A City Gasping: Pollution and the Price We Pay

Air is the most omnipresent and free life giving resource provided to humankind by nature. Its crucial requirement for the very existence of life cannot be undermined, nor the need for it to be pristine and pollution free for life to thrive in a healthy manner. Unfortunately, with the need for more comfort and luxury by people, unscrupulous infrastructure development, cutting down of forests, and excessive use of plastic, air pollution is probably one of the most serious environmental issues in the world today. Consequently, exposure to the polluted air causes millions of deaths and lost years of healthy life annually. It exacts a massive toll on health and well-being worldwide. Air pollution is now recognized as the single biggest environmental threat to human health. According to the World Health Organization report * air pollution kills 13 people every minute due to lung cancer, heart diseases and strokes. Each year nearly 7 million people die globally due to exposure to air pollu...

In 2014, The World Health Organization studied the air quality of 1,600 cities in 91 countries. New Delhi, India was ranked at number 1 as the most polluted city in the world. Beyond the findings for Delhi, 13 of the top 20 cities found to have the highest annual averages of PM2.5 in the WHO study were also in India. The figures were alarming and concerning! Using satellite-based remote sensing technology and ground level data from the Central Pollution Control Board, Dr. Michael Greenstone and his team from WHO produced an insightful study (Greenstone et al, 2015) showing that 660 million people (more than half of India’s population at that time) lived in areas that highly exceed India’s standards for fine particulate pollution. Large portions of India, in particular in the north along the Indo-Gangetic plain were found to be heavily polluted and in non-compliance with India’s National Air Quality Standards (NAAQS.) Since 2014, this data has been updated yearly by the W.H.O. Though...

With air pollution remaining critically high and a serious health since 2010 in India, especially in the capital city of New Delhi, the Supreme Court of India in 2015 mandated the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to draw up an urgent and comprehensive action plan to tackle this problem. The action plan was mapped out by an expert committee and submitted to the Supreme Court in December 2016. After proper analysis and deliberation, it was accepted and rolled out, thus introducing the Graded Response Action Plan or GRAP to the city of Delhi and the National Capital Region. Implemented in January 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the purpose of this plan was to ensure “prevention, control, and abatement” of air pollution in Delhi-NCR. For the implementation of the plan, the central government set up the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body that was tasked to work with other Indian states for development and implementation of si...

The World Health Organization studied the air quality of 1,600 cities in 91 countries in 2014. Delhi was ranked at number 1 as the most polluted city in the world. Beyond the findings for Delhi, 13 of the 20 cities found to have the highest annual averages of PM2.5 in the WHO study were Indian cities. Using satellite-based remote sensing technology and ground level data from the Central Pollution Control Board, Dr. Michael Greenstone and his team produced an influential study (Greenstone et al, 2015) showing that 660 million people (more than half of India’s population) lived in areas that exceed India’s standards for fine particulate pollution. Large portions of India, in particular in the north along the Indo-Gangetic Plain can been seen to be heavily polluted and in non-compliance with India’s National Air Quality Standards (NAAQS.) Since 2014, this data has been updated by the W.H.O. and though New Delhi got displaced from the top of the list, it wasn’t due to actions taken to c...

Throughout the world air quality continues to deteriorate due to increasing emissions, threatening human health and life, and contributing to climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and waste. According to the World Health Organization, 99% of the global population breathes impure air. Even though air pollution is a global problem, it disproportionately affects those living in developing nations and particularly the most vulnerable, such as women, children and the elderly. PM2.5, which refers to particulate matter with a diameter equal to or less than 2.5 micrometres, poses the greatest health threat and is often used as a metric in legal air quality standards. When inhaled, PM2.5 is absorbed deep into the bloodstream. The deadliest illnesses linked to PM2.5 air pollution are stroke, heart disease, lung disease, lower respiratory diseases (such as pneumonia), and cancer. High levels of fine particles also contribute to other illnesses, like diabetes. Children are particularly vul...

Poor air quality has a direct effect on human health. Exposure to air pollutants or airborne allergens can harm our respiratory and cardiovascular systems or exacerbate existing conditions in susceptible populations. Children, older adults, persons with asthma, and immunocompromised persons are most vulnerable to air quality impacts. Respiratory impacts can include advanced stage asthma, respiratory allergies, and airway diseases, while cardiovascular impacts can include hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart attack, and stroke. Bad air quality is also being linked to instances of eye problems up to and including partial blindness, skin allergies, lack of mental alertness and kidney problems due to inhalation of chemical particles that are bad for kidney health. The national library of medicine at the National Centre for Biotechnology Information in the United States has published a detailed report on each particulate element in polluted air and its effect on people. The same rep...

In our previous blogs we have discussed what constitutes air pollution, its quantified statistics and the governmental regulations and measures to tackle the problem. However, no such effort can be successful unless we know the accurate methods to interpret these pollution statistics and pin point the precise reasons or things that cause such pollution. This blog thus attempts to uncover some of the components that together form a recipe for disaster related with the health and safety of people. Each comes with its set of causes, and each requires are attention and effort to prevent or minimize it. Air pollution is caused by solid and liquid particles called aerosols, suspended gases, and chemical reactions that make them worse pollutants than in their original form. Most air pollution comes from energy use and production. Certain gases in the atmosphere can also cause air pollution. In addition, EPA (United States Environmental Agency) has identified six pollutants as “criteria” air...