Patna: Morning walk, they say, is the panacea for many ills. However, many health freaks are giving up this habit as a supposedly healthy exercise, according to them, has become a health hazard due to air pollution in Patna.
Theirs are not unfounded fears. Pollutant figures released on hourly basis by the Bihar State Pollution Control Board back their claim.
The particulate matter of 2.5 microns is a major pollutant. Against the standard limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (mg/m3) volume of air, it was 249mg/m3 at 8am, 231mg/m3 at 7am, 209mg/m3 at 6am and 177mg/m3 at 5am on Tuesday.
Tuesday was selected as a random day and the pollutants were measured near the city planetarium. As the day progressed, notably, the levels decreased to146mg/m3 at noon and then started increasing in evening hours.
Those who take a walk in the open after dinner also need to know a couple of hard facts. The particulate matter was 205mg/m3 at 8pm followed by 187mg/m3 after an hour and 195mg/m3 after another one hour. Similar was the trend of other pollutants like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, nitrogen-dioxide and ozone.
"Pollutants generally go up in the air. However, the winter fog creates a layer at the lower level of the atmosphere, which prevents the pollutants from going up," a pollution control board expert told TOI on Wednesday, adding the pollutants thus remain present in the atmosphere at a lower level in a condensed form in winter.
Patna University's botany department head Shardendu nods. "If you make an intra-day comparison, you will find pollutant levels decreasing in noon," he said and added pollutants go up due to sun rays and, as such, they decrease earlier in summer than winter during daytime.
Particulate matter is mainly emitted by vehicles. Dust created at construction sites adds to particulate matter. Carbon monoxide is in the air because of biomass. Sulphur's source is coal consumption. Nitrogen gases are emitted by fuels consumed during transportation.
So, should morning walkers give up walking altogether? No, says Dr Surya Kant, Indian Chest Society (ICS) national president and head of TB and chest department of King George Medical University in Lucknow. The remedy, according to him, is simple: Go out for a walk only when the fog is gone and the sun is out.
"If morning walkers don't pay heed to this, they may suffer from pharyngitis, laryngitis, bronchitis, TB, pneumonia and even lung cancer," the Lucknow doctor told TOI over the phone.
However, only particulate matter of the size ranging between 2microns and 10 microns is harmful. According to the ICS president, morning walkers already susceptible to lung diseases must take steam twice. "Steam produces heat that heals inflammation (swelling) of airway. Even healthy morning walkers can adopt this practice," he said.
Dr Surya Kant added foods rich in antioxidants (vitamin E, vitamin C and salenium) are "nasal scavengers"; that is, they clean your nose. "Adopt green-orange-red formula: Take green vegetables, oranges and tomatoes and carrot (red)," he advises one and all.
