BENGALURU: Inhaling particulate matter leads to the thickening of blood. That is not all, fine dust particles settle in people’s lungs and act as slow poison, gradually reducing lifespan, pointed out experts who participated in the two-day long India Clean Air Summit 2019 on Friday.
Dr Rahul Patil, interventional cardiologist at Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, said, “People often exhibit the clinical behaviour of smokers, although they are non-smokers.” The summit was organised by the Centre for Air Pollution Studies (CAPS) at the Centre for Study of Science Technology and Policy.
Dr D Prabhakaran, vice-president, Research and Policy, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), said that cases of cardiovascular disease and diabetes were increasing, making India extremely vulnerable.
Manoj Kumar, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, said, “Though the target is to reduce pollution, if that is not possible, we need to ensure that it does not get worse,” he said.