Ex-Spanish ambassador draws parallel between Delhi’s smog and Spain’s dropping air quality

Living dead in Delhi- condition invites ideas from International representatives. The smog in Delhi has stirred international thinkers. Former Spanish ambassador, Gustavo De Aristegui, talks about Delhi as a pollution chamber and the way to deal with it.

In a newspaper column by the Spaniard, Gustavo De Aristegui points out the depleting condition of the capital city is caused due to smog − a mixture of fog, sulfur oxide, and other suspended particulate matter.

The city’s condition is robbing Delhiites of healthy air, and people are facing breathing problems. “It is no joke that this catastrophic condition calls for alarming situations,” states Aristegui.

The immediate effects of smog include burning eyes, breathlessness and other respiratory problems, a common concern for Delhi’s living dead. Moreover, Delhi’s increasing population is adding to the woes.

Gustavo De Aristegui contends that environmentalists need to look ahead with a sustainable approach. The policy to shoot, aim and think won’t improve our present condition. Obviously, a problem that’s been building up since a century can’t be averted in a decade.

For example, ultra super critical coal technology is an ingenious and an unpolluted method to run thermal power plants. Yet, environmentalists oppose it.

Revolutionaries are viable in their own views, but quite often, they lack the vision about how to implement plans, leading to no further growth. One such revolutionary, ‘Tree-huggers’ opinionated that we should shift to renewable energy sources, but it lacked any plan for proper implementation.

The only way out is to avert this lurking danger by using a mix of both renewable and non-renewable resources, assert the former Spanish ambassador to India. While over polluting units like the Bardarpur power plant need to shut down, we need to keep a check on our activities. Furthermore, technologies like catalytic converters will further reduce the impact of harmful smog.

These ideas are a reflection of Spain’s own problem, adds Gustavo De Aristegui. A recent report by the European Environment Agency has revealed that Spain exceeded safe pollution levels by 150 times, making it difficult for people to breathe.

The problem in both the countries has a common concern, but the good news is that the two can counter the problem better by taking the necessary steps.