Living and Moving in Delhi

Where Every Breath Is Killing

Is it because the killer is not actually visible that we all act blind? Or is it that we are in a state of denial? Or maybe we believe it is all a hoax or even a conspiracy theory. After all, how can the country’s capital – home to the prime minister and the president – be the most polluted city in the world?

Last year, World Health Organization (WHO) declared that New Delhi ranked number one in pollution levels and had overthrown Beijing from the top. It was certainly the only podium finish against the Chinese that nobody in India cheered for.

The news came in at a time when India was all gung-ho about its Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, with top ministers, bureaucrats and celebrities posing with brooms going viral across media. Around the same period, Delhi’s newly formed government had won the elections with the ‘broom’ as its insignia.

Now, if only the broom could solve the pollution problem, Delhi would be a fine place. Practically, though, the broom only increases the levels of particulate matter in air, which in Delhi had breached the danger mark long time ago and is now on a consistent killing spree.

Particulate can float in the air for minutes or hours even though we can rarely see even the largest particles without a beam of sunlight to help. Approximately 20 per cent of the dust in an average home will consist of pollen, mould spores, insect parts, microscopic urine and faecal particles from pet accidents, dust mites, mite excrement, and fibres from clothing, carpet, paper towels, tissues and toilet paper. When inhaled, these dust particles can trigger allergies and asthma, and cause a long list of ill-health effects. Here are some ways to control the dust in your home: of these processes do little to clean dust, but do a lot to send it flying back into the air you breathe. Damp wiping, damp mopping, or vacuuming is the best way to collect dust rather than scattering it. incursion, or sewer back-up, do not get rid of your carpet. Carpet actually helps to prevent dust particles from re-entering the air. It is, however, very important to regularly maintain carpet by cleaning and vacuuming. Floors with wood, vinyl or tile coverings must be damp mopped much more frequently to keep particles from re-circulating back into air you breathe. are important but typically are not enough to trap the more serious ultra-fine particles that go deep into the recesses of the lungs. Your vacuum should therefore have high-efficiency particulate air filtration. Whether your vacuum cleaner is bag or bag-less, they should always be changed or emptied outdoors to prevent loose dust from readily re-contaminating your indoor air. Source: http://indoorair.net