Mumbai: Bad air is hitting those with pre-existing conditions worst

One of the civic body’s vehicle-mounted mist machines in action on Sunday

The city's air quality has deteriorated earlier ahead of winter than expected, leading to a rise in the number of people visiting hospitals and health centres, complaining of respiratory illnesses. Doctors foresee an increase in the frequency of hospitalisation in patients with pre-existing conditions.

Construction activities have increased unchecked over the past two years, noted Dr Lancelot Pinto, a pulmonologist at PD Hinduja Hospital, who has been observing a clear increase in patients as the air quality index (AQI) rises. Several construction sites in the city are known to flout preventive norms, so much so that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently identified 6,000 such sites responsible for worsening air pollution.

One of the civic body's vehicle-mounted mist machines in action on Sunday

According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) data at 8.30 am on Sunday, the city's AQI stood at 132. Meanwhile, AQI for Andheri, Colaba and Mazagaon was 101, 180 and 156 respectively. But some of these areas have experienced worse days. For instance, earlier this month, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) recorded Vile Parle's AQI at 342.

‘Some are struggling'

"Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients have increased. This air is worsening the condition of people who have pre-existing conditions. In the coming days, there will likely be an increase in the frequency of hospitalisation in such patients," said a doctor from BMC-run Cooper Hospital in the area.

COPD is a chronic lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe and includes obstructed airflow from the lungs. The symptoms include cough and shortness of breath. "People who have respiratory problems are clearly struggling right now," said Dr Pinto. This largely includes people with asthma, COPD, and other chronic respiratory illnesses. "Such patients were doing fine a couple of months ago but are now suddenly visiting the hospital needing higher doses of inhalers," Dr Pinto said.

Meanwhile, the situation is no different in areas like Ghatkopar. Dr Chetan Jain, a pulmonologist with Zynova Shalby Hospital, said he sees about 40 to 50 patients a day, and out of them, at least 25 complain of a persistent cough. "This is also making it worse for patients with diabetes, who are always prone to infections. It is a dangerous situation for those who have both diabetes and some sort of lung infection," he said.

Insidious correlation

A paper recently published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal established a correlation between particulate matter (PM2.5) and an increase in antibiotic resistance. PM2.5 has been shown to contain diverse antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistance genes, which are transferred between environments and directly inhaled by humans, causing respiratory-tract injury and infection, the paper noted. The research, published in August, is based on data from more than 100 countries over nearly two decades.

Meanwhile, SAFAR director Dr Gufran Beig noted that such early pre-winter deterioration of air quality can also be attributed to the late withdrawal of the monsoon. "Stagnation winds have become very prominent, and construction activities are making it worse," he said. He added the situation will improve in the next couple of months only if authorities act right now in implementing pollution control measures.

"This needs to be done by both the local municipal corporation and transport officials," he said. The BMC recently issued guidelines for construction sites, making it mandatory to use green cloth or jute sheet coverings regardless of the construction stage.

It has also asked for the immediate deployment of a sprinkler system on the site and regular misting during construction. It has also deployed mist machines at Worli Sea Face, Haji Ali, Pedder Road, Girgaon Chowpatty, Nariman Point, Fashion Street, Badhwar Park and World Trade Centre. "Government and private agencies shall be treated at par, and any violations shall be dealt with by issuing stop-work notices at the site itself," the civic body said.

132
City's AQI on Sunday morning