<p>Doctors and environment experts believe that extreme levels of air pollution in the national capital during winter is likely to aggravate the Covid-19 situation in the city and pose a serious challenge to the government.</p>.<p>Every winter, Delhi's air quality dips to a dangerous low due to many reasons, including the city's geographic location, unfavourable weather, stubble burning and local sources of pollution.</p>.<p>A Supreme Court-mandated pollution control body had in November last year declared a public health emergency and ordered the closure of schools, construction activities and diesel generators in Delhi-NCR after a toxic haze shrouded the region.</p>.<p>Dr Akshay Budhraja, Consultant in Department of Pulmonology, Aakash Healthcare Super Specialty Hospital, said air pollution poses a serious threat to people suffering from chronic bronchitis and inflammation of lungs and such patients are more prone to Covid-19.</p>.<p>The severity is more if they contract the viral disease, he said.</p>.<p>"Air pollution makes asthma worse. It will be a challenging time for us too, as it takes 10-12 hours to conduct a radiological examination and an RT-PCR test to determine whether it's a case of asthma flare-up or coronavirus," he said.</p>.<p>Dr Laxmikant Kaotekwar, Consultant, Pulmonology, Columbia Asia Hospital, Pune, said, "If there is a previous history of dust allergies, it points towards asthma flare-up."</p>.<p>"Asthma patients are more prone to Covid-19. Such people should get evaluated beforehand so they can keep their asthma under control."</p>.<p>Santosh Harish, a fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, said pollution levels will be relatively lower this year due to subdued economic activity.</p>.<p>"However, air pollution exposure is likely to increase vulnerability to Covid-19 and the severity of the infection."</p>.<p>"It is a matter of serious concern. We are going to witness very high levels of pollution soon and this is going to coincide with the time the Covid-19 cases will peak," he said.</p>.<p>High air pollution-level will aggravate the situation as it seriously compromises the respiratory system and the immune system. There will be serious complications among Covid-19 patients, said Sunil Dahia, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.</p>.<p>"Stubble burning is not the only cause behind dangerous levels of air pollution in Delhi. Among other measures, the government should order closure of coal-fired power plants during winter to arrest the dip in air quality," he said. </p>
<p>Doctors and environment experts believe that extreme levels of air pollution in the national capital during winter is likely to aggravate the Covid-19 situation in the city and pose a serious challenge to the government.</p>.<p>Every winter, Delhi's air quality dips to a dangerous low due to many reasons, including the city's geographic location, unfavourable weather, stubble burning and local sources of pollution.</p>.<p>A Supreme Court-mandated pollution control body had in November last year declared a public health emergency and ordered the closure of schools, construction activities and diesel generators in Delhi-NCR after a toxic haze shrouded the region.</p>.<p>Dr Akshay Budhraja, Consultant in Department of Pulmonology, Aakash Healthcare Super Specialty Hospital, said air pollution poses a serious threat to people suffering from chronic bronchitis and inflammation of lungs and such patients are more prone to Covid-19.</p>.<p>The severity is more if they contract the viral disease, he said.</p>.<p>"Air pollution makes asthma worse. It will be a challenging time for us too, as it takes 10-12 hours to conduct a radiological examination and an RT-PCR test to determine whether it's a case of asthma flare-up or coronavirus," he said.</p>.<p>Dr Laxmikant Kaotekwar, Consultant, Pulmonology, Columbia Asia Hospital, Pune, said, "If there is a previous history of dust allergies, it points towards asthma flare-up."</p>.<p>"Asthma patients are more prone to Covid-19. Such people should get evaluated beforehand so they can keep their asthma under control."</p>.<p>Santosh Harish, a fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, said pollution levels will be relatively lower this year due to subdued economic activity.</p>.<p>"However, air pollution exposure is likely to increase vulnerability to Covid-19 and the severity of the infection."</p>.<p>"It is a matter of serious concern. We are going to witness very high levels of pollution soon and this is going to coincide with the time the Covid-19 cases will peak," he said.</p>.<p>High air pollution-level will aggravate the situation as it seriously compromises the respiratory system and the immune system. There will be serious complications among Covid-19 patients, said Sunil Dahia, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.</p>.<p>"Stubble burning is not the only cause behind dangerous levels of air pollution in Delhi. Among other measures, the government should order closure of coal-fired power plants during winter to arrest the dip in air quality," he said. </p>