Last Updated:
Experts say this year saw much fewer patients come to the emergency and outpatient departments of hospitals than during the previous year’s Diwali or post-Diwali days
People jog at Kartavya Path as air quality continues to remain poor in New Delhi. (PTI photo)
Less stubble burning, a two-day Diwali celebration that spread out firecracker use, and favourable weather conditions – all of these points have led to a noticeable drop in respiratory illness cases in emergency departments across Delhi-NCR due to air pollution.
According to medical experts, this year saw much fewer patients come to the emergency and outpatient departments of hospitals than during the previous year’s Diwali or post-Diwali days.
Dr. Yatin Mehta, chairman of critical care and anesthesiology at Medanta, told News18 that air pollution-related cases during this Diwali were lower than in previous years.
“Multiple factors including a two-day Diwali celebration and favourable weather have led to fewer respiratory illnesses in Delhi-NCR due to lower air pollution levels,” Mehta said.
Similarly, Dr. Sunil Kumar Chaudhary, a consultant in internal medicine at Fortis Escorts in Okhla, explained that the spread-out use of firecrackers likely resulted in lower overall air pollution levels at any given time.
“This could mean fewer respiratory issues…,” Chaudhary noted, adding that local initiatives promoting pollution control might have also played a role in improving health outcomes. Doctors believe that people have become smarter and equipped with better technologies to handle pollution.
“Parents and children seem to have become smarter and have started necessary prevention in terms of air purifiers, humidifiers, and masks and therefore, we are not seeing so many pollution-related respiratory issues,” said Dr. Maninder Dhaliwal, a paediatric pulmonology expert at Amrita Hospital in Faridabad.
“Also, children who have asthma are now much more informed regarding preventive medicines and care,” Dhaliwal added.
Latest weather conditions
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), October 2024, was the warmest October since 1901. However, this relatively warm weather and adequate winds helped in quicker dissipation of the pollutants compared to previous years and did not lead to a smog episode, which occurs when AQI remains ‘severe’ for at least three consecutive days.
As per weather experts, the AQI was ‘’poor’’ on the afternoon of October 31, hit the “severe” levels by midnight and remained high until the early hours of November 1. It gradually decreased to moderate levels by the afternoon. This prevented a deadly smog episode this Diwali. But the air pollution in Delhi is expected to worsen over the coming days as temperatures fall.
Some hospitals in Delhi-NCR noticed incoming patients
Dr. Navneet Sood, senior consultant of pulmonologist at Dharamshila Narayana Hospital in New Delhi, has observed a rise in patients with existing respiratory and cardiovascular conditions triggered by the onset of winter and also, air pollution.
“In our OPDs, within just two days, the number of patients with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions has doubled. In the last month of October, we treated 40-50 patients with such problems,” he added.
Dr. Satya Ranjan Sahu, senior consultant of pulmonologist at Narayana Hospital in Gurugram, noted that while attendance in the hospital’s outpatient and emergency departments was low due to the festive season, more than half of the patients who did attend presented with one or more respiratory complaints.
“Apart from respiratory symptoms patients are also arriving in an emergency with cardiac symptoms and complications. Children are affected with upper respiratory symptoms mainly cough and sore throat,” Sahu said while adding that the elderly are having increased breathing difficulty and wheezing.
Don’t be complacent, protect yourself: Experts
Dr. Manoj Goel, director and unit head of pulmonology at Fortis Hospital in Gurugram, has advised caution. “Pollution is not as high as it used to get but it does not mean we can afford complacency,” Goel stated.
As we move on, Goel said, “the pollution may rise further and we must consider the long-term side effects of air pollution instead of expecting the immediate symptoms.”
Doctors advise that post-Diwali, people need to be very cautious. Preventive measures include using high-quality masks like N-95 which is crucial to filter out particulate matter.
For those with respiratory conditions like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), doctors usually prescribe doubling the dosage of inhalers as that can provide added protection. “Proper hydration is essential as it helps in clearing lung mucus, and taking steam can aid in clearing particulate matter trapped in the airways,” Sood from Dharamshila Narayana Hospital said.
Discover more from Divya Bharat 🇮🇳
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.