Delhi Smog – Let’s not live on borrowed time

I remember reading Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘North and South’ – a phenomenal classic - and being awed by the impact an altered landscape can have on human conscience. The character Margaret Hale is forced to move from the sunny and picturesque south England to Milton in north of the country. The newly industrializing town disturbs the beautiful protagonist, as she encounters first-hand what living is like in a smoky, dust infested and poverty stricken environ.

While the plot develops around human relationships and man’s reaction to his circumstance, what left a lasting impression was how the newly industrialised western world would have looked like in those days – dark, gloomy and extremely unhealthy.

This is exactly how winter has been feeling in Delhi for a while; and with each passing year the scene only gets worse. There has been a constant haze, blurring our vision of the world around us. A thick layer of white “pea soup” (as was called earlier in England) hanging low, confusing us whether there was real fog or smog or just a cloud of pollution merged with fine dust.

At times, breathing was difficult, rolling down windows while driving was impossible, opening our room windows to hear birds chirping unthinkable.

The fine dust called PM 2.5 can lodge in our lungs and cause long term repercussions. We did no favour by bursting crackers galore during Diwali, though we were well aware of the health hazards that have been hounding us.

We also earned the infamy of being placed in the list of the most polluted cities in the world, even displacing Mexico City for top position in November.

The reasons for our acrid atmosphere are many – widespread construction, burning of stubble in fields, rapid increase in the number of vehicles, improper disposal of garbage without separating plastic and rubber items and bursting of fire crackers during festival season.

This is not the first time in history that we have played havoc with our environment.

Nearly a century back, there is a record of the Meuse Valley Smog of 1930 in Belgium. A densely populated area along the Meuse river came under the spell of thick toxic smog which was later determined to be Fluorine gas emanating from a factory. At least 60 people died, thousands fell ill and animals including cattle got affected.

In 1948, there occurred the Pennsylvania Smog incident, dubbed as one of the worst air pollution disasters in history. Air Inversion in winter near Donora Zinc plant was the culprit here and this led to the death of 20, while 7000 others fell ill.

A bigger environmental disaster still was the Great London Smog of 1952. The episode which also came to be known as ‘The Big Smoke’ was so severe that an estimated 4000-6000 people succumbed to it. Endless number feel ill. The harsh winter weather combined with air pollution caused a haze to descend on the city that completely blinded people, who could not see the road ahead for even a few feet. Pedestrians were forced to stamp on the ground to find their way ahead and ensure that no obstacles were in the way. Barring the London Underground network, public transport ceased to operate, and even ambulances could not move out of hospitals to help patients.

The point is that every time we have made a push for development, we have inevitably compromised with our environment. Wealth is a fickle lady, while nature is our enduring nurturer and support. Yet, we continue to exploit resources ruthlessly and without sustainable regeneration of reserves and reforestation programs for capital gain.

The impact that the greed of a few has on the well-being of many – not just humans but animals, birds and plants cannot be understated.

Delhi, amongst many other cities in India, must introspect about consequences of paddy-stubble burning, incessant construction and vehicular pollution amidst vanishing green covers.

There is large vacuity between existing and living with a sense of wellness. Material progress, while vital, cannot ever be the goal alone.

This a lesson which we must drive home this year, if we want to avoid turning Delhi into another gas chamber that we saw last year.