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<keyword id="53848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-quality" source="Orion">Air quality</keyword> across Delhi continued to be in the 'very poor' category with AQI at 324. "With severe air quality and high level of pollution in Delhi-NCR, we are observing an increase in number of patients coming to us with complains of redness, Itching, and watering in the eyes," said Dr Ikeda Lal, Cornea and Refractory Surgery Specialist, at Delhi Eye Centre and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital New Delhi. "Patients with pre-existing dry eyes are experiencing exacerbation due to high pollution. We are observing almost increase of 40 rise in number of patients coming to us with eye related problems," he added. Dr Lal explained that pollutants and dust in the air is one of the major reasons for causing eye allergy and eye related problem. Delhi has been witnessing a steep increase in AQI levels after a marginal improvement on Sunday. The city's AQI stood at 348 at 4 pm on Monday, deteriorating from 301 on Sunday. The increase in AQI levels comes after the Centre on Saturday had removed stringent curbs, including a ban on construction work related to linear projects and the entry of polluting trucks, in Delhi following a drop in pollution levels due to favourable wind speed and direction. "The increase in the incidence of dry eye and ocular allergy is causing discomfort even in normal eyes. It aggravates the eye complaints in eyes that are prone to dryness and allergies. If care is not taken immediately, some of these eyes can have reduced vision due to this problem as well," said Dr Rajesh Sinha, Professor of Ophthalmology at RP Centre AIIMS New Delhi. While lubricating eye drops and the use of sunglasses are helpful options, contact lenses and eye makeup should be avoided until the eyes are healed completely, Dr Lal said. Doctors advised to not rub eyes if they itch, wash eyes with clean water; repeat if it still feels uncomfortable. They suggested that cold compresses can help relieve mild itching and to see an eye doctor as soon as possible and avoid prolonged exposure of eyes to pollution.

40% rise in eye related problems due to pollution, say Delhi doctors

If the study at at the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Indian+Institute+of+Technology&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Indian Institute of Technology</a>, Bombay, is to be believed, <keyword id="55910" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Air-Pollution">air pollution</keyword> contributed to a total of 80,665 <keyword id="957086" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="premature-deaths">premature deaths</keyword> of adults over 30 years in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Mumbai&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Mumbai</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Delhi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Delhi</a> in 2015 which is about two-fold from 1995. Also, if we talk about it in economic terms, air pollution cost the two cities $10.66 billion (approximately Rs 70,000 crore) in 2015, or about 0.71% of the country's gross domestic product. 
 According to the study, the impact on <keyword id="1157715" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health-and-productivity">health and productivity</keyword> as a result of exposure to pollution and the consequent burden of respiratory ailments rose with every passing decade. 
 
The impact calculation was done using data on PM 10 (fine particulate matter measuring 10 microns), population and death rates. 
 With its <keyword id="4082476" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="higher-pollution-levels">higher pollution levels</keyword>, Delhi recorded more premature deaths due to ingestion of PM10 from vehicle exhaust, construction dust and other industrial processes. Casualties went up from 19,716 in 1995 to 48,651in 2015. In Mumbai, the comparative figure rose from 19,291 to 32,014 in 20 years. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Air+pollution&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Air pollution</a> was also responsible for 23 million cases of restricted activity days (RAD) — either less productive days or days off work for individuals — in the commercial capital in 2015. The worsening quality of air in the city also led to 64,037 emergency room visits in 2015 by those stricken by respiratory ailments, up by 35.4% from 1995. In comparison, in Delhi, there were 29 million cases of RAD and 0.12 million emergency room visits in 2015. 
 
The study's lead author, Kamal Jyoti Maji, said the impact of air pollution on health and productivity was evident in that the increase in cases and cost after 2005 was in line with the overall trend in pollution.

81,000 killed due to air pollution in Delhi and Mumbai in 2015

FDI in construction-development projects fell by over 38 per cent during the year ending March 2015 to $ 758 million compared to $ 1,226 million in FY14. 
 
FDI flow has remained weak this year with just $34 million of investments in the April-June quarter of this fiscal. The poor pick-up in the inflow is owing to the slow approval process. 
 Despite the ‘<keyword id="6354423" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ease-of-Doing-Business">ease of doing business</keyword>’ initiative, even the CM of Maharashtra is struggling to break the mafia impasse that stonewalls the approval process and runs an extortion racket under his nose. Even the Environment Ministry approvals have not improved and remain contentious. In a way this is good as cities barely have any capacity to carry the weight of high-rise towers. Ideally, construction in cities with a population over 5 million should be banned until and unless the municipal corporation can provide proof of the capacity per capita in terms of ability of the city to handle traffic, sewerage, and provide water and power. 
 
These cut-off capacities should be published on their websites permanently and should be sacrosanct in implementation or else all—Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Mumbai—will follow Delhi in becoming dangerous cities (Already, 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India). 
 
Delhi is bathing in dust as construction debris and dust are contributing to 45 per cent of the pollution in the city. So while the CM of Delhi is at his wits’ end over the odd-even car scheme, the real culprit goes unchecked. A city administration must develop city infra projects to raise the capacities of services before giving a nod to growth. 
 
As metro projects progress in a dozen Indian cities, as roads projects accelerate to reach 30 km per day, and as real-estate construction gathers momentum to build even higher towers dotting the skyline, we need to set a framework so that the growth of a city is not at the cost of the life of its citizens. 
 
(The article is authored by Pratap Padode, Founder &amp; Director of Smart Cities Council India, an international consortium of smart cities expert practitioners, academicians and solution providers with over 7500 case studies across the world. Please visit www.India.SmartCitiesCouncil.com) 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Why construction should be banned in Delhi

<ul><li>The national capital’s residents have shown resilience to skin and lung problems and are risking long-term health effects too. This is evident from the undeterred demand for housing in Delhi-NCR area. </li><li>Real estate experts say that people won’t be moving out from their primary home but would buy a second home in less polluted area to get temporary respite.</li><li>For second homes, people are choosing spacious areas with access to public transport and greener space. This is soon turning out to be a luxury which is much in demand-- and that means realty prices will remain intact too. </li></ul>In spite of many frustrated claims on social media, no one is moving out of Delhi--not as yet. The national capital’s residents have shown resilience to skin and lung problems and are risking long-term health effects too. This is evident from the undeterred demand for housing in Delhi-NCR area. Real estate experts say that people won’t be moving out from their primary home but would buy a second home in less polluted area to get temporary respite. The impact of air pollution on the real estate sector is minimal because people have adapted it. “Real estate prices in most Indian cities are not dictated by environmental factors as much as by affordability and their ability to provide employment. For affordable and mid-segment housing, the primary demand driver is connectivity - the speed with which residents can get to work and back,” said Prashant Thakur, director and head of research at ANAROCK Property Consultants. For second homes, people are choosing spacious areas with access to public transport and greener space. This is soon turning out to be a luxury which is much in demand-- and that means realty prices will remain intact too. “Prices will not fall because of increased outward migration. In a country where condemned buildings - clearly declared unsafe for habitation - continue to be occupied, people tend to stay where they are if the economic rationale is compelling enough and no immediate alternatives exist,” said Thakur.. Huge risk to health Delhi which has already been one of the most polluted cities, has worsened this year after air quality dipped below ‘<a href="https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqi">hazardous’ level</a>999 on November 23. The city became a lung destroyer as breathing its polluted air equivalent to smoking over 20 cigarettes a day. The city’s population was alarmed as many studies pointed out that bad air <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/air-pollution-affects-childrens-brain-development-unicef/articleshow/71966471.cms">can affect the brain development of children</a>. According to UNICEF Executive Director Fore, children born during this time are most affected as they continue to have small lungs, breathe twice as fast as adults and lack immunity. Another study said tha<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7710327/Women-suffer-greater-decline-memory-likely-Alzheimers-pollution.html">t women in their 70s and 80s who were exposed to higher levels of air pollution experienced greater decline in memory</a> and more Alzheimer's-like brain atrophy than their counterparts who breathed cleaner air. The toxic air in the Delhi-NCR is not only taking a toll on people's health but is also adversely affecting their skin, causing allergies, rashes and premature ageing, forcing many to seek medical treatments. Doctors have observed 30% jump in skin related problems. Yet, the city’s residents are not giving up on it and hope that the air clears soon. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="71966471" title="Toxic air can affect brain development of children, warns Unicef" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

Air pollution pushes Delhi residents to look for ‘greener’ second homes

It is a known fact that India’s capital <keyword id="6358777" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="New-Delhi">New Delhi</keyword> is facing a crisis when it comes to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=delhi+air+pollution">air pollution</a>, to an extent that it was one and a half times worse than the pollution levels in Beijing over the past week. 
 
Recently, an Indiaspend analysis of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/This-is-how-bad-Delhis-pollution-is-and-its-goingto-get-worse-if-we-do-nothing-about-it/articleshow/50140542.cms">PM 2.5 concentration levels</a> found that "the average weekly PM 2.5 concentration in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=delhi">Delhi's</a> air was 230.9 micrograms per cubic metre (g/m³), giving it a 'very poor' rating of air quality under the guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Bureau (CPCB). This rating means that it could lead to 'respiratory illness on prolonged exposure'. 
 
Another study by the Kolkata-based Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI) shows that nearly half of Delhi’s school children suffer from permanent lung damage while around 10,000 people will die prematurely from air-pollution in Delhi. 
 Additionally, the hazardous <keyword id="68139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Smog">smog</keyword> which engulfed the city in the past few days reducing visibility down to about 200 metres has also forced a handful number of residents to move out of Delhi or atleast contemplate living somewhere which doesn’t resemble ‘living in a gas chamber.’ 
 
Even as the dangers of breathing the polluted air looms right in front of the citizens residing in what is being considered as the most polluted cities in the world, why then are they so blithe in taking steps to protect themselves from the choking air? 
 
Granted, the sale of air purifiers are on the rise with more and more people bringing it in their homes in a bid to chase clean air to breathe, but it should be kept in mind that air purifiers work only indoors, not outdoors. 
 <keyword id="3171236" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="anti-pollution-masks">Anti-pollution masks</keyword> are widely considered the easiest way for an individual to protect themselves from not just dust but also contaminants present in the air, but in the city of Delhi, residents using such masks are still a rarity. 
 
The reason for this is undoubtedly the lack of awareness. Anish Kapoor from Shiva Industries which makes a variety of anti-pollution masks (used even by the Delhi police) available online says that there has been no change in his sales numbers as people are least bothered about masks. 
 
“Not only are they not aware of the dire consequences of the pollution, but they are also quite unaware of the existence of anti-pollution masks and where to get them. The fact that wearing a mask is not considered ‘cool’ doesn’t help either,” Kapur states. 
 
The anti-pollution masks are available both online and offline. They can be bought from chemists and from Select City Walk and shops in Khan Market, being judiciously priced from Rs 180 to Rs 750. There are designer varieties as well, which are priced Rs 2,000 onwards. 
 
According to Vikas Yadav, shopkeeper at Khan Market whose medical store sells about 20-30 masks on a good day, the majority of people who buy them are either people with existing respiratory illness or foreigners. 
 
“I expected more people to buy the masks considering how difficult breathing has become in the city, but unfortunately sales have been maegre,” Yadav summed up. 
 
He is of the belief that for the situation to improve, it is imperative that the government takes steps to educate the people on the importance of these masks and the dire effects of the air quality in the city. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Pollution in Delhi is
increasing, but the demand for anti-pollution masks is not- here’s why

Amid the severe pollution gripping the national capital, <keyword id="19948557" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="delhi-metro" source="keywords">Delhi Metro</keyword> recorded its highest-ever daily ridership on November 18, with a staggering 78.67 lakh passenger journeys, according to official data. This figure exceeded the previous high of 77.49 lakh passengers on August 20 of this year, the data said. On November 18, the Yellow Line, which connects Millennium City Centre in Gurugram to Samaypur Badli in Delhi, saw the highest passenger traffic, with a record 20.99 lakh commuters. The Blue Line followed closely with 20.80 lakh passengers, while the Red Line recorded 8.56 lakh commuters, 8.15 lakh in Pink Line and 7.93 lakh in Violet Line. The Magenta Line saw 6.19 lakh passengers, followed by the Green Line with 4.12 lakh commuters, 81,985 in Airport Line, 57,701 in Rapid Metro, and 50,128, in the Grey Line, as per the data. Thick grey haze continued to choke Delhi for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, with pollution levels remaining alarmingly high at 488 in the 'severe plus' category. To encourage more people to use the metro in this scenario, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is running 60 extra trips on weekdays, offering more capacity than usual, an official statement said. The DMRC has recorded its 25 highest passenger journeys since August this year, the statement added. It emphasised that the more people opt for the metro over private vehicles, the greater the reduction in vehicular emissions, which will help improve the air quality of the city and its surrounding areas. In addition, the DMRC has introduced several measures to make travel more convenient for passengers, the statement read. These include the ability to book single or multiple journey tickets through various digital platforms, allowing passengers to plan their journeys anytime and anywhere without the need to stand in queues at the station. Furthermore, partnerships with organisations such as IRCTC, NCRTC, ITPO, and others have made it easier for people to not only travel by metro but also access interconnected travel options, along with various offers and events, all with seamless ease, the statement said. The DMRC also stated that it is one of the most <keyword id="24050954" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="environmentally-friendly-transport" source="keywords">environmentally friendly transport</keyword> options and the first metro system in the world to be registered for carbon credits with the United Nations for its environmental measures.

Severe pollution pushes Delhi Metro to record its highest-ever daily ridership on November 18

As <keyword id="19900550" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="air-pollution" source="keywords">air pollution</keyword> rises in the national capital, experts have advocated the use of <keyword id="23378997" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="activated-charcoal" source="keywords">activated charcoal</keyword> as a <keyword id="20677308" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="natural-remedy" source="keywords">natural remedy</keyword> for preventing clogging of skin pores and keep out toxins. The experts said activated charcoal masks are effective in reducing sebum (oily substance) from the face skin, thus helping treat acne as they have good absorbing properties. Dr R P Parasher, the national president of the Integrated Medical Association (Ayush), said that activated charcoal, dubbed as '<keyword id="23640477" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="black-diamond" source="keywords">Black Diamond</keyword>', has good sebum absorbing properties. As pollution levels escalate, it causes concern for the skin as particulate matter ranging from PM2.5 to PM10 may lead to the blockage of the skin pores and lead to breakouts, Dr Parasher said. Further, chemicals like lead and nitrogen which increase in the atmosphere during the pollution surge, may damage the skin and may even enter the blood stream through the skin pores which may further damage organs in the body in the long term, he said. "Activated charcoal is not absorbed in the skin but absorbs the toxic elements as well as microbes present in the acne and in this way it saves the skin from getting damaged," he said. Activated charcoal can help balance and control <keyword id="22273531" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sebum-production" source="keywords">sebum production</keyword> which can otherwise lead to breakout and acne. A study "Review of Green Synthesis: Activated Charcoal to Reduce Sebum Levels in Oily Facial Skin" by researchers from Indonesia stated that the porous texture of activated charcoal positively captures and attracts negatively charged molecules. Since activated charcoal is not absorbed by the body, it carries its surface-bound toxins out of the body. Director of Ayouthveda, a skincare brand, Dr Sanchit Sharma, said that the process of creating activated charcoal involves carbonising harvested bamboo at very high temperatures, enhancing its surface area to weight ratio of about 1200:1. This method not only maximises its effectiveness in absorbing toxins but also makes it a powerful ally in the fight against acne, he said. As awareness grows, several varieties of charcoal products are gaining popularity in Asian and European markets, promising a natural solution to many skin issues exacerbated by pollution, Sharma said. Talking about his facewash product, he said, "Ayouthveda <keyword id="23640475" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="charcoal-face-wash" source="keywords">charcoal face wash</keyword> prepared from activated bamboo charcoal effectively cleanses the skin by removing dirt and impurities. "It protects the skin from pollution and absorbs excess oil, making it easy to remove makeup. It also eliminates sweat and toxins accumulated, for instance, during workouts or after a long day." Though charcoal face wash are generally safe, overuse can cause some skin dryness, Dr Parasher pointed out.

Experts advocate using activated charcoal for skin benefits amid rising pollution in Delhi!

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/Package/2C0FQE3JXDMS8#/SearchResult&amp;ALID=2C0FQE3JXDMS8&amp;VBID=2C0FC0G2EVB7&amp;POPUPPN=3&amp;POPUPIID=2C0FQE3D2QLMR">Saumya Khandelwal - Reuters</a>A woman wearing a scarf to cover her face looks on as she waits for a passenger bus on a smoggy morning.</div></div></div>Don't walk. Don't go to school. Don't breathe too fast. That's just some of the advice from authorities in Delhi, India this past week, when the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/delhi-pollution-schools-shut-down-2017-11?r=UK&amp;IR=T">smog became so thick</a> that is was described by the local government as a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/delhi-pollution-schools-shut-down-2017-11">"gas chamber."</a>Last November, the city experienced some of its worst pollution in decades, and this year looks like it's going to be a repeat. Here's what it's like for people who live in the Indian capital right now:.

You Searched For "pollution in Delhi" and got 8 results

40% rise in eye related problems due to pollution, say Delhi doctors

IANS

81,000 killed due to air pollution in Delhi and Mumbai in 2015

BI India Bureau

Why construction should be banned in Delhi

Guest Author

Air pollution pushes Delhi residents to look for ‘greener’ second homes

Preeti Soni

Pollution in Delhi is increasing, but the demand for anti-pollution masks is not- here’s why

Poulomi Das

Severe pollution pushes Delhi Metro to record its highest-ever daily ridership on November 18

PTI

Experts advocate using activated charcoal for skin benefits amid rising pollution in Delhi!

PTI

These photos of pollution in Delhi reveal why authorities are calling the city a 'gas chamber'

Hilary Brueck

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