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A new study reveals that the air quality in Jammu and Kashmir on certain days can be worse than the AQI in New Delhi.
Unlike Delhi, where there are factories in the surrounding are - if not in the city, the Valley has other probelms similar to the national capital. The region suffers from air pollution due to automobile emissions, dust thrown up from pot-holed roads, and from the firewood, coal and charcoal that Kashmiris burn to keep themselves warm in the winter.
These contribute to pollutants in the air, especially to levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 – particulate matter less than 2.5 microns and 10 microns respectively in diameter, which can cause serious health problems if inhaled in the long-term. Of the two, PM 2.5 is particularly dangerous as it is small enough to penetrate the defences of the body, and directly enter the bloodstream.
