Delhi's air quality remained in the hazardous 'severe plus' category on Tuesday, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) touching a shocking 494 at 6 am. The city continues to be enveloped in a dense layer of smog - a toxic mix of smoke and fog - triggering significant visibility issues and health concerns. Experts warn that prolonged exposure to such hazardous air quality is linked to reduced life expectancy, heart diseases and respiratory problems.
Amid growing concerns, a popular Indian-Chinese restaurant chain has launched an innovative initiative to combat rising air pollution. Hong's Kitchen, with multiple outlets across Delhi, has introduced anti-pollution billboards called 'Soup-er Hero'. In collaboration with experts, the chain identified Delhi's most polluted "choke points" and installed billboards, bus shelter installations and custom sculptures featuring giant soup bottles equipped with anti-smog mist systems.
These installations have a unique feature - a 'smog gun' behind the soup bottle that releases recycled water in the form of mist to help reduce air pollution.
How Does It Work?
PM 2.5 particles are microscopic, cancer-causing pollutants that can enter the bloodstream through the lungs. The mist released from the smog guns binds with these particles, making them heavier and causing them to settle, thereby reducing their concentration in the air.
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The anti-smog billboards have been strategically placed across key areas of the city and its neighbouring regions. These include billboards in Gurugram and Moti Bagh, bus shelters near Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Laxmi Nagar and custom sculptures in Nehru Place, Noida, and Gurugram.
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The restaurant has also pledged to donate INR10 from every soup bottle sold to the Swechha Foundation, an environmental NGO addressing air and water pollution and promoting sustainable development in India.
What do you think of this unique attempt to improve Delhi's air? Share your thoughts in the comments below.