Air pollution, a silent killer, eats away almost nine years of a person’s life in north India
The people of Delhi in particular and north India in general wake up to a dangerous reality. Air pollution is turning from bad to worse and is making them die early. An American research institute has said the average Indian in this region is going to lose over nine years of his or her life if air pollution remains at the 2019 levels. The worst-polluted region is the Indo-Gangetic plain, including Delhi. About 40 per cent of the population lives here. Delhi is the most polluted where air pollution is shortening life by nearly a decade. Uttar Pradesh is a close second at 9.5 years. Air pollution is enveloping this region like a coffin cloth. The WHO guidelines say that PM 2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter) should not go beyond 10 microns per cubic metre. In 2019, the average concentration of PM 2.5 in India was 70 microns per cubic metre — the highest in the world. If these levels continue to hold, they will eat away people’s lives. These particles are ultra-fine and pass through the lungs and, carried by the bloodstream, expose nearly all cells in the body. A Centre for Science and Environment report quoted research papers that these particles cause “head-to-toe harm”, from heart and lung disease to diabetes and dementia and cancer to brittle bones, damaged skin and fertility. Air pollution is said to have caused 1.8 million deaths in 2015, averaging about the same since then.
Three factors — garbage burning, construction and transportation — cause air pollution in India. Biomass burning pollutes the air in the rural areas along with seasonal stubble burning. Experts have suggested that garbage burning be tackled first and in the short term. In most Indian cities, over three-fourths of garbage is collected daily. If municipal efficiency is increased to lift the remaining garbage, burning would be avoided and that can reduce air pollution to some extent. Measures are being taken by the Government to check pollution on account of transportation and construction. The National Clean Air Programme is aimed at cutting particulate pollution by at least a third at the 2017 levels by 2024. If that is achieved, national life expectancy may increase by about two years and 3.5 years for residents of the northern region. However, these are massive exercises as the number of vehicles continues to zoom and construction activity sees no contraction at all. On top of it, violation of environmental rules is rampant. It is now imperative to reduce traffic-based air pollution by carpooling and sharing taxis, using bicycles and public transport, owning CNG and electric vehicles, improving road signages for easier driving, lane driving and better roads to avoid jams, and shifting to solar energy. Western countries also faced air pollution in the past but they made progress in the last decades not by chance but as a result of policy choices. That is what every Indian has to make because it is a life-and-death question.