Poor air quality in Mumbai: 78 pc of families have one or more members with sore throat or cough, reveals survey

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Mumbai is grappling with respiratory ailments as the air quality of India's financial hub has been poor for the past couple of days. The city has seen a spike in cases of cold, headaches, throat infections, persistent dry coughs, and breathing difficulties.

A survey by LocalCircles received nearly 7,000 responses from Mumbai residents, of which 67 percent were men while 33 per cent were women.

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The first question in the survey was, "What are all the ailments you or members of your family in Mumbai are now experiencing due to air pollution?"

Of the 2,539 respondents to the query, more than one option was indicated, with the largest group of 78 per cent saying "sore throat and/ or cough"; 44 per cent choosing "burning eyes"; 39 per cent pointing to "runny nose and/or congestion"; 28 per cent picking "breathing difficulty/asthma"; 22 per cent "difficulty sleeping"; and 17 per cent "headache".

"To sum up, as air quality stays bad, 78 per cent of Mumbai families surveyed indicated that they have one or more members with a sore throat and/or cough, while 44 per cent have one or more experiencing burning eyes. The survey allowed Mumbai residents to select multiple conditions that they are experiencing," LocalCircles said.

For most residents of Mumbai, traveling to work, school, or college takes considerable time, so there is no escaping air pollution. The survey asked respondents, "How are you and your family coping with the poor air quality in Mumbai?"

Out of 2,017 Mumbai residents who responded to this query, 25 per cent said they are "using anti-pollution mask"; 17 per cent added that besides anti-pollution masks, they have increased consumption of immunity-boosting foods; and 8 per cent indicated that in addition to these protection measures, they are using air purifiers at home. The remaining 50 per cent of the respondents stated they are "not doing any of the above" as a precaution.

"The data shows that despite high levels of air pollution, which is regarded as unhealthy, half of Mumbai residents surveyed are not taking any steps to protect themselves. The other half rely on masks, a quarter on immunity-boosting foods, and only 8 per cent are using air purifiers at home," LocalCircles said.

The survey then asks respondents what according to them are "the key causes of air pollution in Mumbai this year".

The 2,483 respondents indicated more than one reason. The main reason, according to 85 per cent of respondents is "road and construction dust"; 62 per cent said "motor vehicle emission"; 38 per cent pointed towards "industrial and power plant emissions"; 31 per cent chose "manual road sweeping"; 15 per cent indicated "diesel generator emissions" and 38 per cent opted for "other reasons" not mentioned above. In addition, 8 per cent of respondents chose "can't say".

The LocalCircles in its summary said, 78 per cent of Mumbai families surveyed have indicated that they have one or more members with sore throat and/or cough while 44 per cent have one or more experiencing burning eyes. The survey reveals that the majority of Mumbaikars are not depending on any safeguards like immunity-boosting foods or air purifiers to combat the effects of rising air pollution in the city. Just 8 per cent of those surveyed are using air purifiers at home and 25 per cent are consuming more immunity boosting foods and 50 per cent are using anti-pollution face masks in addition to other steps. However, 50 per cent of those surveyed seem to have given up the fight against air pollution and decided to live with it.

As the expanding city and its suburbs have turned into a thriving construction area, it seems hard for residents to escape the impact of high air pollution. As the survey shows 85 per cent of Mumbai residents rate road and construction dust as the top cause of bad air quality in the city, while 62 per cent believe it is also due to motor vehicle emissions, and 38 per cent believe it is power emissions to that impact air quality. Only the state government, particularly the civic authorities, can come to the rescue of residents to ensure Mumbai's air quality doesn't deteriorate further and come anywhere close to Delhi which has been struggling with toxic air quality for a decade now.