[
According to Dr. Tamorish Kole, Director of Emergency Medicine, DPU Super Specialty Hospital, Pimpri, Pune, living at high altitude does not remove all environmental hazards. Ground-level ozone is one of the major pollutants, which can increase and freeze at higher altitudes depending on weather conditions.
It can also cause respiratory problems to the people living there. This ozone causes premature death, damaged lungs, heart disease, reproductive problems including reduced fertility and cancer. Additionally, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and indoor pollutants released from building materials or finishes persist at any level without ventilation.
When we spoke to Dr Murarji Ghadge, ENT consultant at Ruby Hall Clinic, he said that there is a common belief that the air quality will be better at higher altitudes as the air is less dense at higher altitudes, but in cities like Mumbai, Pune and Delhi, this is not the case. This does not happen often where pollution is very high.
Long-range pollutants such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can reach high floors even from great distances. The pollutant PM2.5, which can be found in the air even at high altitudes, is linked to very serious health conditions such as respiratory problems, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
According to health experts, in case of emissions from vehicles and industries, pollutants like particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, ozone and volatile organic compounds can reach several floors of the building through air flow. So, you may be living on the 20th floor and the air you breathe may be highly polluted.
Air pollution plumes usually remain close to the ground or are found mostly in urban areas, where population growth and traffic conditions are high. This may cause such buildings to be exposed to higher levels of wind-driven smoke at certain times of the day, or may cause particular patterns in relation to the directions of movement of air masses in the atmosphere.
Published at : 28 Nov 2024 11:10 AM (IST)
