HYDERABAD: The city may soon have to replicate Delhi chief minister Kejriwal's odd-even rule to combat the rising levels of pollution, indicates data available with pollution monitoring bodies.
Deadly pollutants including sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide are adding to the air pollution in city besides the rising PM 2.5 levels.
According to S Jeevanand Reddy, the convener of the Forum for Sustainable Environment, the main cause of particulate matter in the air is vehicular emission.
"While the advancement in the vehicular technology should have brought the pollution levels down, it had not been the case in Hyderabad. Goods vehicles continue to use adulterated fuel here to cut costs. Emissions from vehicles are the chief contributors of NOx or oxides of nitrogen. When they react with other particles in the air, there can be an increase in the ground-level ozone content. This, in turn, leads to severe health complications. City buses, which are more than 15 years old, are also major pollutants," he said.
Reddy has done extensive studies on air pollution in the city.
The state pollution control board's figures only reinstate the ugly reality. While in 2010, the NOx levels in pockets such as Jubilee Hills and Charminar varied between 16 and 17, it shot up to 24.2 and 32.1 respectively in 2015.
The scenario is no different this year. In July, the NOx levels in the Charminar region stood at 22.3, while the same jumped to 32.5 in October. The sulphur dioxide content has also seen a steady increase in this area. From 4.8 in July 2016, the SO2 level in the Charminar region shot up to 5.1 in October. In Jubilee Hills, the SO2 level has jumped from 4.5 in July to 4.9 in October.
Doctors are predictably worried. "There has been an exponential increase in the number of people showing up with respiratory conditions and breathing difficulties the past few months. While initial symptoms of exposure to polluted air include breathlessness, dry cough and tightness in the chest, prolonged exposure can even lead to diseases such as cancer. Authorities must act now to prevent a Delhi-like situation from playing out here," said SA Rafi, consultant pulmonologist at Care Hospitals in Banjara Hills.
Doctors recommend wearing masks to avoid the problem, but it is effective only for large particle and can't prevent small particles being inhaled.
