HYDERABAD: As air quality in the city deteriorated further on Friday morning, and with the quality expected to worsen in the winter, doctors and environment experts have warned that extreme levels of air pollution could aggravate the Covid-19 situation.
The highest Air Quality Index (AQI) of 231 was recorded in Sanath Nagar, which falls under the ‘poor category’. Hyderabad on Friday recorded an AQI at 162, which falls under the moderate category. The city, in the past few weeks, has witnessed a drop in its air quality from good to moderate category. As per environmental experts, every year during winters, the air quality worsens due to the dispersion phenomenon. They claim that air pollution, combined with the current pandemic, can result in a bigger catastrophe.
“Air pollutants keep getting deposited on the body, causing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which can lead to several respiratory and pulmonary diseases,” said director of cardiology, Care Hospitals, Dr Prateek Bhatnagar. He added that people who do not have signs of overt lung and heart disease are also affected by air pollution.
Experts added that those with weaker immunity are more prone to catching Covid-19, and the same can happen with people suffering from respiratory or pulmonary diseases. “Patients who have these diseases might also have a higher mortality,” said an expert.
‘Poor’ air in Sanath Nagar
The highest AQI of 231 was recorded at Sanath Nagar, which falls under the ‘poor’ category. Hyderabad recorded an AQI at 162, which falls under the ‘moderate’ category. Experts say the worst-affected would be those from the poorer sections as they don’t have access to masks, and are also vulnerable