The Two Lucknows (2): The "Fog"

Lucknow 9-24-2009 and 11-08-2009

This is the view from our apartment window now that "winter" has set in in earnest (highs are in the 80/90 degrees, and lows in the 60s). With the "winter" comes the "fog". It isn't like any fog I've experienced at other times of my life --- it seems to hang around regardless of how hot it is or whether the sun is out (see the above picture which was taken near noon). This fog isn't wet (there hasn't been rain here for a while). This fog isn't cold (although, I imagine locals think it is cold, relatively speaking). This fog also does not hang near the ground - it seems to be hanging in just over our heads.... which leads me, and several other Americans staying here - I might add, to believe that this is not fog.

Wikipedia, my go to source for general explanations, suggests that:
"Fog formation requires all of the elements that normal cloud formation requires, the most important being condensation nuclei, in the form of dust, aerosols, pollutants, etc., for the water to condense upon. When there are exceptional amounts of condensation nuclei present, especially hygroscopic (water seeking) particles such as salt, then the water vapor may condense below 100% relative humidity." [emphasis added]

To me, this "fog" isn't fog in the sense that I've seen it most of my life, but rather is the (rather nasty) after affects of people burning garbage for warmth now that the weather has gotten colder.... yes, let that one sink in a little bit...

Some of you may remember our description of Delhi when we came in January, how we were totally overwhelmed by the pollution that everyone was calling "fog"... I just couldn't understand at the time where it was all coming from ... I didn't have the 100+ degree weather during September to force onto my understanding just how "cold" this 60 degree winter must be for people without decent shelters.

Shanty-town on Bulter Road

On my way to work everyday I pass by this pretty enormous shanty-town ... so un-PC of me, but I'm not sure what word to use. These are temporary structures to be sure, but I don't know what kinds of rights these people have to the land they are living on ... but similarly not 50 yards away there are several families that just sleep in the open air on the side of the road ... which is amazingly dangerous considering there are no proper sidewalks here (more on that some other time).

In the morning, I frequently see morning fires for breakfast and in the evening I see fires for dinner. In a big city, at first it is hard to imagine where they must be getting their fuel - there aren't really any trees around for firewood.... and then you just look around, and it becomes clear... sad, but clear.

Huge piles of garbage on the side of the road

I'm puttering on my little scooter and going to the nice part of town ... to work in buildings like this:

(Sadly) Typical Gomti Nagar view, palacial house next to hovel

I say scenes like this are typical - but it may be the case that as all the construction in Gomti Nagar starts dying down there will be less "mixing" of these classes ... as the construction laborers are moved out (have palaces built on the plots that once use to be their homes), so their homes will be moved to the fringes of these neighborhoods. I don't really know if this is true or what will really happen... I only know what we can see in the moment, which is just some pretty intense contrast between the haves and the have-nots.

But I don't want to leave you with the impression that it is just the underpriviledged who burn trash - I was stunned to see yesterday that the Taj Residency Hotel (Lucknow's fanciest hotel) burning garbage in the back on their grounds. So garbage burning is not solely done for warmth/cooking fires ... but also to just deal with trash.

Sad.

Reminds me of something Allen heard the other day .... India is a "free country" meaning, there are no rules to prevent you from doing anything you want - but that said, if you want something done properly you're going to have to do it yourself... no proper city sanitation and garbage disposal? No problem, just burn the waste in your back yard..... it is exhausting to be fighting against a world with no rules - so at some point, you just stop trying and just do what everyone else does.

[UPDATE: Allen wants to point out that he doesn't believe that people are cooking on garbage fires .... he thinks garbage fires are just for disposal and that during the summer, the rains clear the air and because it doesn't rain much in the winter we don't have that cleaning effect, so the smog builds up over time.
COUNTERPOINT: I totally agree with his point about the rains. But I think there are more fires now than there were in the summer just because of the temperature drop. And while I'll concede that they might not use refuse for cooking fires, but they most definitely are using old newspaper and scrap tinder-material from the garbage piles -- I think.]