Air pollution has assumed serious proportions and it cannot be addressed with the same stereotype measures. Science needs to be a part of the solution and the Government must encourage private sector to step up research
Air pollution is undergoing a dangerous and perturbing evolution. Only a decade back, air pollution was at best the cause of respiratory diseases and general health disorders, but according to estimates from a latest report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), air pollution is now turning fatal and is set to cause six million to nine million premature deaths by 2060.
Of the countries most likely to be affected by the deteriorating air quality, India, China, Korea and Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan are likely to report the highest rises in mortality rates from air pollution. Mortality mainly in the form of premature death rates is expected to be up to three times higher in 2060 than in 2010 in China and up to four times higher in India.
Already there is a perceptible increase in the number of lives cut short by air pollution and projections over the next few decades seem disturbing. Given this, it is pertinent that everything is done to prevent these projections from becoming a reality.
In addition as a fatal impact on human lives, air pollution is causing collateral damage to the economic prosperity of nations. The OECD report highlights the fact that sick days, medical bills and reduced agricultural output will cause economic losses of around $2.6 trillion annually or one per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) if measures are not taken to rein in the threat posed by deteriorating air quality.
India, China and Korea especially are likely to report the biggest GDP losses as mounting health costs and lower labour productivity will adversely impact output by lowering agricultural production.
The OECD report confirms and reiterates the findings of a recent study conducted by Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) which concluded that air pollution is responsible for half a million premature deaths in India.
In the midst of these findings, a study on pollution published in the Geophysical Research letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, revealed that Indians lose six years of their life due to pollution.
In this alarming scenario, the Government is making intensive and appreciable efforts to rein in pollution levels by declaring the air quality index with health advisories, expediting implementation of Euro VI norm and initiating action on industrial air pollution and biomass burning.
But the scale and seriousness of air pollution problem demands a much faster response time from the Government with much more effective measures that bring about tangible changes in the quality of air we breath.
For this, it is critical that the Government must open its doors to all research studies that are being conducted on air pollution in India and across the world. These studies can help India leverage global intellectual knowledge on how to track and curb air pollution.
The strategy to tackle pollution must include the participation of the scientific community. To enable this, the Government must focus on building scientific research capability and provide an enabling environment for existing research institutions engaged in conducting research on atmospheric pollution.
Thanks to cutting edge scientific research methodologies available across the world, newer facts are emerging about air pollution. For instance, according to a research study published in The lancet Neurology, air pollution has for the first time become one of the top contributors to stroke worldwide.
The research found unclean air to be responsible for more stroke-related death and disability than smoking. The research, which analysed trends in 17 stroke risk factors in 188 countries between 1990 and 2013, highlighted the split between high income and low income countries.
Air pollution is a global problem and many countries are now relying on traditional policy-driven measures coupled with scientific research to deal with the problem.
India too must change its tactic and embrace scientific research and deploy it as one of the key components in the overall strategy to tackle air pollution. The Government must also encourage the private sector to step up research in this subject area. This will provide a much-needed impetus to the private universities and research bodies to come forward and take up research projects on the various facets of atmospheric pollution.
Air pollution has assumed much serious proportions and it cannot be addressed with the same stereotype measures that India has been using for a longtime. Science needs to be a part of the solution and that is only possible through scientific research based inputs that can provide a lasting solution to a growing problem.