Dense fog grips Delhi, people suffer from health issues

New Delhi, Jan 27: As the cold weather and persistent pollution persist, locals, including asthma patients, are grappling with health problems.

Dense fog also prevailed in parts of Delhi on Saturday as cold wave conditions persisted. The residents are complaining of health issues like cough, cold, throat irritation, chest tightness, low oxygen level, burning sensation in the eyes, and high fever.

"The symptoms like cough, cold, throat irritation, chest tightness, low oxygen level, burning sensation in the eyes, and even high fever tal are being seen in people," said Dr Suresh Kumar, Medical Director of Loknayak Jai Prakash Hospital.

Dr Suresh has advised people to avoid going outside during fog, saying "Dense fog in the morning and evening is harmful to your health, hence people should avoid going out of the house at this time.

The Meteorological Department has also predicted that temperature will continue to dip for another few days.

As Delhi is gripped with cold and dense fog, children are also developing chest infections. "The drop in temperature, problems like chest infection, pneumonia are seen in people. Especially if we talk about children and elderly people, this winter season is troubling them more, the number of children and elderly people in hospitals is increasing," said Dr Suresh.

He said that several asthmatic patients are suffering from problems like difficulty in breathing.

Dr Suresh further said, "If a patient is already suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, or any other serious disease, then going out of the house in this season can cause problems for such patients. There is a need to be more careful for such people."

Meanwhile, the number of patients in the hospital suffering from problems related to increasing cold has increased by 7 to 10 per cent.

"However, the good thing here is that in a few days, they recover and go home," added Dr Suresh.

Fog conditions were observed (at 0530 hours IST of today): Dense to very dense fog observed in some parts of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar; Moderate fog in isolated pockets of Delhi and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal.

"Visibility recorded (at 0530 hours IST of today) (in m): Punjab: Bhatinda-0, Amritsar-25 & Patiala-200; West Uttar Pradesh: Agra-0, Bareilly-50, Jhansi-200; East Uttar Pradesh: Varanasi & Prayagraj-25 each, Bahraich & Gorakhpur-50 each, Lucknow & Sultanpur-200 each; Bihar: Patna & Purnea-25 each, Bhagalpur-50, Gaya-200; Delhi: Palam-350; Sub-Himalayan West Bengal: Malda-200," India Meteorological Department posted on X.