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Hyderabad: Health alert as air quality turns poor

Air-quality monitoring units say that the conditions are not good for sensitive groups and they must not have prolonged outdoor exertion.

Hyderabad: Three major areas where air quality is monitored show unhealthy levels of Particulate Matter 2.5. It touched 117 micrograms at Sanathnnagar, 127 at the US Consulate at Begumpet and 168 at the Zoo Park on Wednesday afternoon. Air-quality monitoring units say that the conditions are not good for sensitive groups and they must not have prolonged outdoor exertion. Those suffering from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, upper respiratory tract infections, pneumonia and infections of the lung must restrict outdoor activity during these conditions, experts said.

Dr Subhakar K, senior pulmonologist, said, “The presence of dust particles in the air narrows the airways due to which there is difficulty in breathing. Young patients come in with problems of breathlessness as there is too much dust on city roads. With construction activity and congested roads, the accumulation of dust is very high within city areas.”

The dust is found to remain static and is not dispersing quickly with there being minimal wind movement. This is dangerous. Dr C. Vijay Kumar said, “The pollutants emanating from vehicles, industries and from construction activities hang around at one place for long time. Breathing in the same pollutants makes the immune system in the body work harder.”

“The body gets into a fighting mode to combat these pollutants but not for very long. Once it compromises, infections take over and the attack is found to be very strong. For this reason, patients are advised to engage in minimum outdoor activity,” Dr Kumar said. Heart patients also have to be careful as the arteries get restricted due to narrowing of airways and that has an adverse effect on the circulation of blood.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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