Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Shifting gears (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/)

-   -   Dust: why in india (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/12771-dust-why-india.html)

Hi guys,
I was wondering why in india we have so much dust compared to developed countries.

it affects
1. our health.
2. forces us to use AC and closed rooms if we want to avoid dust in house.
3.screws up our cars/bikes !! I believe regular service/maintenance is mainly because of dust in air, as compared to developed countries (read US).

Here in US, I don't see fully paved areas. In texas, there are green patches everywhere. raw soily surfaces. nothing really different. still my shoes keep shining for months without a coat of polish. even when it's stormy, i don't see much dust coming out in air.

What is really so bad in india? one thing i could think of is poor waste management.

Its called 'soil erosion'
....and you've answered your own question....we need to grow grass to keep the dust from flying around....although I've lived in Arizona and it was pretty dusty.

hey i never gave this a thought.....now i know why the air feels so much fresher when i visit my grandparents in kerala.

yeah nice questions. and i also used to think how do people drive the convertibles out there in US dont they feel the polution and dust.

though the conditions are better I would ask you to stay away from Ahmedabad though. It's was the most polluted cities in India(maybe asia) with the highest ppm. Things have changed though with more trees, flowing rivers and lakes and cng buses and rickshaws.

Here in Toronto its all concrete everywhere hence no dust but my appartment gets even more dirty than in India for some reasons.lol:

Generally the more grass and greenery, the less the dust.


We keep cutting trees and pave our crappy roads in an improper manner, and thus end up with a negligible amount of greenery in the city.

I only have to leave my scooter for 2 hours after a complete wash for it to acquire a fine coating of dust. And this is inside a garage. Damn!!

We as a nation do not think dust is a problem and we have very poor (actually, NO) dust management practices.. One of the key reasons for dust in cities is the construction boom going on.. nobody even thinks of dust managemnt.. in developed countries, there is a code for dust management when you build in populated areas..

The sub-continent has always been dusty.. Thats why the Brits wrote books (and made movies) like 'Heat and dust' about India :)

Because we, in India, believe in and practise in giving true freedom to all animate and inanimate objects (remember our mythology has taught us that Narasimha resides in pillars and dust alike), princes (read politicians) and paupers, tax-payers and evaders... (unlike as in your new home as well as in Kerala).

Indisciplined construction, and as nitin put, poor dust management are the culprits. Once you allow construction debris to come on to streets, nobody owns them. So they go through a process of attrition under your feet and under vehicle tyres big and small till they become miniscule colloidal dust particles which our citizens inhale, drink and eat and excrete partially back on the roads... (the cycle repeats)...

Another reason would be the transportation of the construction material itself. And another one ,here we do not have houses built out of wood..

Dude, dont cry just about India.....U have only seen Europe and US, Have u ever tried out either Kuwait, Saudi , UAE????? Its a whole lotta dust there, way more!!!! But the amount in India has considerably increased in the past 3 yrs drastically, reasons...........mainly Pollution.

I think everybody forgot one reason, Geography and climate.
For example in summers, for example right now as I type this, Delhi gets oodles of dust from Rajasthan. Its so heavy that if you go to many weather reporting sites they report it as "fog"! The reason is that visibility comes down to 300 meters or less, and since airport met information reports just visiblity along with tag haze, may automated data collection routines report is as fog.
that said, yesterday morning at 6am there was a dust storm and the visibility was less than 50 meters. At this moment the wind is blowing from west at 3m/sec = 10km/hour bringing with it more dust.

I dont think it has anything to do with desert or soil erosion.

Its pathetic! There is no concept of landscaping. There is no grass in public areas. If landscaping is done then there wont be any dust because grass will hold down the mud.

Very true. Singapore has almost all open mud areas covered with grass. You hardly find dust even when the weather is hot and dry over there

There are few reasons I think of which contributes to this:

1. As TSK pointed out, Climate and geography plays a major role. Wind currents not only from Rajasthan but from middle east brings a lot of dust to Indian subcontinent.
2. In addition to mismanaged construction activity, illegal mining in the areas outside of Gurgaon and Faridabad are pushing the boundaries of Thar desert towards Delhi/NCR :deadhorse
3. Developed countires like Europe/US keeps the open areas covered with grass(rest is concrete) which helps in reducing dust within city limits.

4. I am not sure about this but there is no such season as monsoon in US, it either rains or snows in most parts every few days which keeps the top layer of soil moisture rich thus reducing the dust flying in the air.

Adding this to your list - for people like me who use contact lens, dust - especially when riding - is a major irritant.

Yes, poor waste management (both domestic and industrial), eroding green cover, and emission control which remains only on paper are the major factors.

May be only a few parts in Kerala? From what I am experiencing, the situation in my home town (Calicut) is getting bad; Ernakulam (with the Metro project underway) is a nightmare....

+1. There appear to be no second thoughts about chopping down trees in the name of development. I remember the kind of greenery that used to be on the roads - Chennai, Bangalore, Pune - now?

Exactly - but what are we doing about it?

Topic is slightly touchy - but here goes - the number of cars which I have seen with either a sole driver or a driver + passenger (mostly cabs) far outnumber those with three or more. If every one is keen to use his / her own four wheeler to travel, definitely the pollution levels will increase. I agree, that public transport is pathetic (at least in Pune & Gurgaon, where I have experienced it first hand, as compared to Chennai, Mumbai), but at least a two wheeler can be used as an alternative when traveling alone?