The month of November  in Delhi witnessed the worst scenario of smog ever. As the national capital shares its border with the state of haryana, One of the major factors that contributed to the Air pollution in the state was crop burning by farmers in these states.

What made the situation even worse was that due to the change in weather the pollutants somewhat got locked in the air. Here below, I have shared the long term effects smog can have on our health.

WHAT IS SMOG?

The term Smog is decribed as a mixture of emmisions. These mostly include

• Pollution from vehicles
• Open buring (crop burning)
• Industrial pollutants

Smog is most common in big cities, though people living in suburban areas also need to be conscious of the dangers it carries along. No matter where you live, there are certain precautions that need to be taken to protect yourself and your family especially around the time the smog is at its highest stage.

Ozone, a colourless, odourless gas can be good when in the upper atmosphere but can prove to be harmful when found anywhere near the ground level.

LONG TERM EFFECTS OF SMOG

Exposure to smog can definitely lead to both, short term and long term health issues. These majorly include

• COUGHING OR CHEST IRRITATION
• 

Presence of high level of smog in the air can leave to chest irritation, congestion and coughing. High level of ozone irritates the respiratory system. The symptoms however might just last for a few hours but it still continues to cause damage.

• ASTHMA SYMPTOMS
• 

If you are someone who has a history of asthma or suffer from the same, presence of ozone in the air can actually trigger asthma attacks.

• LUNG DAMAGE
• 

Smog as we all know makes it extremely difficult to breathe normally. Children, seniors and specially asthmatic patients need to be super careful with this.

PRECAUTION TO BE TAKEN

Majority of people need to be worried about smog only when the ozone level reaches extreme level. Not that is it not dangerous otherwise, you can say it is a little less harmful. In order to be informed about the presence of ozone level in your area.

Recently during the month of November when major smog was witnessed, every newspaper and media channel showed something that we call AIR QUALITY INDEX OR AQI . This index daily showed the amount of ozone present in the area around us. Different colours were used to mark different levels.

• LIMIT YOUR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
• AVOID DOING RIGOROUS WORKOUT
• USE AIR PURIFIERS
• TRY AND SPRINKLE WATER OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE

Taking care of these few steps can be life saving. Smog can be really dangerous for our health in long term. These simple steps can help protect you and your family from the risk.

I hope you found this blog helpful, if you did please let me know in the comments section below.

Don’t forget to read my blog on indoor plants. As they too help in fighting the pollution.