Economic cost of smog for Delhi-NCR
Don’t sit and wait for smog to go away. Safeguard yourself from its ill effects. Delhi has been ranking as the world’s most polluted city…
Don’t sit and wait for smog to go away. Safeguard yourself from its ill effects. Delhi has been ranking as the world’s most polluted city since 2014.
Brief:
Yesterday Delhi’s Air Quality Index ( AQI) was 331. It was worse at Dwarka.
News18 reports:
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.
Economic cost to Delhi-NCR may be around INR 35,000 crore ( Mumbai and Delhi lose INR 70,000 crore due to the air pollution).
Why does air pollution cost to the economy?
Pollution causes harm in two ways:
One, the cost of medical welfare; doctors fees, medicines and equipments to clean the air in house.
Two, the cost of lost labour or the opportunity cost of not able to be productive.
What can you do?
Nikhil Pahwa (founder of Medianama) has published a public document for workplaces and individuals. Some key points are.
Using air purifiers decreases the pollution indoors. There are do it yourself ( DIY) and cheaper options available.
Wearing good quality face masks prevents from inhaling gases and particles.
Changing timings from peak hours to off peak hours will help getting stuck in the gas chamber our city becomes.
Plants such as money plant absorb the harmful gases.
Do not ignore vehicles. Install purifiers in the cars as well.
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