Disasterchannel.co,- Friends, you are definitely familiar with air quality monitoring sites, both mobile application-based and website-based. This application can not only monitor the air quality index near us. However, we can also monitor the air quality index throughout the world. Applications such as IQAir, Nafas, Air Matters, and Plume Labs are familiar and used by many people to monitor the quality of the surrounding air. By using this platform and of course an internet connection, air quality information can be obtained completely and as quickly as possible. So how do we identify an area with polluted air, if we don’t have an internet connection or other smart device?
Actually, there are several ways we can find out whether the air in an area is polluted or not, namely by physically observing it or knowing through bodily symptoms if the air around us is polluted. The presence of dangerous pollutants that can harm the health of people around them can be observed directly if we know how to differentiate them. On the other hand, we can also use the body’s mechanism to respond to foreign substances that enter through the air as a benchmark that our air is truly polluted. The following are signs that you can pay attention to if your area is polluted by dangerous pollutants in the air that can harm your health.
- Colored air
The first thing you can do to detect air pollution is to look at the color of the air around you. Usually air that is not polluted by pollution or pollutants is colorless, because basically oxygen has no color. Therefore, city skies that are not polluted by air pollution tend to be blue, just like village areas that are rich in oxygen. Another thing that can be of concern to you if you live in a city with tall and dense buildings. Buildings will be clearly visible if we look within a fairly far radius and are not blocked by the gray fog which usually accumulates and is seen floating in the air.
- The air has a smell
The next step is to pay attention to whether the air around us has a smell. Basically, good air is air that has no smell, because the oxygen that humans breathe has no color or smell. So immediately move from a place filled with colored and smelly air. Get away as quickly as possible before health effects arise which are the body’s response to foreign substances entering the body, such as tightness in the chest.
- Body response
The final step that can be taken is to pay attention to the body’s response. The body has the ability to respond to every foreign substance that enters the body. The body’s own response occurs in various ways. The easiest example is when dust enters the nasal cavity, where it usually clears up and causes foreign substances that enter to leave the body again. However, the body’s response to each pollutant in the air has its own characteristics. With different contaminants or pollutants, the body’s response will also be different.
Some pollutants can cause irritation to the eyes and skin, but it is not recommended to rub them with your hands. Irritation can also occur in the lining of the throat and make the chest tight or hot. In some quite severe cases, the ability of pollutants to bind faster than oxygen in the blood will cause the body to lack oxygen. So it can cause dizziness and disorders of other body organs.
What is no less important for you to do and decide immediately is to move away from places with colored and smelly air, and understand how to deal with the effects of contact with pollutants in the air. If serious health problems arise, immediately go to the nearest health facility. It is not a good thing to linger in places with high air pollution. Some impacts may be felt immediately, but the accumulation of pollutants in the body will have a serious impact on health for a very long period of time and can even result in death.
Author: Iqbal Ramadhan
Editor: Lien Sururoh
Translator: Nugrah Aryatama
Reference :
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