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Taj Mahal – A wonder of the world sinks into the smog

Author: Andre Wolf

Article image by Nomad1988 / Shutterstock.com
Article image by Nomad1988 / Shutterstock.com

The Taj Mahal, the most famous monument in India, is threatened by heavy smog that thickly envelops the famous mausoleum.

But not only the landmark Taj Mahal south of the city of New Delhi, but also the residents of the multimillion metropolis suffer from the poor air quality and the smog that covers the city like a cheese dome

The Taj Mahal, located 250 kilometers south of New Delhi, is an approximately 60 meter high and 55 meter wide mausoleum that was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1648. It is by far the most famous monument in India and has become a real tourist magnet over the last few decades.

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However, anyone who visits the Indian city and the Taj Mahal mausoleum in winter will be in for a nasty surprise. A thick blanket of smog covers the city and its surroundings every winter, making life unbearable for the residents and causing massive damage to the structure of the famous tomb.

There are various factors behind the severe smog.

On the one hand, climate and environmental protection is an exceptional phenomenon in India, waste separation or disposal hardly takes place and cars pollute the air we breathe without any filter.
Added to this are dense industrial gases and smoke from the fields surrounding the city, which are burned down after the harvest to increase fertility.

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In short, it is a disaster for the people in the area and a warning signal to the world about what a lack of filters and a lack of sensitivity to the environment can do.

Experts already assume that more than a million people die in India's cities every year as a result of air pollution. The statistics paint a bleak picture for the country: 14 of the 15 polluted cities in the world are in India.

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However, politicians in India are only hesitant to take up the issue.

As an immediate measure, driving bans were issued in the country's capital and a construction stop was imposed on all construction sites, but the causes of the dense smog are hardly changed.

The industrial factories in India are given little or no obligation by Indian politicians to control or even reduce pollutant emissions, let alone filter the toxic gases.

Indian politicians' fear of an economic setback in favor of the environment is still too great.
In addition, India has to contend with massive overpopulation in large cities, which only exacerbates the environmental crisis. Garbage and sometimes excrement are simply disposed of in nearby rivers or lakes, and pollutant emissions enter the atmosphere unfiltered.
In Delhi, the phase in which the harvested fields are burned is called India's "fifth season", the so-called "pollution season". The annual average concentration of fine dust is eight to ten times the limit recommended by the WHO, and on peak days in the fifth season this value even reaches thirty times.

Taj Mahal: Dealing with the problems

The way the country and the population deal with it shows the open conflict and the fundamental problem of environmental policy.

While the wealthier population comes to terms with the pollution, be it by installing air and water filters, the poorer population in particular suffers from the massive pollution, but sees this as a luxury problem and fears economic losses if it is reduced.

This vicious circle can only be broken if the country increasingly relies on renewable energies, which on the one hand puts pressure on the energy operators of fossil plants, but on the other hand also through incentives from consumers and entrepreneurs from Europe, who should pay close attention to the Indian industry To support areas where environmentally friendly work is already being done.

Even if India seems far away for us in Europe, it is the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world and, with its massive emissions of pollutants, contributes significantly to global warming, which also has a direct impact on Europe.

Sources:

Author: Alexander Herberstein; Article image by Nomad1988 / Shutterstock.com

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Notes:

1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication
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The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual articles (not fact checks) were created using machine help and
were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )


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