We all woke up to thick smog in the air on Tuesday morning and realised that there is a public health emergency situation in North India. This dense smog is making breathing difficult let alone driving. There is zero visibility on the roads and people are complaining of dryness in their throats, burning sensation in the eye, coughing, irritation in nose and itchy skin. We are breathing 2.5 particulate matter courtesy to the paddy burning in North India which is a major pollutant and causes lung cancer. The most reputed journal “LANCET” took out an article that said 25 percent of the deaths in India are air pollution related and this ofcourse is a high amount. We need to take steps to ensure that not only children are staying indoors ( which is already been made sure of ) but other adults are also precautious of the dangerous problems this pollution can lead to.

Here are some ways you can escape or atleast try to escape the severe air quality that has led to a public health emergency situation:

1. Try staying indoors as much as you can – For people who love exercising or playing outdoors, shift your work out indoors for the time being. Schools have already been declared shut. If you are working, and it is possible to work from home for you – take that leverage and avoid the pollution outside. Avoid traveling to and from work during peak hours when air pollution is at its highest.There has been a considerable difference in the percentage of people going out after this pollution storm hit Delhi. Major restaurants hubs in Delhi have seen a major dip in their sales from last week. Cyber city saw a drop of 40% in sales from last Tuesday. While there was a drop of 30% in areas of Saket, North campus and MG Road. People have also shopped less this Tuesday as compared to last Tuesday. In major areas of Delhi, fashion sales have slumped by 35%. 
2. Drink lots of water and follow a healthy diet – To detoxify your system and flush off air pollutants that have entered your body, follow a strictly healthy diet and drink loads of water. Include honey, basil leaves in your diet to boost your immune system. 
3. Keep indoor plants – The most natural way to keep the air clean in and around your house is to keep plants inside and around your house so that the surrounding air is clean and void of pollutants. 
4. Use a pollution mask – Buy a N95 or N99 pollution mask from a medical store nearby. If unavailable due to some reason, try using a clean cloth to cover your mouth and nose. A good quality pollution mask will obviously do better in such situations. BUY them here – Respiratory masks
5. Use closed vehicles or public transport – Avoid using open vehicles to travel such as bikes, scooties, autos. Take the bus or metro if the distances are far off. Avoid using cars as much as possible. Car pooling would be a better option here. We don’t want the pollution levels to increase further than they already are. 
6. Avoid going to construction sites – Avoid going in and around construction sites so as to avoid inhaling dust air particles.
7. Buy an air purifier – Air purifiers, these days are the best way to clean out and flush the bad air in your house. Invest in a good one and make sure when you use it, the room is locked and there is no way for the clean air to get mixed with the polluted air outside.
   BUY it here – Philips-ac1215-20-portable-room-air-purifier 
8. Try using electric cookers instead of gas – In such situations, we should everything that only adds to the already worse situation. Hence, using anything electric over anything fuel best is the way to go.
9. Avoid bursting crackers – Due to any reason/occasion/celebration, no matter how tempted or happy you are. AVOID bursting crackers.

Let’s do our best to make this planet a cleaner and a better place to live in.

HARMFUL HEALTH EFFECTS OF THIS BLANKET OF SMOG INCLUDE –

1. It can lead to the onset of allergies or aggravate existing allergies and decrease lung immunity.

2. It might be instrumental in causing premature birth.

3. It can decrease lung function across age groups.

4.  It might aggravate pre-existing lung and cardiac functions along with uncontrollable or chronic coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.