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Measuring and Tracking Air Quality

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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...
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How Air Pollution Affects Plants and Animals

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The earth is inhabited by millions of species within the plant and animal worlds. All co-exist and live alongside human beings. Anything in nature that affects humans also affects the plants and animals in equal, and sometimes in more advanced ways, positively or negatively. One such thing that at present is posing a negative and seriously damaging influence on the flora and fauna across the world is Air Pollution or very poor Air Quality Index (AQI). While human beings have evolved technologies, air travel, industrial processes, waste disposal methods and other infrastructural activities; these have steadily deteriorated air quality to unmanageable levels. While human beings are themselves responsible for the health and other damages due to this, the plants and animals are bearing the brunt of air pollution for no fault of their own. Some are also on the brink of extinction due to this. It is a well known fact that if plant and animal species keep vanishing from the face of the eart...
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Recipe for Disaster – What Ails the Air Quality and Ways to Gauge It

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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...
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Understanding GRAP!!

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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...
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