Bhopal has reported a sudden increase in cases of various respiratory illnesses, including asthma and COPD exacerbations in the last few weeks and the medical experts in Bhopal have raised concerns over the ‘cold wave’ in Bhopal triggering respiratory and allied illnesses at a time when Covid-19 cases are spiking in the city. 

Gandhi Medical College (GMC) associate professor and pulmonologist, Dr Parag Sharma said that there is a 30 percent increase in patients with pre-existing asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are seeking medical attention. Cold weather has been associated with an increase in allergic reactions and hyper-reactive airway diseases that trigger wheezing, coughing and spasms that feel similar to asthma attacks. Medical experts are particularly concerned about the generations of gas tragedy survivors who are already suffering from various ailments and how this wave would affect them amid the Covid spike not only in the city but the whole state.