Sometimes, Mother Nature likes showing us who is boss
Usually, when one uses a headline like the one atop this comment, it involves some confusing aspect of domestic or international policy. And while it remains appropriate for when such events occur, the headline is meant in the literal sense here. For, all of north India across the Indo-Gangetic plain from West to East has been shrouded in layers of thick, dense fog for the past two days. A two thousand kilometer swathe of fog has made transportation and even life extremely difficult from beyond the floodplains of the Indus to the foothills of the Himalayas; so much so that some media have termed this the ‘Superfog’. This is yet another extreme weather phenomenon, one obviously made worse by human intervention. Fog which is caused by the weather is annual event, but it appears this year the fog is denser than ever before thanks to the abysmal air quality across the region. The suspended particulate matter in the air has stuck to the microscopic water droplets making matters worse. Both in terms of visibility and in terms of air quality the last week has been brutal across this vast region where close to ten percent of the world’s population lives. Thick fog has been the cause of numerous accidents on the roads while its accompanying poor air quality is a direct killer albeit a slow one. As usual, governments have not found a proper solution for the deteriorating air quality. In fact, they have chosen to sit on their hands and do nothing. Contrast this with the numerous warnings and public support when there are extreme weather events in developed countries. In the United States there is currently a major cold front which has even brought snow to usually balmy states which sit on the same latitude as northern India. There the government has issued warnings and public services are geared up for the worst but in India it appears to be business as usual despite the dire conditions. There needs to be a more concerted effort from the authorities in these conditions. After a massive rush of attention a couple of months ago, air-pollution is off the radar, which is unfortunate.
Transport disruption caused by the fog is another problem that needs to be addressed, even though airlines have to a large extent addressed the worst issues. Though flight delays and diversions haven’t stopped, the situation has improved. Trains are another story though, but with safety concerns, particularly around sabotage and with the risks of collision with vehicular traffic, there is not much the Railways can do except improve security and look at investing in modern ways to combat the fog such as on-board radar systems. Fog is an annual event in the north of the country and people are coping with it the best they can; however, the pollution which it amplifies is unnatural and governments must deal with it.