I just looked "fijn stof" up on Wikipedia to make sure I was translating it right to English and turns out this kind of pollution is actually called "particulates" or "particulate matter". These are tiny subdivisions of solid matter suspended in a gas or liquid, in our case, in the air. The funny thing is, you really can't tell it's there - yesterday it was bright and sunny, just the kind of cold day that everyone here calls "healthy weather". Turns out it's not so healthy after all!
Increased levels of fine particles in the air are linked to health hazards such as heart disease, altered lung function and lung cancer. As I discovered yesterday, even though you can't see it, you can really feel its effects in your lungs. That is kind of scary! I feel okay today but even last night when I went to bed I could hear a slight wheeze when I was breathing.
So next time the weather man tells us there is too much fijn stof, I am going to listen to him. And today I am going to the gym. Gotta get my Monday workout in if I am going to reach my goal of 8x before the end of the year!
9 comments:
"fine stuff" - ha. I find it highly ironic that I can understand a fair amount of written Dutch (or approximate the meaning) but only understand a few words.
Hope the workout goes well!
Interesting. Is this like smog? When do they expect it to go away?
Yes, Kim, it's like smog - basically nasty pollution that can't dissipate because of the weather conditions.
It's interesting that you can't see it. I've been to LA and Bangkok and in both places you could definitely see it.
That is scary. Yes, go to the gym.
I hope indoor air is filtered well.
We get that here in SA as well and we call it "fyn stof" in Afrikaans. I must say I can tell immediately if the air is not "pure".
I really like your blog, it looks very nice, I'm happy to visit again to see your blog because it's very good indeed, thank's for all. Regards, step aerobics routines really hope to be your friends
Terrible situation everywhere because of the pollution. We call them "polveri sottili". As you know I work in Brussels in the "Sustainable Development Committee" and we are preparing a Green Guide.
However in this case I agree, better the "Dreadmill".
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