Lucknow wakes up to smog, poor visibility
LUCKNOW: The state capital woke up to smog and poor visibility on Tuesday. Joggers, school-going children were worst affected. Drop in morning temperature and moisture in the air due to south-westerly winds led to smog, said sources.
The state capital woke up to smog and poor visibility on Tuesday. Joggers, school-going children and those driving on highways had to be in ‘slowdown mode’ to reach their destinations. “The visibility was poor on the highway as I was driving home from Rishikesh after an extended weekend. I had to use wipers all throughout on way to Lucknow. It was very hard to drive,” said Bhaskar, who works with a financial inclusion-consulting firm. Alok Dhawan, director of Indian Institute of Toxicology and Research, said: “The moisture content in the air is high. This coupled with rising air pollution could have led to smog. As the wind is not blowing, hence the smog is not disappearing.” JP Gupta, director, meteorological department said he received reports of thick smog enveloping many parts of Lucknow. “A drop in morning temperature and moisture in the air due to south-westerly winds led to smog,” he said. He said this smog will clear in a day or two as the temperature is likely to rise during the next 48 hours. A senior officer in the UP Pollution Control Board said burning of tyres or household waste in the open by people may have led to this situation, as smog was reported only from a few pockets of Lucknow. Smog is a cause of health concern too. A study on assessment of ambient air quality of Lucknow city (pre-monsoon 2017) done by CSIR-IITR pointed out that exposure to low levels of nitrogen oxides in smog can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and lungs and cause coughing, breathlessness, fatigue and nausea.