Moving to Delhi: Health & SafetyHealth concerns are one of the reasons that Delhi is often considered a hardship posting. In addition to the risk of disease, untreated tap water and vegetables are not considered safe and Delhi has very bad air pollution. Lest all this put you off, you can avoid getting sick largely by just taking a few simple precautions against consuming unsafe items. Most foreigners sterilize their water before drinking, often by boiling and then filtering or by installing water purifiers. You can purchase filter tanks (holding a few gallons) and clay filters in many markets. Purifying systems can also be purchased in Delhi. Vegetables should be soaked in sterilizing solution, especially if they are to be eaten raw. You, or your cook, can buy Sterileq (a sterilizing solution) in most markets. Speaking of cooks, this is another reason to hire a cook: to boil and filter the water and to sterilize the vegetables. Diseases
Air PollutionAir pollution in Delhi is quite bad, and is mostly caused by cars, trucks, buses and "auto-rickshaws" (3-wheel vehicles with very polluting 2-stroke engines). You can buy some air-filters here, or bring one with you. Opinions differ on whether filters really work; everyone agrees that filters have to be changed far, far, more often than recommended by the manufacturers. You can also buy ionizing precipator filters, which primarily rely on static electricity rather than filters as the primary cleansing agent. Again, opinions differ on whether they are worth the money or effort, but they certainly do pull dust out of the air, as one cleaning will quickly show!
WeatherPollution aside, Delhi doesn't have great weather. Summers are very hot, staying in the high 30's or low 40's (Centigrade) for months. Winters are not actually that cold, with lows of around 6 degrees Centigrade, but seem colder as many homes are poorly insulated (seemingly designed to lose heat, for the summer, rather than retain it, for the winter). You can buy air conditioners here, which often double as heaters. For winter, you can also buy fan-driven convection heaters. A nice alternative, which we've seen in shops for the first time this year (1998), is a free-standing electric radiator, which doesn't dry out the air so much and can be left on a low setting to keep the chill out of the air. Humidity: It can get very dry in Delhi. One person who visited this page wrote: "I would mention the need for a humidifier for those who suffer in the dry winters... It's simply not the sort of thing you expect to need in Delhi and having looked for one locally and I can tell you they are unavailable."
General InformationCheck with your Foreign Ministry/Department or your Embassy or High Commission in New Delhi for their suggestions or if you are contemplating travel to dodgy areas. Official on-line information tends to include an verview of entry requirements, terrorism situation, areas of instability, restricted areas, medical facilities, etc. Most embassies have their own travel/consular advisories, which may differ from those below.
- Search Engines - Staff - Shopping - Travel - Transport - Communications - Copyright © 1998 Peter R Bullen. Created: 15-Feb-98. Updates: 30-April-98, 20-May-98, 5-Aug-98, 29-Nov-98. |