[Turbanator]

I happened to be in the interiors in Punjab on Diwali eve, travelling from Moga to Amritsa via Harike- Taran Tarn. It was early in the evening and things were so bad, more than smoke it was so much dust that it looked like fog. It was very difficult to keep windows down even for few minutes. Especially bad near Harike, completely opposite to what otherwise should have been. (Two of the largest rivers meet/ one of biggest Wild Life Sanctuaries).

Don't know how much production per hectare has increased or is there any change in farming as I have completely lost touch (over 3 decades now). So, something has to do with all these fires and overall dust getting generated. Chandigarh, which otherwise will be free from Pollution is badly affected for over 3 weeks now.

We need to find answers beyond these Euro 3/ 4 vehicles probably.

[onco.opinion]

While the government is eyeing the seemingly drastic steps to prevent further deterioration of AQI, at individual level, small steps can be taken to mitigate the health hazards pertaining to poor ambient air.

1. Replace heavy workouts and cardio exercises with simple stretchings. Prevent yourself from breathing too deep or too rapid like you would after a heavy workout.
2. Temporarily avoid Yogic deep breathing exercises to curtail taking in bad air deep into your lungs.
3. Replace your outdoor stints with indoor options. Watching TV at such times might be healthier than taking a long walk outdoors when air quality is hazardous.
4. Use the face mask religiously like we all did during the Covid-19 times.
5. If specialised masks are difficult to procure, a simple three layer cloth mask fashioned out of handkerchief shall extend good help.
6. drink plenty of lukewarm fluids to maintain good circulation through the lungs and the whole body. It helps to eliminate toxins.
7. Include healthier foods in the daily diet like fruits, vegetables and dryfruits to compensate for the air borne toxins that we are bound to inhale.
8. Consider taking a health supplement packed with antioxidants. If not, the routine vitamin C chewable tablets (twice a day) can be considered to help the body strengthen its immunity.
9. Investing in an air purifier might be a good idea though this is something that I have not tried personally yet.

It goes without saying that outdoor exercises, workouts and yogic breathing exercises can be resumed as soon as the ambient air quality improves to acceptable level.

[saikishor]

Originally Posted by KI07

I think this is the right move, further more, there should be a stricter testing of pollution emitted by the car.

Most of the people in this thread are saying "they should let the maintained ones run".
We are all well aware of the condition of the pollution testing booths and how they function. So there is no way to differentiate cars on the basis of this.

If cars are polluting, they should be restricted, there is no other way

Even I feel the same. Irrespective of how well a car is maintained, our country simply does not have well qualified testing centers to differentiate between a polluting one and a clean one. The simplest way to get out of this mess is by banning them.

Even if we do have qualified testing centers, I doubt if they will be able to handle the work load. Irrespective of how much we hate this vehicle banning system, I think this is the easiest way for the govt to sort this mess.

[Joe367]

If cities like Bangalore has better air quality than Delhi which already has put a ban on old diesel vehicles, this will make little to no difference. Goverment must be doing this because it is the easiest thing for them to do.

[Mystic]

Pollution is not a specific Delhi problem. It is everywhere in the world. The problem needs to be resolved by thinking out of box and the solution may have to take into consideration all the decisions taken for various issues with holistic view as all are important and needs to be resolved. What we need now is a general medicine doctor and not super specialists.

We have 5 major reasons for pollution:

1. Farmers are forced to burn the fields as they are poor and cannot afford costly agri equipment to clear their fields in a very short window of time and they in turn just burn it. Why Farmers are doing this is because of Government trying to solve another ground water problem with Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009. One can Google to know the act details.

2. Vehicles also contribute to the pollution especially in a situation where an unimaginable number of vehicles move in Delhi for whatever reasons. To solve this, specialists in this area have come up with banning BS3 , BS4. Why we cannot limit the number of vehicles like in Singapore?

3. Construction activities is a must for a developing country like India when its infrastructure is being built now. We cannot stop all construction activities as it affects our economy. Specialists in this area suggest to put on hold to all construction for a while temporarily but a permanent solution should be like pre fabricated structures built on far off non polluted places and brought to urban cities and assembled.

4. Unfortunately, we have no control on weather especially in winter for smog to get amplified. We have to respect nature and work around it.

5. Scientific disposal of garbage and cleaning in Delhi and not just blowing the dust into air by blowers and burning garbage. We have technology in this area abroad.

I wish and hope that some brilliant visionary would be able to look into all the issues and come up with a solution instead of pointing fingers.

[xway]

Vehicle owners are the easiest scapegoats to catch and show some action.

If they penalize farmers or workers or anyone non-salaried, they will be down on the streets, blocking roads, burning vehicles and rampaging.

If they penalize industrialists, their cuts, commissions, bonds will be gone.

So, what to do ?

Easy, ban vehicles, who have paid highest taxes in the world, registration charges, road tax, insurance, tax on insurance, surcharge on taxes, cess on surcharge on taxes.

[akhil_007]

As a next step, I urge the greatest minds in Delhi/NCR to ban even breathing. Or do an even/odd days for breathing. Keep blaming the mango people for everything and impose penalties on them for trying to survive.

Back of the envelope calculation says its impossible for 1 crore vehicles (plying in Delhi) to affect 55,000 sq kms of NCR region for the AQI to reach upwards of 500. What about the dust, finer particles of soot/ash etc and so many other things that cause this AQI to spike?
Conveniently ignored. Government machinery is not just inefficient but also wasteful. Did this AQI go down during COVID where there was vehicular movement was bare minimum?

Can they not ban stubble burning for 1 day to see if things improve?
Can they not ban industries from operating for 1 day to see if things improve?

Govt officials are in an echo chamber and all they hear is what they want to hear.

PS: I hope they don't blame vehicles for the foam in Yamuna river

[iskandariya]

Afganisthan has 78 AQI , No emission norms , non regulated vehicles. Clearly Automotive sector is not the contributor but just the facade.

The factories , un checked environmental clearance to Building projects leading to the flattening of arravalis add to that unchecked or rather uncollected official but collected unofficial sand mining. All these won't be highlighted.

Why are they allowing unchecked construction no town planning in place NCR reaching to New Gurgaon and Greater Noida extention why not dedicated demarcated forest land encircling the town having a width of 10-15kms atleast breaking the NCR ...

[DasAuto1985]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Goverment and thier knee-jerk solutions just keeps going on and on.


Crackers on Diwali - Don't ask to stop, it'll hurt religious sentiments.

Well Diwali was almost a month back and we are still blaming it. Festivals are just another soft target for our media and social media.

[Abhisheknott]

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/in...-12869038.html


I sincerely hope the media and other agencies do their research in good faith the bring out results which are actionable.
This one was a hoot to read as the plants run through the year but AQI is high from Nov-Jan. Some credibility as power consumption might be less but not the generation to the grid.

Similarly the private car is the easiest target as many have already mentioned and probably ends up making no difference whether they ply or not.
Wonder if the government vehicle in the news article is BS 3/4 and is the ban applicable for all vehicles or only private PV's?

NCR folks should burn crackers in Jan/Feb like on Diwali to see if there is any long term change in AQI (one day it will surely spike).

[ValarMorghulis]

Banning is a clear reflection of the government's inability and lack of will.

- Can't control the mob, ban the book.
- Can't control zealots, ban the cartoon.
- Can't control law and order, ban women from venturing out at night.
- Can't control pollution, ban cars.

In all of the above, the government is simply absolving itself of its responsibility and there will always be apologists pandering for them.

[SR5471]

Whether it is global climate change or air pollution, vehicles are the first victims of any ban. It is true that older or poorly maintained vehicles pollute a lot. However there are other major polluting agents like stubble burning which must be banned first. I expect to see lots of second hand exotics in Kerala soon.

[mayank0782]

Why does the NCR Pollution increase to unbearable levels in Winters only ?

Stubble burning is the only cause ? Because rest of the reasons don't seem seasonal. (Industrial/Construction/Vehicular etc.)

[onco.opinion]

Originally Posted by mayank0782

Why does the NCR Pollution increase to unbearable levels in Winters only ?

Stubble burning is the only cause ? Because rest of the reasons don't seem seasonal. (Industrial/Construction/Vehicular etc.)

In winters the air tends to contain more of water droplets due to condensation caused by lowering of temperature. These suspended minute water droplets tend to retain suspended particulate matter for longer durations in the environment leading to worsening of air quality. In summers, the suspended particulate matter tends to dissipate relatively faster. Hope it helps.

[Mustang Sammy]

This while biomass constitutes the bulk of air pollution sources. But cars are easy and politically safe targets

These findings are not surprising if we follow the dictum: What we burn the most, pollutes the most. In India, we burn about 220 crore tonnes of fuel and waste. Of this, 85 per cent is coal and biomass, while 15 per cent comprises other fuels such as petrol, diesel, and natural gas. Naturally, most of our pollution is due to burning biomass and coal. Additionally, dust from roads, construction sites, and barren land contributes to particulate pollution, especially PM 10.

https://indianexpress.com/article/op...t-act-9672107/