Pollution in India

[coffee_rules]

20 hours ago, randomGuy said:

There is probably more open garbage burning in South India. 

 

In delhi, there's very very less garbage burning and vehicles don't ply without pollution check. One of the strictest pollution checks in the country.

 

 

South India has equally bad or worse civic sense wrt keeping the air clean. And not that South India is not polluted - it is. But the north Indian plains happen to be geographically disadvantaged as well.

 

 

Bhai, it is not about north versus south. A later edited the topic and removed north. I know it’s a countrywide problem. But news in India is mostly north India specific, especially NCR. So pollution in north gets all the attention.

 

I read somewhere that dust and sand from Rajasthan, dry conditions in the hole of NCR region are one of the main causes for there. Parali  burning can be avoided by many solutions.

 

This got international news because cricket match was scheduled by BC BCCI in Lucknow during December January months. Stupid CCI babu‘s have not learned after so many years you don’t schedule matches in the south during monsoon season.

[rkt.india]

7 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

What! Smog has nothing to do with fog. It is a play on words to indicate that smoke induced conditions that look like fog. It can happen even in warm conditions, tropical cities, where there is no fog it’s industrial pollution and man-made events like burning crops or garbage.

No. Smog means smoke plus fog. Smog doesn't happen without fog. Smoke induced pollution doesn't affect visibility to an extent that a match will get abandoned. Fog is what causes visibility issues. Fog stays at ground level, smoke doesn't. 

[kepler37b]

1 hour ago, gattaca said:

You are abusing Indians ? Be thankful you are Indian with freedom. If you were in China your Social score will be zero. What Civic sense are you talking about ? Gutter oil ? Talking loudly by Chinese in tourist places ?

 

Abuse is not as same as criticism. And what I said is not something new. 

 

There are lot of things where indians do well. But civic sense is not one of them.

 

 

[rkt.india]

30 minutes ago, pkmmamks said:

Off course but smog has smoke in it as addition

Fog itself traps smoke at lever lower level which multiplies the AQI of an area. If normal aqi without fog is 150 then under fog it can increase to 400-500 because pollutants get trapped by fog. There is no release for them.

Edited December 18, 2025 by rkt.india

[coffee_rules]

1 minute ago, rkt.india said:

No. Smog means smoke plus fog. Smog doesn't happen without fog. Smoke induced pollution doesn't affect visibility to an extent that a match will get abandoned. Fog is what causes visibility issues. Fog stays at ground level, smoke doesn't. 

ChatgPT answers

 

Yes, smog absolutely can happen without fog

; modern smog, especially photochemical smog in cities, forms from sunlight reacting with vehicle/industrial pollution (like nitrogen oxides & hydrocarbons) into ground-level ozone, creating a brownish haze with reduced visibility, requiring no natural fog at all, though fog can trap and worsen it. The term "smog" originally meant smoke + fog, but now describes distinct pollution events. 

 

[rkt.india]

3 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

ChatgPT answers

 

Yes, smog absolutely can happen without fog

; modern smog, especially photochemical smog in cities, forms from sunlight reacting with vehicle/industrial pollution (like nitrogen oxides & hydrocarbons) into ground-level ozone, creating a brownish haze with reduced visibility, requiring no natural fog at all, though fog can trap and worsen it. The term "smog" originally meant smoke + fog, but now describes distinct pollution events. 

 

Yes but that smog without fog doesn't affect visibility to an extent that a match gets abandoned. Yesterday's event was fog. Here is the picture of fog coverage yesterday.

Edited December 18, 2025 by rkt.india

[kepler37b]

21 hours ago, randomGuy said:

There is probably more open garbage burning in South India. 

 

In delhi, there's very very less garbage burning and vehicles don't ply without pollution check. One of the strictest pollution checks in the country.

 

 

South India has equally bad or worse civic sense wrt keeping the air clean. And not that South India is not polluted - it is. But the north Indian plains happen to be geographically disadvantaged as well.

 

 

TBF, the intense smoggy pollution is only in certain gangetic belt cities in few months of Winter.  Not full north india.  

Edited December 18, 2025 by kepler37b

[randomGuy]

5 minutes ago, kepler37b said:

TBF, the intense smoggy pollution is only in certain gangetic belt cities in few months of Winter.  Not full north india.  

Yes, Fog is usually necessary for smog.

Jaipur has 450m elevation = almost zero fog every winter 

Delhi elevation 250m = Fog every winter.

 

Refer to elevation map shared in previous page.

 

[Lord]

17 hours ago, randomGuy said:

Won't be defensive about delhi, but fact is i don't see any smoke emitting vehicles which are commonly seen in other cities.

 

Reg. AQI, few things I noted

1. A place which otherwise would show aqi 50 will show aqi 200 due to fog alone (says AI also). So, imo that much tolerance we have to give in  Aqi reading in north India during December, January. Remember during childhood there was fog with low visibility etc. but the air felt ok.

2. For the same Aqi reading if someone lives near an industrial area he may be breathing far more dangerous and harmful gases. So, aqi tells partial story, you also have to worry about whether you are breathing harmful industrial gases in your area.

 

I believe parali is biggest from mid October to November end. Where one can smell smoke in the air. Isko solve kar dein to 60-70% problem solved.

 

Not my intention to single out Delhi. Its a pan India year round problem. Southern part is saved somewhat by surrounding seas.

 

AQI is caused by harmful PM 2.5 particles etc Fog without them is okay but that's not the case.

 

Don't think parali contributes 70-80% even during winters. Other factors like vehicles and construction are still higher. 

 

Has to be a holistic approach on priority basis like China did.

 

 

[Lord]

What BCCI expected while scheduling the match

 

 

[jf1gp_1]

4 hours ago, Lord said:

 

Not my intention to single out Delhi. Its a pan India year round problem. Southern part is saved somewhat by surrounding seas.

 

AQI is caused by harmful PM 2.5 particles etc Fog without them is okay but that's not the case.

 

Don't think parali contributes 70-80% even during winters. Other factors like vehicles and construction are still higher. 

 

Has to be a holistic approach on priority basis like China did.

 

 

This is countries capital, if we can't fix Delhi then nothing is getting fixed. Look at the steps taken, tandoor ban, no fuel without puc. Right, these are the measures which will solve Delhi's pollution problem. Delhi needs to fix dust issue, scrap polluting vehicles, decongestion of roads. Few years from now Delhi will be the capital of lung cancer. 

[rkt.india]

Another foggy night.

[Lord]

3 hours ago, jf1gp_1 said:

This is countries capital, if we can't fix Delhi then nothing is getting fixed. Look at the steps taken, tandoor ban, no fuel without puc. Right, these are the measures which will solve Delhi's pollution problem. Delhi needs to fix dust issue, scrap polluting vehicles, decongestion of roads. Few years from now Delhi will be the capital of lung cancer. 

 

To balance these incredible steps, they are preparing ground to start mining in Aravalli Hills

 

 

[randomGuy]

15 minutes ago, rkt.india said:

Another foggy night.

frequency classification of the fog-affected belt of northern India during 2002–2008 winters  

[kepler37b]

27 minutes ago, Lord said:

 

To balance these incredible steps, they are preparing ground to start mining in Aravalli Hills

 

 

We cannot afford the american level of consumption. We are simply too crowded.

 

I pray to god that we stop around $10k PCI. The land cannot take any more.

 

 

Of course, a tech breakthrough may change all this. But I am not betting on it.

 

 

[kepler37b]

3 hours ago, jf1gp_1 said:

This is countries capital, if we can't fix Delhi then nothing is getting fixed. Look at the steps taken, tandoor ban, no fuel without puc. Right, these are the measures which will solve Delhi's pollution problem. Delhi needs to fix dust issue, scrap polluting vehicles, decongestion of roads. Few years from now Delhi will be the capital of lung cancer. 

I am quite melancholic.

 

Nothing will get fixed in next 20 years. There is flight of human capital to west and east, the state govts are mired in debt(due to liberal doles) and the caste/region bickerings are increasing by day. if RAGA comes next, god knows what will happen to this country. 

 

 

 

[rkt.india]

Huge fog patch today over Indo Gangetic plains 

[Lord]

 

[MK55]

26 minutes ago, Lord said:

 

lol what kind of stupid study is this??

It’s common sense. 
A simple ChatGPT query for that same question gives this:

 

Short answer: Yes — chronically higher AQI (worse air quality) is associated with a higher cancer risk, especially lung cancer, and there’s growing evidence for links to a few other cancers as well.
 

1. Lung cancer —

very strong evidence

 

Fine particulate matter PM2.5 is classified as carcinogenic.

Large cohort studies consistently show:

~8–15% higher lung cancer risk per 10 µg/m³ increase in long-term PM2.5 exposure

This holds even for non-smokers

 

Risk rises with years of exposure, not short spikes.

 

 

2. Other cancers —

moderate but growing evidence

 

 

 

[MK55]

Yes fog and winter definitely makes it worse. But that’s irrelevant. That just means you gotta have even more strict measures to control the damn thing. 

 

Else there is no doubt this is gonna raise the incidence of cancer, 

My sister practices in India and she’s been repeatedly saying that cancer has become EXTREMELY common lately - across all ages.

And forget cancer, many people also suffer from chronic lung diseases - some auto immune diseases for example. Such people can simply not live there.