What is the difference between smog and fog, why do they come only in winter, why is one of them the cause of disease?

November has started in Delhi-NCR not with dense fog but with smog. The situation is the same from Punjab to North India. With every cold season, this area of ​​the country also faces the brunt of smog. Smog is actually dangerous and also invites respiratory diseases. This is directly related to pollution.

With the change in weather, the level of pollution in Delhi-NCR seems to be increasing. The morning also starts with a strange fog, which does not allow the sunlight to come out but spreads such a dense blanket from the sky to the ground that it becomes difficult to breathe. In Delhi-NCR it starts becoming denser after morning. This affects the visibility of distant objects and all those objects become hidden behind the blanket of smog.

This fog is not the natural fog caused by winter, but smog. Every year with the arrival of winter we come across the word smog. Know, what kind of smog is this?

what is ‘smog’
The word smog has been in use since the beginning of the 20th century. This word is made up of two English words ‘smoke’ and ‘fog’. Usually, smog is formed when cold air reaches a crowded place. Cold air is heavy, so it forms a layer below the hot air of the residential area. Then it seems as if the cold wind has wrapped the entire city like a blanket.

This is not fog but smog, which has started engulfing Delhi and NCR since the beginning of November. It becomes denser as the day progresses from morning to morning. It is very dangerous for health to go out in this. In this situation, avoid going out in the open. (news18)

The second major reason for smog formation is pollution. Nowadays every big city is struggling with air pollution. At some places, smoke coming from industries, businesses and vehicles and at other places from chimneys, all together are releasing a lot of smoke into the air.

How is smog formed?
This polluted hot air always tries to rise upward and within a short time it becomes like a lid due to which within a short time the movement between these two hot and cold layers of air stops. Smog is formed due to this special ‘turbulence’. This is the reason why smog forms more easily in winter than in summer.

Stubble is also a reason
Every year in Punjab, 1 crore 80 lakh tonnes of chaff is burnt in the fields, but this is a crime under law. The Punjab government has fixed punishment for the farmers who burn straw in this way. According to Punjab Pollution Control Board, farmers are made aware about this every year but it does not have much effect. According to NASA report, due to burning of stubble every year in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana and decline in wind speed, air lock situations occur. That means the pollution caused by this turns into smog.

Smog has become such a problem of Delhi-NCR every year, which is not being solved by any means. Every year, along with winter, the blanket of smog also starts scaring people. (Photo Shutterstock)

What reasons are being given this time?
This time, the reason for smog in Delhi-NCR is more due to the burning of stubble than the region’s own pollution emissions, which are being generated more by the huge dust spread from construction works, vehicle smoke and smoke from chimneys.

What is the difference between fog and smog
There is a difference between fog and mist. When fog mixes with smoke, it forms smog. The word smog came into use in the year 1905, which is derived from the English words fog and smoke. Dr. Henri Antoine Voyeux mentioned it in his paper, after which this term became widely known.

The effect of smog may be visible in Delhi-NCR for the next few days. (Image: PTI)

why fog is denser
Fog is denser than mist and can last longer because it contains more water particles than mist. The visibility in fog reduces to less than a thousand meters, airplanes can operate in it but it is not an ideal condition for vehicles to drive on the road. Accidents start happening on the road as soon as visibility is less than 50 meters.

Smog is bringing trouble
Accidents due to smog have also increased continuously in the last years. According to the Road Transportation Ministry, in 2014, 16 people died in road accidents due to fog, in 2015 it increased to 21, while in 2016 it increased to more than 25. More than half of the accidents and deaths occurred in Delhi, UP, West Bengal and Haryana. These are all reported cases i.e. those cases on which no police action was taken. Apart from deaths, serious accidents are not included in these figures.

It is also dangerous for health
In smog, water droplets along with dust and poisonous elements present in the air like nitrogen oxides and organic compounds combine and form a deep layer of ozone at the bottom. Now you will think that ozone is a good layer that protects us from ultraviolet rays, then know that ozone is good only when it is high in the atmosphere, as soon as it comes to ground-level, it becomes very dangerous for health. Is.
– Major losses caused by smog
– Cough, trouble breathing
– eye irritation
– bronchitis
– heart disease
– skin diseases
– hair fall
– Infections in nose, ear, throat, lungs
– Blood pressure patients have problem of brain stroke
– Asthma patients are at risk of attack

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Tags: Air Quality, Air Quality Index AQI, Delhi air pollution, NCR Air Pollution, Smog, Smog tower