India's Richest City Welcomes tourists with Pollution as they Fly-In

Air pollution is a severe problem that has serious impacts on our health and our economy. It is defined by the World Health Organization as the “the world’s largest single environmental health risk”. It not only threatens the future of our climate by significantly contributing to global warming, it also causes some of our most common illnesses. In other words, air pollution is an invisible killer - may not always be visible but it can be deadly.

Mumbai, being the financial capital, is the richest city of India with the highest GDP. It is among the world's 10 centers of commerce if we talk about the financial flow. Considering the city’s growth, there ought to be a lot of inflow of business travelers from across the globe that must be entering the city every now and then.

Here are a few pictures taken by our team of the Mumbai International Airport.

This is what our richest city has to offer to tourists or travelers when they enter the city. According to a latest report, Mumbai’s PM10 levels which are pollutants arising from dust pollution, has increased by 64% over 10 years, making it the second metro city in India (after the national capital) to have an increasing percentage of pollutants in the air.

This megacity, capital of Maharashtra with over 22 million people, does not have enough trees. To increase environmental awareness among the residents of this industrial and commercial city, the government of Maharashtra has initiated various programs and projects and have been motivating people to “go green” for decades.

While that is a plan that has a long way to go before it becomes operative, considering the deteriorating environment and ever increasing population, what we can do about it today is to try and avoid the hazardous polluted air as much as possible. There are anti-pollution masks that are readily available in the market. The problem with those is the level of discomfort they provide. And also, one is inhaling the same air that one exhales which in turn may have other negative health effects. Experts say that it can even lead to suffocation, respiration trouble and also heart attacks in extreme cases. Masks are also a potential source of bacteria and viruses.

Moreover, a face mask is effective only if it provides a good seal around the face. Men with beards are unable to achieve an adequately tight fit around the nose and mouth. Similarly, women also are mostly apprehensive of wearing a facemask. Whether it is a professional corporate meeting to attend or a wedding function, make-up is a key essential for all women and wearing a facemask only increases the risk of smudging it all, which is the last thing they want. Masks also prove to be a major problem while talking on the phone since the voice gets distorted completely.

Hence, a healthy alternative to face masks are nasal filters which are a newer and a more beneficial option available today to keep the polluted air at bay. A nasal filter works as an invisible face mask which filters the air one inhales preventing certain impurities from entering our organism and ensuring that the pollutants get caught in the filter. It supplies clean air and prevents exposure to even the worst air pollution, like that found in dangerous work settings.

By choosing to wear a nasal filter, you will not only be protected from pollution but it will also keep dust and pollen allergies away.