The onset of February marks the end of the high air pollution season in the state capital, which experiences a spike in air contamination through the winter months.

Pollution Control Board (PCB) officials attribute the trend to meteorological factors, which make the city air denser post-October each year.

They say that the thicker winter air traps airborne contaminants, especially particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), which continue to be the mainstay pollutants in the city.

Particulate matter comprises a mix of microscopic contaminants, including dust particles, aerosols, and gases. These pollutants may carry smaller and even deadlier nano matter that emanates from the burning of plastics.

Research identifies these contaminants as deadly for human health, other organisms, and the environment.

Medical practitioners also classify these breathable toxins as hazardous to human health, especially for those with underlying cardiopulmonary ailments.

They warn that the elderly and young children are the most affected by exposure to these contaminants, which enter the bloodstream and cause or aggravate lung and heart diseases.

Research suggests that the greatest risk is posed to the health of infants and children up to the age of five, as they breathe in a significantly larger amount of air per kilogram of body weight compared to adults.

At the onset of the high pollution season this year, the city administration issued a health advisory, warning citizens—especially those in high-risk groups—to exercise caution.

The administration advised that citizens should refrain from cardio-intensive activities like brisk walking and running during the early hours, and wear protective masks in public.

Few people heeded the advice, resulting in heavy footfall at the cardio and lung diseases departments at both government and private hospitals.

Seasonal breathing ailments also continued to increase, as the city struggled for clean air while complaining of the air situation, which reached hazardous levels on a number of occasions.

Ongoing metro construction work and other infrastructure projects added to the woes of residents and commuters at various places in the city, especially on Berasia Road, Hamidia Road, and the GPO-Taj Mahal stretch.

PCB officials say that the worsening stagnation of polluting dust particles may have been exacerbated by micro-topographical conditions in these areas.

The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) used water sprinklers in these areas to control dust particles that hung in the air.

As part of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), the central government holds the BMC responsible for combatting air pollution, especially PM10 contamination in the city.

Though the BMC initiated several measures to control PM10 levels at the beginning of the winter, the civic administration added more emphasis to the campaign only after the NCAP recorded a negative growth in PM10 levels in the city.

The BMC has banned the burning of garbage, the commercial use of paraffins and solid fuels, the distribution of free firewood to the poor, and launched a campaign to check the reckless disposal of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste.

Even though the BMC is levying spot fines on polluters for now, it remains to be seen if penal action will continue through the low-pollution season, or if the campaign will wither away with the onset of summer.