Day by day increase in the number of cars plying and polluting the Indian roads has become a major reason for the hazardous smog. This has put major cities like Delhi and Mumbai on a red alert. The situation has reached a very critical stage in the capital. The toxic smog has even forced the government to take up emergency actions like closing schools, bringing back the odd-even rule and even banning the entry of truck into the capital.

Relying on such temporary measures definitely won’t help. It may show some results for the time being. But, it won’t bring the pollution down caused to the environment by our cars on a daily basis. So, it is high time we take some drastic measures to cure this nuisance while we still have a chance.

Follow these tips to reduce the pollution that your vehicle produces. This will certainly help to control the growing smog, if we all come together and take the below measures:

• Warm up your car, since it tends to take more time to start in early winter mornings. This starting time can also be longer if the vehicle is a couple of years old or the fuel type is diesel. So, just make sure to start a few minutes early for your destination and warm up the car for a few minutes before you leave. This helps in reducing the fuel consumption.

• Keep the tyres inflated properly with the correct pressure in relation to the tyre, make and model of your car. This simple step will help to run your car smoothly and save the precious fuel.

• Turn off the air conditioning system whenever you can, especially at the red lights. Whenever we switch on the air conditioning of the car, we indirectly put extra load on the engine of the car causing it to burn more fuel. If you are driving on the highway and the atmosphere is cool and pleasant, we can definitely turn off the AC, bring down the windows and save some precious fuel and produce lesser exhaust.

• Regular servicing and tune-up of your precious car on the on-set of every season increases the life span of your beloved car. Besides, it also reduces the pollutants emitted and keeps your car healthier and greener. You should regularly change the oil, check the oil and air filters, and tune the engine to its best. This results in increased efficiency and fuel saving.

• Fill up your fuel tank always from a reputed and known fuelling station, this will help in getting un-adulterated and good quality fuel. Good fuel keeps your car’s engine health in peak condition and keeps pollutants well within the prescribed limits.

• Keeping your car fuel efficient saves you good money. It also keeps the environment clean. This method also helps to keep your car lighter. Remove any extra or unwanted things from your car to make it lighter. You can also look at keeping the fuel tank filed only up to 60% if you drive in the city only. A relatively lighter fuel tank will lower the weight of the car, burn less fuel during climbing a flyover or pickups.

• Use strict pedal control. Having an efficient acceleration technique can save you up to 10% fuel. When you constantly floor the accelerator to rush past other vehicles and then brake again, you are damaging your car’s engine and the environment at the same time. Therefore, drive properly and at correct speeds.

• Give your vehicle a proper pollution check at regular intervals of say 3 months. Regular pollution check may help in finding out any problems that might exist or occur in future.

• You may also use any public transport for few days to rest your vehicle. . Even bringing down the number of cars running on the road considerably can help big time in reducing the pollution. As the public transport system like trains, metros, etc. run on electricity, it helps in bringing down the pollutants being released in the air.

• If you are not comfortable using the public transport system or your destinations are not connected by the public transport system you can try carpooling. Reducing even a handful of cars on the road on a regular basis can add up into a big advantage for the environment.

In the current scenario and looking at the conditions of the major cities, the air quality has degraded to smoking around 50 to 60 cigarettes per day. Under such conditions, the most important, logical and primary thing to be done is restoring the green lungs of the city. We must undertake a massive plantation drive to bring back fresh air which can counter the effects pollution is having on our atmosphere.