Death by Breathing
It is a known fact that human beings and even animals can last a few weeks or even months without food, a few weeks without water; but only a few minutes at the most without air. Thus the importance of constant air presence for sustaining life is a must. Yet it is not enough to just be surrounded by the all pervasive air. It is also crucial that the air is clean, fresh and pollution free, since inhaling polluted air can lead to diseases of various proportions and gravity. However, in the present world, this natural resource that we cannot live without has become the cause for human deaths, chronic diseases, infant and maternal mortality, and food and water contamination. Air pollution is now one of the leading causes of death in India and Asia.
The India specific findings of the new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) count, a global initiative involving the World Health Organisation, stated that air pollution has become the fifth largest killer in India. This India specific findings were released by the scientists of the US based Health Effect Institute (a part of the Ambient Air Quality Expert Group of the GBD assessment) at the workshop jointly organized by the Centre for Science and Environment, Indian Council of Medical Research and the US based Health Effects Institute in New Delhi on February 13, 2013. Though many civil society groups, NGOs, environmental activists and few government bodies have lobbied for clean air, not much on the ground results have shown in this direction. A lot of this has been attributed to long delays in passing of laws, weak laws that let the offenders and air polluting industries get little or no punishment, corruption and greed, unregulated infrastructure development and unplanned cities, and the burning of harvest stubble and other wastes in the open.
The GBD tracks deaths and illnesses from all causes across the world every 10 years. GBD has ranked air pollution as one of the top 10 killers in the world, and the sixth most dangerous killer in South Asia. Particulate air pollution is now three places behind indoor air pollution, which is the second highest killer in India. The India specific analysis has been calculated from the larger global efforts using estimates of air pollution exposure at the national level and India specific deaths and incidence of leading causes of deaths. Disparate efforts and fragmented policies and their poor implementation have lead to this scenario as far as air pollution is concerned. This has shown a sharp rise in cases of bronchitis among children, increasing instance of cancer, bone disease, and lung malfunction in all age groups.
The Indian Council of Medical Research report* on diseases caused by air pollution states that such diseases lead to 18% of all deaths in the country. Death rate from outdoor air pollution has gone up by 115% from 1990 to 2019; and economic loss due to this was 1.4% of the GDP or equal to US$ 36.8 billion. These are shocking statistics, and imply that we need to tackle the situation with urgency and immediately, before it is too late.
Some other finding by GBD for India that also merit attention are:
India is just a case study in question. The air pollution index or AQI worldwide is showing enormous signs of deterioration. It is also beginning to cause the melting of the Arctic and the Antarctic ice covers, which will lead to imminent disaster and drowning of many coastal countries. The government of the Andaman and Nicobar islands near India have confirmed that their country will be submerged under water in another 30 to 50 years and have started making desperate efforts to relocate populations and implement environmental friendly policies. The complete details can be read here.
Air pollution is a year-round problem, yet often questions are raised regarding its severity and primary sources. Despite several studies on the topic, there is limited consensus on source contributions. Substantial contributions are from vehicle exhaust, road dust, construction dust, cooking and heating, open waste burning, light and heavy industries, diesel generator sets, seasonal sources such as agricultural burning and dust storms. However within the blame game between political factions, environmental legislative bodies, corruption, and little real effort, the situation is becoming worse. The judiciary system, comprising the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal, has played its role in addressing the air pollution problem in Delhi and the larger Indian subcontinent. In some cases they have mandated technical, economic, and institutional solutions ahead of the respective national and state departments. Despite these efforts, much needs to be done since air is not restricted by manmade country boundaries. The effects of one country’s industrial and other pollution policies, is felt in other countries separated by thousands of kilometres. It is indeed time that a collective global effort is put into place.
The India specific findings of the new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) count, a global initiative involving the World Health Organisation, stated that air pollution has become the fifth largest killer in India. This India specific findings were released by the scientists of the US based Health Effect Institute (a part of the Ambient Air Quality Expert Group of the GBD assessment) at the workshop jointly organized by the Centre for Science and Environment, Indian Council of Medical Research and the US based Health Effects Institute in New Delhi on February 13, 2013. Though many civil society groups, NGOs, environmental activists and few government bodies have lobbied for clean air, not much on the ground results have shown in this direction. A lot of this has been attributed to long delays in passing of laws, weak laws that let the offenders and air polluting industries get little or no punishment, corruption and greed, unregulated infrastructure development and unplanned cities, and the burning of harvest stubble and other wastes in the open.
The GBD tracks deaths and illnesses from all causes across the world every 10 years. GBD has ranked air pollution as one of the top 10 killers in the world, and the sixth most dangerous killer in South Asia. Particulate air pollution is now three places behind indoor air pollution, which is the second highest killer in India. The India specific analysis has been calculated from the larger global efforts using estimates of air pollution exposure at the national level and India specific deaths and incidence of leading causes of deaths. Disparate efforts and fragmented policies and their poor implementation have lead to this scenario as far as air pollution is concerned. This has shown a sharp rise in cases of bronchitis among children, increasing instance of cancer, bone disease, and lung malfunction in all age groups.
The Indian Council of Medical Research report* on diseases caused by air pollution states that such diseases lead to 18% of all deaths in the country. Death rate from outdoor air pollution has gone up by 115% from 1990 to 2019; and economic loss due to this was 1.4% of the GDP or equal to US$ 36.8 billion. These are shocking statistics, and imply that we need to tackle the situation with urgency and immediately, before it is too late.
Some other finding by GBD for India that also merit attention are:
- Shocking increase in Indian death toll due to air pollution related diseases: Air pollution is the fifth leading cause of death in India after high blood pressure, indoor air pollution, tobacco smoking, and poor nutrition. About 620,000 premature deaths occur from air pollution related diseases. This is up from 100,000 in 2000, a six-fold increase.
- Massive loss in healthy years in India: Air pollution is the seventh leading cause behind the loss of about 18 million healthy years of life due air to illness. It comes after indoor air pollution, tobacco smoking, high blood pressure, childhood underweight, low nutritional status, and alcohol use.
- Respiratory and cardiovascular diseases key reasons for air pollution induced premature deaths in India: Premature deaths caused by the air pollution are caused primarily due to a range of cardio respiratory ailments. These include stroke (25.48%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (17.32), Ischemic heart disease (48.6%), lower respiratory infections (6.4%), and trachea, bronchus and lung cancer (2.02%).
India is just a case study in question. The air pollution index or AQI worldwide is showing enormous signs of deterioration. It is also beginning to cause the melting of the Arctic and the Antarctic ice covers, which will lead to imminent disaster and drowning of many coastal countries. The government of the Andaman and Nicobar islands near India have confirmed that their country will be submerged under water in another 30 to 50 years and have started making desperate efforts to relocate populations and implement environmental friendly policies. The complete details can be read here.
Air pollution is a year-round problem, yet often questions are raised regarding its severity and primary sources. Despite several studies on the topic, there is limited consensus on source contributions. Substantial contributions are from vehicle exhaust, road dust, construction dust, cooking and heating, open waste burning, light and heavy industries, diesel generator sets, seasonal sources such as agricultural burning and dust storms. However within the blame game between political factions, environmental legislative bodies, corruption, and little real effort, the situation is becoming worse. The judiciary system, comprising the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal, has played its role in addressing the air pollution problem in Delhi and the larger Indian subcontinent. In some cases they have mandated technical, economic, and institutional solutions ahead of the respective national and state departments. Despite these efforts, much needs to be done since air is not restricted by manmade country boundaries. The effects of one country’s industrial and other pollution policies, is felt in other countries separated by thousands of kilometres. It is indeed time that a collective global effort is put into place.
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