ENVIRONMENT
EVERYTHING IS AVAILABLE IN INDIA
except
CLEAN AIR
India is home to the world’s 14
most polluted cities, the WHO
said, based on the amount of
particulate matter under 2.5
micrograms found in every cubic
meter of air.
A recent report from the World
Health Organization, drawing on
measurements and calculations as
of 2016 from air monitoring
stations in 4,300 cities,
establishes clearly that air
pollution is a global problem. A
whopping nine in 10 people on
Earth breathe highly polluted air,
and more than 80 percent of
urban dwellers have to endure
outdoor pollution that exceeds
health standards, according to the
WHO’s World Global Ambient Air
Quality Database.
The WHO said it was “particularly
concerned” about India’s pollution
levels and urged it to follow the
example China had set in striving
for cleaner air.
Many different air pollutants can
impact health — nitrogen oxide,
carbon monoxide, and ozone,
among them. But the database
classifies air pollution in two
ways: by PM2.5, particles smaller
than 2.5 microns in diameter, and
by PM 10, particles that are 10
microns in diameter. The smaller
PM2.5 particles from sources like
open flames and diesel exhaust
can linger in the air longer and
penetrate deeper into the lungs
than larger particles, which is why
they’re the bigger concern for
health officials and a high-priority
target for reduction.
Around the world, nine out of 10
people breathe polluted air, which
can lead to heart disease, stroke
and lung cancer, the WHO said.
Globally about 7 million people
die as a result of polluted air a
year, it said, with people living in
poor Asian and African
countries at most risk.
A British medical journal, The
Lancet, estimated that air
pollution was responsible for
almost 10 percent of the total
disease burden in India in 2016.
Air pollution in Delhi over
recent winters, when the colder
weather tends to trap fumes,
forced schools to shut and
prompted Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s office to
directly monitor measures to
clean up the capital’s air.
Steps have included sprinkling
water to damp down dust and
banning certain fuels but there’s
barely any improvement.
The Pradhanmantri Ujjwala
Yojana made a big change,
though India need to focus faar
more to breath clean air.