-5%
60
00:03:17.659 --> 00:03:22.159
of the air pollution comes from the burning of the waste,
61
00:03:22.580 --> 00:03:25.919
municipal waste, which is done by the government, not by
62
00:03:25.979 --> 00:03:30.639
the people, and which is actually preventable. And if you
63
00:03:30.659 --> 00:03:35.840
talk about tandoors, there are 9,000 tandoors in this city,
64
00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:39.430
you know, for making chicken tikka and paneer tikka, and
65
00:03:39.469 --> 00:03:42.550
they all run on coal and wood. So they are
66
00:03:42.610 --> 00:03:44.750
also a big source of air pollution.
67
00:03:45.330 --> 00:03:47.729
And besides this, what is also highlighted when it comes
68
00:03:47.770 --> 00:03:50.889
to Delhi are outside factors, right? Can you talk about
69
00:03:50.949 --> 00:03:53.770
how much they contribute to the city's air pollution?
70
00:03:54.430 --> 00:03:57.490
So one important thing that we need to understand that
71
00:03:57.550 --> 00:04:01.650
Delhi pollution is not only from generated in Delhi. A
72
00:04:01.710 --> 00:04:07.419
large proportion comes from outside Delhi, even from Afghanistan and Pakistan, Punjab.
73
00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:11.379
And if we talk about, say, distance of 300 kilometers
74
00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:18.519
within
Load full transcript
Delhi, there are many electricity generating plants. And except one,
75
00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:20.279
all are using coal.
76
00:04:20.689 --> 00:04:23.410
And this is a big source of air pollution as
77
00:04:23.449 --> 00:04:27.379
far as the Delhi and NCR is concerned. And this
78
00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:32.199
is exemplified if you know that 10 worst polluted cities
79
00:04:32.220 --> 00:04:37.449
in India are Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad. Noida, Harford, they are
80
00:04:37.490 --> 00:04:42.149
around this area only. So this coal burning for electricity
81
00:04:42.170 --> 00:04:45.389
generation is a big source of air pollution. Besides that,
82
00:04:45.449 --> 00:04:48.980
of course, stubble burning, which is a periodic thing. And
83
00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:52.759
as I said, even from Pakistan, Afghanistan. And I have
84
00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:55.779
talked about sources, but one of the reasons that air
85
00:04:55.819 --> 00:04:59.920
pollution continues to be worst in Delhi is the wind speed.
86
00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:03.060
Delhi geographically is a very low-lying area.
87
00:05:03.490 --> 00:05:04.610
So the only.
88
00:05:04.449 --> 00:05:08.189
Thing which reduces the AQI, as you must have read
89
00:05:08.250 --> 00:05:11.410
in the newspaper, that wind blow was good, the wind
90
00:05:11.449 --> 00:05:15.550
speed was good. So therefore, the air quality improved.
91
00:05:16.250 --> 00:05:16.449
Right.
92
00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:19.069
Whenever the wind speed is high or it's not cloudy,
93
00:05:19.129 --> 00:05:22.319
the air quality improves. But you mentioned stubble burning and
94
00:05:22.339 --> 00:05:26.339
that makes so many headlines. How much does stubble burning
95
00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:28.740
actually factor into Delhi's air pollution?
96
00:05:29.540 --> 00:05:34.600
So, stubble burning, anything between 5 to 18%. This is
97
00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:38.160
a rough figure and these are estimates actually. It depends
98
00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:42.720
upon the quantum of stubble burning, the area of burning
99
00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:45.699
and also wind direction. All those things matter, but the
100
00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:49.439
maximum what I have come to know with my knowledge
101
00:05:49.459 --> 00:05:53.620
is about 16 to 18% of the pollution coming from.
102
00:05:53.779 --> 00:05:54.899
But that is episodic.
103
00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:58.800
But the AQI in Delhi 12 months is much, much above.
104
00:05:59.660 --> 00:06:03.319
any acceptable limit, and if you talk about WHO standard,
105
00:06:03.339 --> 00:06:10.519
you might be shocked that the WHO average of PM2. 5
106
00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:13.790
standard is 5 micron per cubic meter, whereas we are
107
00:06:13.829 --> 00:06:20.629
living at 250, 300, and WHO daily maximum is 15 micron.
108
00:06:20.750 --> 00:06:24.069
The 5 is annual average. So we are in trouble,
109
00:06:24.649 --> 00:06:27.939
and it's not new. It has been there for decades, actually.
110
00:06:28.740 --> 00:06:31.620
And does the air quality get particularly bad during the
111
00:06:31.660 --> 00:06:34.459
winters or it's just that we can see smog in
112
00:06:34.500 --> 00:06:34.779
the air?
113
00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:39.199
So what is smog? Smog is a combination of fog
114
00:06:39.259 --> 00:06:42.920
and air pollutants. When the temperature is down, the humidity
115
00:06:42.959 --> 00:06:46.899
is high, the air pollutants get trapped and there's something
116
00:06:47.019 --> 00:06:52.310
called inversion. Inversion is that air pollutants, instead of being
117
00:06:52.430 --> 00:06:55.949
equally distributed in the sky, they In the morning time
118
00:06:56.029 --> 00:06:59.209
when it is cold, it comes down at a breathable
119
00:06:59.250 --> 00:07:03.839
surface level. With that, visibility goes down, but also the
120
00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:08.860
concentration of air pollutants is extremely high. Whereas in summer,
121
00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:12.660
despite the same vehicles and same, they go up. So
122
00:07:12.699 --> 00:07:15.370
that is why the effect is much less because the
123
00:07:15.550 --> 00:07:18.649
fog is not there. When the fog is there, winter
124
00:07:18.730 --> 00:07:21.350
is there, air pollution is there, the smog occurs.
125
00:07:22.129 --> 00:07:24.230
And you mentioned a couple of factors that contribute to
126
00:07:24.290 --> 00:07:27.750
air pollution. You mentioned vehicles, you mentioned construction, garbage burning,
127
00:07:27.790 --> 00:07:32.069
stubble burning. Are they emitting different kinds of pollutants? And
128
00:07:32.230 --> 00:07:35.629
if that's the case, then how do those pollutants affect
129
00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:36.480
us differently?
130
00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:40.699
Yeah, so that's an amazing question. PM2.
131
00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:45.620
5 from the petrol engine would be different from PM2. 5
132
00:07:45.579 --> 00:07:49.829
from the diesel engine. Because diesel engine will emit lot
133
00:07:49.889 --> 00:07:54.279
of what we call it polyaromatic hydrocarbons which are carcinogenic.
134
00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:58.899
Whereas the petrol emission would cause more of asthma. Similarly,
135
00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:04.800
the PM2. 0 from firecrackers would have arsenic, thallium, potassium, very
136
00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:07.300
toxic substances which gets deposited.
137
00:08:07.459 --> 00:08:07.759
PM2.
138
00:08:07.459 --> 00:08:12.129
5 from the road dust would be different. PM2. 5 from
139
00:08:12.230 --> 00:08:17.949
the construction and demolition will contain lot of fungi like this. So, PM2. 5
140
00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:22.500
It's only something that we can measure and say.
141
00:08:23.139 --> 00:08:24.800
And for those who might not know already, can you
142
00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:28.620
tell us what exactly PM2. 5 is? Because that's all we
143
00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:29.800
hear about these days.
144
00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:34.049
So, you should understand
that why these figures are quoted
145
00:08:34.149 --> 00:08:38.450
all the time. Because this is called aerodynamic diameter. How
146
00:08:38.470 --> 00:08:42.570
they are formed? They are formed by complex chemical reaction
147
00:08:43.049 --> 00:08:46.669
of noxious gases and other particles in the air.
148
00:08:47.129 --> 00:08:48.169
So, PM10.
149
00:08:49.110 --> 00:08:52.220
Why don't we talk about PM 15 or PM 20?
150
00:08:52.220 --> 00:08:54.799
You know, after all, they are also small particles.
151
00:08:55.299 --> 00:08:56.980
And this is the size of the pollutant.
152
00:08:57.100 --> 00:09:02.240
Size of the aerodynamic diameter of the particle. The particles
153
00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:06.450
which are more than 10 micron are filtered by our nose.
154
00:09:06.830 --> 00:09:09.889
The God has provided with that filter so that foreign
155
00:09:09.929 --> 00:09:11.289
particles do.
156
00:09:11.169 --> 00:09:11.769
Not go in.
157
00:09:12.149 --> 00:09:15.539
So they cause cough and sore throat and blah, blah, blah.
158
00:09:16.169 --> 00:09:20.789
But the particles which are smaller than 2.5 micron, that
159
00:09:20.850 --> 00:09:24.450
is called PM2. 5, they go to the lowest part of
160
00:09:24.490 --> 00:09:27.769
the lung where gas exchange takes place. And they cause
161
00:09:27.860 --> 00:09:31.220
short-term as well as long-term diseases in the lung. But
162
00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:34.120
I would also like you to know there is something
163
00:09:34.179 --> 00:09:38.080
that we don't talk about, is ultra-fine particulate matter. This
164
00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:43.759
is PM0. 1 particle which are smaller than 2.5. 0.1 micron.
165
00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:47.600
These are the particles which penetrate the lung and go
166
00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:48.580
into the blood vessel.
167
00:09:48.779 --> 00:09:49.419
What is lung?
168
00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:52.450
Lung is a filter through which the oxygen goes into
169
00:09:52.490 --> 00:09:56.090
the blood and carbon dioxide comes out. And with that
170
00:09:56.169 --> 00:09:59.210
other things also come out. But the particles which are
171
00:09:59.549 --> 00:10:04.029
less than 0.1 micron, they pass through that, what we
172
00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:07.029
call as allulose, go into the bloodstream and go into
173
00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:09.720
every part of our system. Like it may be brain,
174
00:10:09.820 --> 00:10:12.740
it may be eyes, it may be heart, it may
175
00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:15.799
be blood vessels, it may be kidney, intestine and everything.
176
00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:18.080
That is why... The air pollution.
177
00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:21.200
Affects every organ of the body and it is affecting
178
00:10:21.259 --> 00:10:24.370
our longevity as well as the quality of life.
179
00:10:25.019 --> 00:10:27.129
And so when we look up the air quality index,
180
00:10:27.169 --> 00:10:29.889
the AQI of a place, and it shows us 200
181
00:10:29.889 --> 00:10:34.470
or 500, what
exactly is that number telling us? What
182
00:10:34.509 --> 00:10:35.269
does that number mean?
183
00:10:36.049 --> 00:10:41.110
So the AQI that you hear is actually not made
184
00:10:41.190 --> 00:10:42.090
of one parameter.
185
00:10:42.649 --> 00:10:46.840
AQI was... Sort of formulated.
186
00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:50.299
In year 2012, there was a committee under the chairmanship
187
00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:54.360
of Dr. Mukesh Sharma, who is a professor of civil
188
00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:57.759
engineering in IIT. There was a 10 or 11 member
189
00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:00.340
committee and I was part of that and we sat
190
00:11:00.379 --> 00:11:03.879
down and discussed the health effects. So AQI is made
191
00:11:03.940 --> 00:11:08.580
of six parameters. One is of course PM2. 5, other is
192
00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:14.490
nitric oxide, other is sulfur dioxide, ozone and lead. Lead
193
00:11:14.990 --> 00:11:17.809
is no more very serious issue because it has been
194
00:11:17.850 --> 00:11:23.009
taken off. So each parameter is given certain strength in
195
00:11:23.090 --> 00:11:26.250
that calculation. The final thing which comes out is one
196
00:11:26.309 --> 00:11:30.740
parameter AQI. So AQI should not be equated to PM2. 5.
197
00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:31.700
It is a.
198
00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:36.879
Mixture of all the six air pollutants. But while PM2. 5
199
00:11:36.940 --> 00:11:43.379
affects the lung, Nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, these
200
00:11:43.500 --> 00:11:47.529
gases will easily pass through the lung and go into
201
00:11:47.570 --> 00:11:50.950
the blood and they also cause their own harms and
202
00:11:50.990 --> 00:11:52.950
there are various adverse effects.
203
00:11:53.629 --> 00:11:55.889
And so right now, are we measuring all these different
204
00:11:55.929 --> 00:11:56.980
kinds of pollutants?
205
00:11:57.620 --> 00:12:03.039
Yes, the Central Pollution and Control Board measuring all the
206
00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:07.399
components except ozone. Ozone is not easy to measure, but
207
00:12:07.450 --> 00:12:10.370
they are measuring it for research purposes. But on a
208
00:12:10.429 --> 00:12:14.710
daily basis, ozone is not published. The rest of the
209
00:12:14.750 --> 00:12:21.519
parameters regularly are monitored at various stations by Central Pollution
210
00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:22.240
Control Board.
211
00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:25.360
And, you know, we all know that pollution is bad
212
00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:28.230
for us. And we hear all the time that breathing
213
00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:31.309
in bad air is like smoking cigarettes and it reduces
214
00:12:31.409 --> 00:12:34.450
life expectancy. And in fact, some people react to that
215
00:12:34.490 --> 00:12:38.049
by saying, you know, I'm fine losing five years of life.
216
00:12:38.190 --> 00:12:40.769
I don't care that much about air pollution. But can
217
00:12:40.809 --> 00:12:44.029
you stress on how air pollution affects our quality of
218
00:12:44.090 --> 00:12:46.860
life and what are its long and short term effects?
219
00:12:47.570 --> 00:12:50.929
So I'll talk about first the short-term effects of air
220
00:12:50.990 --> 00:12:54.909
pollution on us. And if you talk to any Delhiite today,
221
00:12:55.409 --> 00:12:59.090
you tell him that, look, I have some very bad throat,
222
00:12:59.110 --> 00:13:02.960
you know, my throat is so scratchy, I have running nose,
223
00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:07.480
I have got headache, and I'm coughing. Sometime I have
224
00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:10.039
to cough through the night. You will never get a
225
00:13:10.059 --> 00:13:13.509
sympathy because everybody has it. So they will say, okay,
226
00:13:13.549 --> 00:13:16.279
you have it, I also have it. So it's what
227
00:13:16.340 --> 00:13:20.039
we in French phrase you call fait accompli. This has
228
00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:22.639
to happen every year. But this is not the only thing.
229
00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:26.940
Besides this, your feeling of well-being is affected. You feel
230
00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:30.789
more tired in the evening. Your appetite may go down.
231
00:13:31.289 --> 00:13:36.009
Quite importantly, slight heaviness of head is there. And what
232
00:13:36.230 --> 00:13:39.860
is lesser talked about, our sleep gets affected. If you
233
00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:42.860
are in a cleaner environment, you are more likely to
234
00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:48.399
sleep peacefully. But even without cough, that sleep quality gets affected.
235
00:13:49.179 --> 00:13:51.620
And as someone who sees patients regularly, can you talk
236
00:13:51.659 --> 00:13:54.490
about the kind of problems you come across on a
237
00:13:54.509 --> 00:13:55.009
daily basis?
238
00:13:55.629 --> 00:13:59.909
So about a month back, when I was sitting in
239
00:13:59.990 --> 00:14:04.850
my OPD, the AQI was Still in the 200 round category,
240
00:14:04.889 --> 00:14:08.350
but the pollution had started setting in. I got five
241
00:14:08.429 --> 00:14:12.350
consecutive patients who were my old patients who were happily
242
00:14:12.429 --> 00:14:16.029
living their life on inhalers or whatever treatment.
243
00:14:16.350 --> 00:14:18.169
Consecutively, five patients came.
244
00:14:18.389 --> 00:14:22.299
That we have increased cough, we have increased breathlessness, and
245
00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:24.700
we are unable to sleep. We have to sit up
246
00:14:24.740 --> 00:14:27.340
through the night. And when I asked the ST, they
247
00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:30.740
said we have no fever whatsoever. I do their x-ray,
248
00:14:30.779 --> 00:14:33.830
that is normal. And then I do their one test
249
00:14:33.929 --> 00:14:38.169
called fraction of exhaled nitric oxide. That is one exhales
250
00:14:38.250 --> 00:14:41.389
into a machine and we measure the nitric oxide, which
251
00:14:41.470 --> 00:14:45.159
is the measure of airway inflammation. All these patients have
252
00:14:45.179 -->
00:14:48.539
a high level of exhaled nitric oxide, which told me
253
00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:52.720
that they have airway inflammation. So that means that there
254
00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:57.009
was increased inflammation there. due to the air pollution which
255
00:14:57.090 --> 00:15:01.600
led to exacerbation of their asthma or bronchitis or other
256
00:15:01.909 --> 00:15:06.440
respiratory ailments, some of them also landed up into the ICU.
257
00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:09.159
And not only that, those patients who were admitted with
258
00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:13.879
respiratory ailments during the high level of air pollution, their.
259
00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:15.720
Response to treatment was very poor.
260
00:15:16.269 --> 00:15:20.230
Instead of improving, despite the treatment which we thought giving
261
00:15:20.269 --> 00:15:24.000
was appropriate, they were not responding. At least two of
262
00:15:24.100 --> 00:15:29.940
my chronic patients with respiratory diseases, they got admitted. They
263
00:15:29.980 --> 00:15:33.679
knew it was because of the air pollution, and one
264
00:15:33.720 --> 00:15:36.529
knew that it was because of firecrackers, and he was
265
00:15:36.629 --> 00:15:40.090
unwilling to go home. and his response to the treatment
266
00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:43.570
was extremely poor. And this we know that even a
267
00:15:43.610 --> 00:15:47.570
viral infection, which should be trivial, at the time of
268
00:15:47.909 --> 00:15:50.750
air pollution, it may take a serious turn and person
269
00:15:50.789 --> 00:15:53.690
may land into the ICU. There I also would like
270
00:15:53.730 --> 00:15:57.250
to tell you that children, young children, less than 5
271
00:15:57.250 --> 00:15:59.649
years of age, and the elderly more than 60 or
272
00:15:59.649 --> 00:16:05.019
65 years of age, And those who are having heart
273
00:16:05.059 --> 00:16:09.159
diseases or previous lung diseases or those who are immunocompromised
274
00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:13.759
because of diseases or chemotherapy or cancers, they are the
275
00:16:13.820 --> 00:16:16.830
people who are worst affected during this time.
276
00:16:17.710 --> 00:16:19.090
And you know, there are a lot of people who
277
00:16:19.169 --> 00:16:22.029
claim that, you know, they are not being affected by
278
00:16:22.190 --> 00:16:24.970
any of this. So are they just not noticing some
279
00:16:25.009 --> 00:16:27.320
of these symptoms or have they just sort of got
280
00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:27.929
used to it?
281
00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:28.779
No.
282
00:16:29.230 --> 00:16:32.990
Those people who have allergic tendencies, those who are what
283
00:16:33.049 --> 00:16:37.460
we call technically as bronchial hyperreactivity, they are more likely
284
00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:40.759
to be affected. After all, if you give insult to
285
00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:44.279
five people, they react differently. So this is an insult
286
00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:48.940
to our lung. And everybody's
lung will react differently and
287
00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:53.159
with different severity. And there are so many people who
288
00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:57.230
are traveling abroad and... They tell me and I also
289
00:16:57.309 --> 00:17:00.450
keep going. When I go to the Western world, I
290
00:17:00.490 --> 00:17:04.690
go for morning walk, same person, same age, me. I
291
00:17:04.710 --> 00:17:09.549
walk for hour together, I don't get tired. And whereas here,
292
00:17:09.750 --> 00:17:13.319
I don't have that much energies or whatever you call it.
293
00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:16.759
One gets used to it, you stop complaining because it
294
00:17:16.819 --> 00:17:21.109
has been the visibility for that matter. If you land
295
00:17:21.470 --> 00:17:24.849
in the developed worlds and come out of the aircraft,
296
00:17:24.869 --> 00:17:28.819
you feel their vision has improved. And I would also
297
00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:32.059
like to tell you what is the evidence from India,
298
00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:37.480
scientific evidence, that there are short-term implications. About 30 years back,
299
00:17:37.809 --> 00:17:40.210
There was a study conducted at the All India Institute
300
00:17:40.289 --> 00:17:43.569
of Medical Sciences, which I was part of that. That's
301
00:17:43.589 --> 00:17:48.579
a published study where we collected the emergency visits of
302
00:17:48.660 --> 00:17:53.759
patients with asthma, COPD, and heart attacks over a period
303
00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:57.119
of one year and correlated with the level of air pollution.
304
00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:00.490
What was the conclusion was that there was 22 to
305
00:18:00.490 --> 00:18:02.250
25 percent increase in the.
306
00:18:05.069 --> 00:18:06.369
Rate of heart attacks.
307
00:18:06.450 --> 00:18:11.359
Bronchitis and asthma attacks in response to the air pollution
308
00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:14.960
in last 48 hours. And actually that was the study
309
00:18:14.980 --> 00:18:20.250
which led to the vulnerable code taking cognizance and that
310
00:18:20.309 --> 00:18:23.869
time the CNG came and all the industries were asked
311
00:18:23.910 --> 00:18:27.089
to go 50 kilometers away from and that's how the
312
00:18:27.130 --> 00:18:29.599
daily air quality somehow improved in late 90s.
313
00:18:30.670 --> 00:18:32.769
Okay, so, so far we have been talking about how
314
00:18:33.210 --> 00:18:37.960
our body gets affected immediately. What are the long-term effects
315
00:18:38.059 --> 00:18:38.920
of air pollution?
316
00:18:39.720 --> 00:18:44.809
So, first I will talk about the respiratory effects. And
317
00:18:45.130 --> 00:18:48.269
if you talk about asthma, and today every third child
318
00:18:48.670 --> 00:18:52.789
has asthma. And Every other house where young children have
319
00:18:52.849 --> 00:18:58.430
nebulization machine. Whereas the incidence, prevalence of asthma in Indian
320
00:18:58.470 --> 00:19:00.809
children is about 5% or 10%.
321
00:19:00.809 --> 00:19:03.089
But the daily children have.
322
00:19:03.509 --> 00:19:07.559
The lung capacity of daily children as done by a
323
00:19:07.710 --> 00:19:11.180
study at All India Institute of Medical Sciences is much
324
00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:14.299
less than the lung capacity of Tirupati.
325
00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:17.779
This study also is a published study long time back.
326
00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:23.789
The COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, commonly causes bronchitis. And
327
00:19:23.829 --> 00:19:27.250
when we were studying, it was 90% was caused by
328
00:19:27.369 --> 00:19:33.049
tobacco smoking. And in India today, that COPD, 50% is
329
00:19:33.130 --> 00:19:36.769
caused by outdoor and indoor air pollution. And COPD is
330
00:19:36.890 --> 00:19:40.529
third leading cause of death all over the world. Talking
331
00:19:40.569 --> 00:19:45.849
about lung cancer, lung cancer is number one cancer killer
332
00:19:45.930 --> 00:19:46.690
all over the world.
333
00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:49.589
More than prostate, breast, colon.
334
00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:54.720
So lung cancer in the western world, 90% is caused
335
00:19:54.819 --> 00:20:00.700
by tobacco smoking. Whereas in India, 40% it occurs in non-smokers.
336
00:20:01.140 --> 00:20:05.279
And it is attributed to indoor and outdoor air pollution.
337
00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:09.470
And of course, we have already talked about acute exacerbation
338
00:20:09.549 --> 00:20:14.170
of asthma and COPD, which is caused by air pollution. So,
339
00:20:14.670 --> 00:20:17.309
as I talked in the beginning, that air pollution does
340
00:20:17.349 --> 00:20:23.059
not confine itself to lung. It percolates from lung to
341
00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:27.940
all parts of the body. Almost every cancer, starting from
342
00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:34.000
intestine to urinary system to even uterus, ovary, the Incidence
343
00:20:34.099 --> 00:20:36.619
of cancer is higher if you are living in a
344
00:20:36.940 --> 00:20:43.539
polluted environment. Besides that, heart disease also occurs more because
345
00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:49.430
of obvious reasons. And everything culminates into quality of life
346
00:20:49.509 --> 00:20:54.329
and quantity of life. So India got, at the time
347
00:20:54.410 --> 00:20:57.880
of independence, their life expectancy at birth in India was
348
00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:02.200
32 years. Now we are at about 72 years. And
349
00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:09.940
the Chicago study, which was published in October 2023, estimated
350
00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:15.359
that because of the air pollution, that average life expectancy
351
00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:20.920
of Indian at birth is reduced by 5.3 years and 11.9
352
00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:22.720
years for Delhiites.
353
00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:26.140
So, this is very important for all of us to
354
00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:28.509
know that it's not about Delhi.
355
00:21:28.509 --> 00:21:33.640
99% of the Indians are living in the area
where
356
00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:38.589
their pollution is more than what WHO standards.
357
00:21:39.690 --> 00:21:43.630
Yeah, but WHO standards are like 5 and 15. So,
358
00:21:44.009 --> 00:21:48.380
do we know how badly our bodies get affected at
359
00:21:48.390 --> 00:21:50.140
say 200 AQI versus 500 or 800? So, more the
360
00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:50.900
level of AQI versus the.
361
00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:00.940
I don't have the quantification of this. I'm not aware
362
00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:05.849
of any study. But the longitudinal study is done. There's
363
00:22:05.910 --> 00:22:11.650
something called Boston City Study. And the best evidence of
364
00:22:12.150 --> 00:22:20.059
effect of air pollution was documented during COVID. Where in Italy,
365
00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:23.839
you would recollect that initially Italy was worst affected. There
366
00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:28.759
was very high mortality. And the mortality in the North
367
00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:34.009
Italy was four times higher than Southern Italy because the
368
00:22:34.049 --> 00:22:38.049
air pollution in North Italy was much higher. Similarly, the
369
00:22:38.109 --> 00:22:42.490
mortality in Germany and other parts of Europe, it was
370
00:22:43.109 --> 00:22:47.009
found out that if the NO2 levels were more than 100,
371
00:22:46.990 --> 00:22:51.430
the mortality was much higher as compared to the, if
372
00:22:51.509 --> 00:22:54.509
it was between 50 and 100. And if they're less
373
00:22:54.549 --> 00:22:59.089
than 50, the mortality was much, Similarly, in the United States,
374
00:22:59.529 --> 00:23:05.230
each microgram increase in PM2. 5 led to higher mortality with COVID.
375
00:23:05.269 --> 00:23:10.079
So any infection that only exemplifies that any infection, be
376
00:23:10.150 --> 00:23:13.519
it any viral infection, if the pollution is high, it
377
00:23:13.559 --> 00:23:16.359
becomes worse and the outcome also becomes worse.
378
00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:20.180
And you were talking about vulnerable people earlier and I
379
00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:24.220
was thinking about pregnant women. Does air pollution affect the fetus?
380
00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:30.029
Definitely. Excellent question. So, before the pregnancy, it affects the
381
00:23:30.089 --> 00:23:34.970
fertility also. Air pollution also affects fertility. It also affects
382
00:23:35.029 --> 00:23:40.220
sperm count. But the fetus, yes, there is more incidence
383
00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:45.039
of what we call as intrauterine growth retardation, IUJR, more
384
00:23:45.099 --> 00:23:49.119
incidence of miscarriage. Also, the child which grows in the
385
00:23:49.180 --> 00:23:54.609
womb when the mother is exposed to poor air quality,
386
00:23:55.009 --> 00:24:01.240
his onward growth, even after taking birth, their growth is affected.
387
00:24:01.539 --> 00:24:02.859
It's quite serious actually.
388
00:24:03.859 --> 00:24:07.019
And so considering this and considering you see patients
who
389
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:10.339
get admitted to the ICU because of this, do you
390
00:24:10.380 --> 00:24:12.500
recommend people moving out of the city? And I know
391
00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:15.400
very few people can actually do that, but have you
392
00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:16.809
recommended that to people?
393
00:24:17.549 --> 00:24:18.009
All the time.
394
00:24:18.329 --> 00:24:22.390
And actually it is happening that my patients who are
395
00:24:22.430 --> 00:24:27.009
chronically ill, Those who have chronic lung disease, severe asthma,
396
00:24:27.049 --> 00:24:30.109
those who are on oxygen or who get repeated attacks,
397
00:24:30.589 --> 00:24:33.490
or those who can afford to leave city for two
398
00:24:33.569 --> 00:24:36.569
months or three months or even one month for that matter,
399
00:24:36.609 --> 00:24:40.960
I advise them to leave city. And the young people,
400
00:24:41.420 --> 00:24:45.099
young technocrats who are based in developed world and want
401
00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:47.700
to come back to India and they have small children,
402
00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:50.960
Delhi is not a preferred place for them. They prefer
403
00:24:51.009 --> 00:24:53.819
to go to other cities. Because of this, because they
404
00:24:53.859 --> 00:24:57.900
are aware that their children's health will be jeopardized if
405
00:24:57.940 --> 00:24:58.859
they come to Delhi.
406
00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:01.339
And which place do you recommend they go?
407
00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:03.839
So, everything is relative.
408
00:25:04.180 --> 00:25:07.559
If there is a technocrat is there, even Bangalore or
409
00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:12.309
Hyderabad or Mumbai will also be better. But Mumbai, I
410
00:25:12.329 --> 00:25:15.009
will see, so their air pollution is better.
411
00:25:15.410 --> 00:25:16.930
So, that is how it is.
412
00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:20.910
And for perhaps the 99% who can't leave the city,
413
00:25:21.490 --> 00:25:23.690
what are the things that they can do? And maybe
414
00:25:23.730 --> 00:25:27.369
we can start talking about masks. Does wearing a mask help?
415
00:25:28.089 --> 00:25:32.329
So during COVID time, there was not a channel, TV
416
00:25:32.369 --> 00:25:36.720
channel where I didn't go saying that please use simple mask,
417
00:25:36.900 --> 00:25:43.279
cloth mask, three-ply mask and protect yourself and protect others. Unfortunately,
418
00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:47.000
for air pollution, WHO doesn't agree that any kind of
419
00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:47.660
mask works.
420
00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:52.200
So WHO is saying that masks will not protect you
421
00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:53.319
against air pollution.
422
00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:54.119
Air pollution.
423
00:25:54.619 --> 00:25:59.240
WHO said that. But my thinking is that since WHO
424
00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:01.869
has got studies which are done on AQI of 25,
425
00:26:01.859 --> 00:26:08.480
they haven't studied the AQI of 300, 400, 500. So
426
00:26:08.980 --> 00:26:13.369
certainly the cloth mask or simple mask or three-ply mask
427
00:26:13.410 --> 00:26:14.130
does not help.
428
00:26:14.630 --> 00:26:15.509
If something helps.
429
00:26:16.390 --> 00:26:21.230
is N95 or there is something called KN99 mask. So
430
00:26:21.269 --> 00:26:24.309
if somebody is susceptible and he has to go to
431
00:26:24.349 --> 00:26:27.950
crowded market or he has to move out in a
432
00:26:27.990 --> 00:26:31.529
crowded place or air quality is very poor on that
433
00:26:31.630 --> 00:26:34.990
particular day and he must go out, then he should
434
00:26:35.150 --> 00:26:39.400
use N95 mask and not a simple mask. That is
435
00:26:39.460 --> 00:26:43.960
about the mask. And of course, initially you do feel claustrophobic.
436
00:26:43.980 --> 00:26:48.119
You find the breathing out is Only one thing is
437
00:26:48.180 --> 00:26:50.920
that COVID time we said don't use mask with a
438
00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:55.920
valve because you will be emitting virus into the system
439
00:26:56.140 --> 00:26:59.890
if you are infected. Because the breathing becomes better when
440
00:26:59.930 --> 00:27:04.509
you use a valve mask. But pollution you are infecting nobody.
441
00:27:04.549 --> 00:27:07.029
So you can use a mask with a valve if
442
00:27:07.049 --> 00:27:09.170
you feel more comfortable using that.
443
00:27:09.910 --> 00:27:12.250
What about air purifiers? Do they help at all?
444
00:27:13.009 --> 00:27:17.309
So what is air purifier? Air purifier has got two components.
445
00:27:17.750 --> 00:27:22.700
One is a filter which filters 2.5, PM 2.5.
446
00:27:22.700 --> 00:27:25.019
Another is adsorbitant, AD.
447
00:27:25.380 --> 00:27:30.779
Adsorbitant that adsorbs the gases like nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide,
448
00:27:31.099 --> 00:27:34.940
carbon monoxide. And the air which comes out is purer.
449
00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:39.829
And nowadays the air purifiers will demonstrate whether it's pink or,
450
00:27:39.849 --> 00:27:43.140
you know, blue or, you know, whether it's 30 or
451
00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:47.579
200 or whatever. So, presumably, the air that you breathe
452
00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:52.589
is better. But one thing, that there is a way
453
00:27:52.650 --> 00:27:56.309
that you should use your air purifier. Number one is
454
00:27:56.369 --> 00:27:59.829
that air purifier should be of the capacity which is
455
00:27:59.890 --> 00:28:02.900
commensurate with the volume of your room. It is not
456
00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:05.980
that you procure one air purifier and keep it in
457
00:28:06.059 --> 00:28:09.329
the Living room and thing that your house is purified,
458
00:28:09.549 --> 00:28:12.109
that is not there. Second is the room has to
459
00:28:12.130 --> 00:28:15.650
be completely closed. All windows and doors should be closed.
460
00:28:16.119 --> 00:28:19.880
Third thing is that the flow of air from the
461
00:28:19.900 --> 00:28:23.440
air purifier preferably should be an area where you
are there.
462
00:28:23.619 --> 00:28:26.279
So if you are sleeping, then it should be in
463
00:28:26.339 --> 00:28:30.720
that direction. Fourth thing is that the filter should be
464
00:28:31.079 --> 00:28:35.019
replaced as per the recommendation. It can become a source
465
00:28:35.059 --> 00:28:40.099
of fungal infections if the air filters are not. Windows
466
00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:43.519
and doors, if you keep opening for tea, coffee, food,
467
00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:47.519
somebody coming, coming out, it becomes useless. And lastly, the
468
00:28:47.660 --> 00:28:52.289
WHO doesn't agree that air purifier leads to improved health.
469
00:28:52.410 --> 00:28:55.329
But my thinking is that, because I was in Geneva
470
00:28:55.369 --> 00:28:58.150
in a meeting as a member of expert committee, and
471
00:28:58.509 --> 00:29:01.190
I sort of argued that your.
472
00:29:01.029 --> 00:29:04.029
Studies are at 2.
473
00:29:04.190 --> 00:29:08.609
AQI of 50 or PM 2.5 of 30 or 20,
474
00:29:08.609 --> 00:29:12.250
but we are breathing at PM 2.5 of 200. So
475
00:29:12.269 --> 00:29:15.750
same recommendation cannot apply. So they said we have no
476
00:29:15.829 --> 00:29:18.809
evidence that it helps in the health. But I think
477
00:29:19.230 --> 00:29:22.490
the air purifiers are good. And one thing which I
478
00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:26.640
must emphasize that it should not be used like air conditioner,
479
00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:29.200
that when you enter the room, you put on the AC.
480
00:29:29.700 --> 00:29:31.460
It should be on all the time.
481
00:29:32.430 --> 00:29:35.579
And you mentioned keeping doors and windows closed. But one
482
00:29:35.619 --> 00:29:39.630
thing we have heard often in the past regarding indoor
483
00:29:39.809 --> 00:29:43.220
airport is that there should be proper ventilation so what
484
00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:45.279
is a good time to actually ventilate your house no.
485
00:29:45.940 --> 00:29:49.160
No but the thing is that that good windows is
486
00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:52.500
there if you are cooking in that room or you
487
00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:55.819
know you are doing some activity which which generates some
488
00:29:56.079 --> 00:30:00.039
fumes then the windows should be open otherwise it doesn't.
489
00:29:59.779 --> 00:30:02.589
Matter And any other tips for people who want to
490
00:30:02.609 --> 00:30:05.619
step out? Any places that they should avoid? And also,
491
00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:08.019
what is the best time to exercise?
492
00:30:08.680 --> 00:30:12.519
So, few tips I would like to give. Those people
493
00:30:12.539 --> 00:30:16.309
who are susceptible, and I've already said elderly and with diseases,
494
00:30:16.589 --> 00:30:20.420
they must not go to crowded markets. Because air pollution,
495
00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:24.250
when you say AQI is 300 or 400 or.
496
00:30:23.970 --> 00:30:25.150
200, it's not uniform.
497
00:30:25.369 --> 00:30:28.230
Like if you measure the air pollution at the intersection,
498
00:30:28.289 --> 00:30:31.589
a busy intersection, which may be ITO or Chirag Delhi
499
00:30:31.650 --> 00:30:34.430
or whatever, it will be very high. And if you
500
00:30:34.579 --> 00:30:37.980
go from there 20 meters, 50 meters, it will keep
501
00:30:38.140 --> 00:30:41.799
on reducing till the time a plateau comes. Similarly, if
502
00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:44.440
you go to the crowded market, and I need not
503
00:30:44.500 --> 00:30:48.559
recite those names, it's not good. Those kind of markets,
504
00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:52.559
you feel choked actually, where actually the air pollution is
505
00:30:52.599 --> 00:30:55.960
very high. So those things should be avoided. And of course,
506
00:30:55.980 --> 00:31:00.099
when the AQI is bad, one should not think of exercising.
507
00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:04.440
Early morning exercise in city of Delhi during winter is
508
00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:07.920
big no-no. As I told at the beginning that because
509
00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:11.180
of the inversion, the air pollutants are at the breathable level.
510
00:31:11.559 --> 00:31:16.180
So we breathe about 500 milliliters of air with every breath.
511
00:31:16.839 --> 00:31:21.089
And when you exercise, then you breathe, especially when you jog,
512
00:31:21.269 --> 00:31:25.630
this quantum becomes five types. And inevitably your mouth will
513
00:31:25.730 --> 00:31:28.849
open and you will breathe more through the mouth than
514
00:31:28.930 --> 00:31:29.569
your nose.
515
00:31:29.730 --> 00:31:31.410
So that filter gets bypassed.
516
00:31:31.539 --> 00:31:35.019
The whole air which you are breathing directly goes without
517
00:31:35.099 --> 00:31:39.720
filtration in the lungs. So the adverse effects of pollutants
518
00:31:39.779 --> 00:31:43.359
are much more in the morning. So therefore, big no-no for...
519
00:31:44.029 --> 00:31:47.980
early morning when the smog is there. However, if you
520
00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:51.299
have time when the sun is bright, which is uncommon
521
00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:53.920
in Delhi, that is a better time to go for
522
00:31:53.940 --> 00:31:58.700
a walk and stepping out and doing some exercises. And
523
00:31:58.740 --> 00:32:01.160
there is an evidence for that. I should not be
524
00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:04.940
talking without evidence. There was a very elegant study conducted
525
00:32:05.049 --> 00:32:09.869
in London. What they did was people above 60 years
526
00:32:09.970 --> 00:32:13.740
of age They made them walk in the Oxford Street,
527
00:32:13.900 --> 00:32:17.299
where a lot of diesel buses run, and did their
528
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:21.940
lung functions before and after the walk. And they documented
529
00:32:21.980 --> 00:32:26.180
that their lung functions diminished after the walk. And they
530
00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:30.269
also did some inflammatory markers, which are actually highly technical,
531
00:32:30.750 --> 00:32:33.849
before and after, in
their blood. So there was a
532
00:32:34.170 --> 00:32:38.670
definite increase in their inflammation in the system in response
533
00:32:38.710 --> 00:32:42.500
to walking on Oxford Street. Same people, then they made
534
00:32:42.559 --> 00:32:43.200
them walk in.
535
00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:43.839
The Hyde Park.
536
00:32:44.059 --> 00:32:47.779
Hyde Park is a large park in London, and their
537
00:32:47.819 --> 00:32:51.519
lung function improved. So, this is the best evidence that
538
00:32:51.559 --> 00:32:55.319
we have, that walking in the polytrate area reduces your
539
00:32:55.359 --> 00:32:58.910
lung function. There is more inflammation in your blood, which
540
00:32:58.950 --> 00:33:02.430
will affect all the systems of the body. So, therefore,
541
00:33:02.609 --> 00:33:06.329
reiterating that it is better to do indoor exercises than
542
00:33:06.390 --> 00:33:06.799
to go out.
543
00:33:07.589 --> 00:33:10.170
And lastly, you mentioned that Delhi's air pollution is because
544
00:33:10.210 --> 00:33:14.329
of many factors. There is the weather, there are external factors,
545
00:33:14.730 --> 00:33:17.750
you have dust coming in from the Middle East. But
546
00:33:17.769 --> 00:33:21.490
the other major factors are vehicles and garbage burning and construction.
547
00:33:22.059 --> 00:33:24.420
How is it that the government, you know, after all
548
00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:27.900
these years still struggles to tackle these issues?
549
00:33:28.519 --> 00:33:30.940
So this is a political question, but I would tell
550
00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:33.849
you the science. There was a very elegant study done
551
00:33:33.930 --> 00:33:37.259
by the same Dr. Mukesh Sharma and Dr. Divedi from
552
00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:41.299
IIT Kanpur. They did a study in India, in the
553
00:33:41.420 --> 00:33:46.039
city of Delhi. And they documented that if you do
554
00:33:46.140 --> 00:33:50.029
following things, your air pollution would be much less.
555
00:33:50.990 --> 00:33:53.509
And I will just narrate briefly.
556
00:33:54.109 --> 00:33:57.990
If you vacuum clean the roads four times in a
557
00:33:58.069 --> 00:34:02.430
month and wash them also, If you carpet the sides
558
00:34:02.509 --> 00:34:06.319
of the road with some kind of greenery, if you
559
00:34:06.619 --> 00:34:11.420
follow the demolition and construction activities with the norms which
560
00:34:11.480 --> 00:34:15.619
are well known, I need not narrate that. If you
561
00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:19.800
deshock and denox the electricity generation plant, and there are
562
00:34:19.889 --> 00:34:23.630
machines which can do that, that same electricity would be
563
00:34:23.650 --> 00:34:28.090
generated without emission of NO2 and SO2, which are the
564
00:34:28.150 --> 00:34:32.519
main sources. Outcomes of this, if you stop the municipal
565
00:34:32.639 --> 00:34:38.260
burning completely, and if you convert all the 9,000 tandoors
566
00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:42.449
from coal to wood into the LPG or electrical, and
567
00:34:42.530 --> 00:34:45.809
if you do what you call as carpooling, if you
568
00:34:45.829 --> 00:34:48.909
do all this, there will be at least 50% reduction
569
00:34:48.989 --> 00:34:51.929
in the air pollution. And this is a published study
570
00:34:52.289 --> 00:34:55.789
in the year 2016. So that is where we are.
571
00:34:56.289 --> 00:34:58.329
And are there any lessons we can take from other
572
00:34:58.369 --> 00:35:00.809
countries or cities that have managed to do this?
573
00:35:01.469 --> 00:35:06.059
That's an excellent question. So as a documented Chicago study,
574
00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:09.519
so that same study also says that China in 2014
575
00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:16.280
had Beijing, especially China, had similar air pollution that we
576
00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:19.760
have in Delhi. And they took it on war footing.
577
00:35:20.179 --> 00:35:24.730
And their life expectancy has improved by 2.2 years. So
578
00:35:24.769 --> 00:35:28.909
there is solid evidence that if you, long-term evidence, that
579
00:35:28.969 --> 00:35:33.110
if you improve your air quality, your health quality improves. So,
580
00:35:33.510 --> 00:35:37.269
and if you talk about California, 100 years back, they
581
00:35:37.309 --> 00:35:41.699
had pollution something like what we have in Delhi. 100
582
00:35:41.699 --> 00:35:44.500
years down the line, their number of cars have gone
583
00:35:44.579 --> 00:35:47.780
up by 10 times. And their air pollution has gone
584
00:35:47.840 --> 00:35:50.900
down by 10 times. It is only because of good
585
00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:53.699
practices including engine quality.
586
00:35:53.300 --> 00:35:54.119
And fuel quality.
587
00:35:54.889 --> 00:35:58.409
Evidence is there. We have to follow it. There should
588
00:35:58.449 --> 00:36:00.070
be will on the part of policymakers.
589
00:36:00.090 --> 00:36:00.929
Share it with.
590
00:36:03.739 --> 00:36:05.420
A friend or someone in your family. It's the best
591
00:36:05.440 --> 00:36:23.010
way for people to get to know about us. You
592
00:36:23.030 --> 00:36:26.019
can tweet us at Express Podcast and write to us
593
00:36:26.219 --> 00:36:27.989
at podcast at IndianExpress.com.