Average AQI in Sri Lankan cities is around 50.
As a resident of Mumbai, I feel that the city is polluted. I usually wake up in the morning with a running nose and my eyes are watering.
Despite this, I make it a point to run at least 3-4 times a week. I usually wear a mask or a handkerchief over my nose so that I don’t inhale the fumes. It’s difficult, but prevention is better than cure, right?
Recently I was in Delhi for a week, where the pollution levels had reduced, but the city didn’t exactly offer an oxygen bar. In fact, while going through the morning papers, one particular headline caught my attention. “Wind Factor improves AQI to poor in Delhi”.
Running in Delhi was a tougher proposition and I personally hail all those who completed the half marathon in the national capital recently.
A week after the pollution levels reached hazardous levels, India cricket captain Virat Kohli through a tweet highlighted the need to fight pollution that had plagued the national capital. The tweet may have been a promotion to carpool with a popular app based service, but the fact of the matter is that smog in the city is a matter of concern.
So when the Sri Lankan players wore masks on Sunday, a number of Team India supporters mocked them for disrupting play. Some even suggested that they were using diversionary tactics to prevent Kohli from scoring a triple century. Psychological gamesmanship has always been a part of cricket, so there is a possibility that the allegations may be true.
However, let’s also take into account that on an average, a country like Sri Lanka does not witness AQI levels like the ones we have seen in Delhi. A live tracker suggests that the air pollution in Colombo is 56.25, while the AQI in New Delhi is 312, which falls in the hazardous level.
So before we judge the players, let’s also take into consideration that they actually could not breathe. As a Mumbaikar, where pollution levels could be higher if it wasn’t for the sea, I struggled and returned with a throat infection. Can't be afford to be a bit humane and give Sri Lankans the benefit of doubt here?
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