Our right to clean air! |
While travelling to Jammu last week by car, I noticed that hazy weather conditions and smog don’t even cross the Banihal pass. When we entered the Banihal after crossing Jawahar Tunnel, I could feel the weather was clear without any haze or smog. The sun was shining bright and there was no smog or fog around? Same thing I noticed from a video sent by a friend from Warwan valley in Kishtwar which is more close to Kashmir valley than Jammu ? It is much cooler in Warwan but the sunshine in the day is crystal clear? The climate experts and air pollution scientists have a role to play to make people aware? Is this a changing weather pattern ? Have we witnessed similar weather in the past as well?
Fading Pir Panchal mountains
As for my own experience, I can clearly see our Pir Panjal mountains fading behind a persistent smog and haze, especially from November to January. This changing pattern of weather is becoming more severe each year. We cannot afford to ignore this reality now especially at a time when the Air Quality Index- AQI has crossed 400 in different areas of Kashmir like Budagm and Baramulla ? Our valley is suffering, and somewhere we all are at a fault. Air quality index is consistently plunging into the “severe” category, crossing levels of 300 or even 400 which is turning our crisp winter air into a health hazard ? This is posing a significant health risk for us and the generations to come. Yet, this crisis is too often dismissed, not taken seriously, by the commoners........