Respiratory cases surge as Delhi’s air quality remains ‘very poor’

New Delhi: Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Monday morning with hospitals in the national capital witnessing a surge in patients with respiratory issues.

Thick layer of smog covered most parts of Delhi on Monday morning also. The overall air quality was recorded at 349 in the national capital as of 9 am on Morning which falls in the’very poor’ category’, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR)-India data.

As per the SAFAR-India data, AQI was recorded 206 at Sri Aurobindo Marg, 358 at Alipur, 385 at Anand Vihar, 356 at Burari Crossing, 367 at Dwarka-Sector 8, 338 at IGI Airport-T3, 307 at Lodhi Road, 382 at Mundka, 357 at Najafgarh and 371 at RK Puram as of 9 am today.

AQI in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was at 315 as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as of 9 am. A layer of smog engulfed the area surrounding Akshardham as the AQI was recorded at 378, categorised as ‘very poor’ according to the CPCB.

Toxic foam was seen floating on the Yamuna River in Kalindi Kunj today morning, as the pollution level in the river continues to remain high.
As the air pollution levels in the national capital reach “very poor,” doctors say that even people with no history of respiratory diseases are suffering from breathing issues.

Dr Nikhil Modi, Senior Consultant for Respiratory Critical Care at Apollo Hospital, said that apart from the regular patients, those who don’t have any respiratory issues in the past are showing up with symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, coughing and have increasing difficulties in breathing.

Dr Arvind Kumar, Chairman, Institute of Chest Surgery- Chest Onco Surgery and Lung Transplantation, Medanta Hospital said, “When you breathe that kind of air, your throat gets choked. All the ICUs are now getting patients with all kinds of pneumonia. You talk to paediatricians, their clinics are flooded with children who are having breathing problems. Go to any household, children are coughing, adults are coughing. So it’s really taking a toll on people’s health. The closure of schools and all the GRAP things, I completely disagree with it because these are all temporary knee-jerk reactions.”
An AQI is considered “poor” between ‘200 and 300’, “very poor” at ‘301 and 400’, “severe” at ‘401-450,” and 450 and above is “severe plus.”