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Delhi ‘lungs’ turn sickly brown in days
NEW DELHI, Nov 13, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A pair of artificial lungs put up in
New Delhi to demonstrate the lethal effects of smog have turned a sickly dark
brown within 10 days of their installation, underscoring the city’s pollution
crisis.
Delhi, the world’s most polluted major city, has been covered in a toxic
grey haze since the onset of winter last month, with pollution levels several
times higher than the World Health Organization’s safe limits.
The oversized lungs, put up on November 3 on the premises of the Sir Ganga
Ram hospital and white at first, had been fitted with high-powered particle-
trapping filters to mimic the way a human body functions.
“The most striking bit is the rapidity with which the lungs have turned
black. It is absolutely frightening,” said Arvind Kumar, a lung surgeon who
has been campaigning to raise awareness about the dangers of air pollution.
As cooler air traps pollutants close to the ground, levels of PM2.5 —
particles so tiny they can enter the lungs and bloodstream — have soared
dangerously.
“There is no reason to believe that the same material is not getting
deposited in our lungs as well,” Kumar told AFP.
“The health consequences of this is going to be disastrous.”
On Tuesday, PM2.5 levels in the city touched 263, more than 10 times the
recommended average of 25, according to the US embassy in Delhi which
independently monitors air pollution.
It had hit a peak of 369 at 11 am before a brief spell of rain brought
some respite.
BSS/AFP/ARS/2010 hrs