Northern India smog and pollution this year
Jan 5, 2020, 3:26 am
#1
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Northern India smog and pollution this year
Warning, it’s really bad. Last week probably aggravated by the low temps, was some of the worst sustained poor air quality i have ever had to endure. It made a trip to Varanasi and Jaipur a disaster for us as we have two family members with asthma who had to remain indoors much of the time.
i got wind that things were bad when i tracked our BKK-VNS flight the week before we took it. One day it took off on time, went to VNS, circled a dozen times and then diverted to CCU. People we met in VNS said their DEL-VNS flight aborted landing and then returned to DEL and they had to drive in a car to VNS. I get that the weather is unseasonably cold, but the pollution is a scourge that India seems to not want to even acknowledge. People in the hotels insisted on calling it “fog” and the papers hardly mentioned the pollution levels. I’d say India is threatening its golden goose of tourism in this area if it doesnt get a grip on its air pollution.
I post this as a warning, I had a couple thousand in sunk costs (2 rooms@ $150 each in VNS + 2 villas in Jaipur at $365 each) plus some nonrefundable air tickets, but had anyone given me a glimpse of how bad it was we would have skipped india and stayed in Thailand. I would strongly urge you to investigate air quality numbers and look at flight delays (which are a good indicator or fog or smog whatever you want to call it). It is absolutely no fun to have dimly lit sky except for a couple hours around 2pm and be choking for a breath if you exert yourself at all.
BTW, I am not a newbie India, been going there on and off for about 20 years.
i got wind that things were bad when i tracked our BKK-VNS flight the week before we took it. One day it took off on time, went to VNS, circled a dozen times and then diverted to CCU. People we met in VNS said their DEL-VNS flight aborted landing and then returned to DEL and they had to drive in a car to VNS. I get that the weather is unseasonably cold, but the pollution is a scourge that India seems to not want to even acknowledge. People in the hotels insisted on calling it “fog” and the papers hardly mentioned the pollution levels. I’d say India is threatening its golden goose of tourism in this area if it doesnt get a grip on its air pollution.
I post this as a warning, I had a couple thousand in sunk costs (2 rooms@ $150 each in VNS + 2 villas in Jaipur at $365 each) plus some nonrefundable air tickets, but had anyone given me a glimpse of how bad it was we would have skipped india and stayed in Thailand. I would strongly urge you to investigate air quality numbers and look at flight delays (which are a good indicator or fog or smog whatever you want to call it). It is absolutely no fun to have dimly lit sky except for a couple hours around 2pm and be choking for a breath if you exert yourself at all.
BTW, I am not a newbie India, been going there on and off for about 20 years.
Jan 6, 2020, 6:13 am
#2
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i posted this in the other thread where you pointed out this problem but i'll post here again since you started a new thread about the subject....
no one is ignoring the pollution problem....you can call it pollution or smog or fog or cold or whatever else you want but its a genuine problem that most cities are trying to deal with....the supreme court has passed a number of judgements to help reduce the pollution, different state governments have implemented policies to counter this problem....but all these things will take time & more effort will have to put in....
fog is just the general term that's been used in this part of the world forever, even when pollution was not a problem....most people here think that fog & smog are two names for the same thing....they know what it is & that its a problem, but they just call it fog....
the reason newspapers are talking about the cold is because this is the coldest winter north india has faced in decades....no one is ignoring the real problem....the pollution problem has been reported to death in the papers & measures are being taken to counter it....the cold weather is just something new for the newspapers to talk about right now....
as a resident of delhi, where pollution is probably at its worst, i am seriously concerned for the safety of my family....i take whatever measures i can to counter it & i am grateful to the courts & the local delhi government who have recognized that this is something they need to fix....the delhi government has taken measures (some stupid & some effective) to reduce pollution levels & a consistent & lengthy effort will have to be put in to bring pollution to acceptable levels....the central government on the other hand has to do a lot more to fix this problem....this is what has been lacking....
at the end of the day, its a serious problem....i would advise people with asthma & weak lungs to not visit this part of the world right now....but its absolutely wrong to say that its not being acknowledged or that its being ignored....
no one is ignoring the pollution problem....you can call it pollution or smog or fog or cold or whatever else you want but its a genuine problem that most cities are trying to deal with....the supreme court has passed a number of judgements to help reduce the pollution, different state governments have implemented policies to counter this problem....but all these things will take time & more effort will have to put in....
fog is just the general term that's been used in this part of the world forever, even when pollution was not a problem....most people here think that fog & smog are two names for the same thing....they know what it is & that its a problem, but they just call it fog....
the reason newspapers are talking about the cold is because this is the coldest winter north india has faced in decades....no one is ignoring the real problem....the pollution problem has been reported to death in the papers & measures are being taken to counter it....the cold weather is just something new for the newspapers to talk about right now....
as a resident of delhi, where pollution is probably at its worst, i am seriously concerned for the safety of my family....i take whatever measures i can to counter it & i am grateful to the courts & the local delhi government who have recognized that this is something they need to fix....the delhi government has taken measures (some stupid & some effective) to reduce pollution levels & a consistent & lengthy effort will have to be put in to bring pollution to acceptable levels....the central government on the other hand has to do a lot more to fix this problem....this is what has been lacking....
at the end of the day, its a serious problem....i would advise people with asthma & weak lungs to not visit this part of the world right now....but its absolutely wrong to say that its not being acknowledged or that its being ignored....
Jan 10, 2020, 6:00 pm
#3
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,203
I think anyone doing any reasonable reserach would have found out about fog/smog/pollution/hazziness/poor air quality issues.
(Just as any new foreign students to US universities should be aware about the increased prejudices/discrimination they may run into in this Trump era)
However, it should also be acknowledged that NOT enough effective measures are being taken when issue has been around for many years and detoriating very rapidly
(Just as any new foreign students to US universities should be aware about the increased prejudices/discrimination they may run into in this Trump era)
However, it should also be acknowledged that NOT enough effective measures are being taken when issue has been around for many years and detoriating very rapidly