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Delhi has the worst air quality across India
With PM10 concentration, the Capital tops
the pollution charts
Air pollution is known to cause shorter and sicker lives and
Delhiites never seem to have had it so bad. The Capital has been listed as the
worst performer across the country with respect to the presence of alarmingly
high level of Particulate Matter up to 10 micrometer in size (PM10)
concentration, thus exposing the residents here to a host of diseases including
respiratory disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and lung cancer.
A position paper (2014) on “Ambient Air Pollution and Public
Health – A Call to Action” by non-government organisation Public Health Foundation
of India (PHFI) noted: “The worst performers with respect to PM10 were the
Northern States including Delhi (highest PM10 concentration), Jharkhand
(maximum sulphur dioxide level), West Bengal (highest nitrogen dioxide level).”
Giving details of the deteriorating air quality in the
Capital, PHFI researcher Bhargav Krishna said: “Introduction of the Compressed
Natural Gas (CNG) in early 2003 was the last major intervention to deal with
poor air quality in the Capital. Since then the regulation and policy mechanism
have been unable to keep up with the growth in vehicular population and
construction activity in the city. These are the primary causes of poor air
quality.”
“The poor air quality is affecting even children. For those
born in the city sustained exposure to high levels of PM10 exposes them to high
risk of contracting bronchitis and asthma in addition to reduced lung
capacity/function,” said Mr. Krishna.
Understanding the co-relation between poor air quality and
diseases the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently took the
first step towards tackling the issue. “The Ministry convened a steering
committee on health issues relating to air pollution trying to take a
multi-sectoral approach to addressing the problem. Sadly so far no work has
happened on the committee for variety of reasons,” Mr. Krishna said.
Meanwhile according to a recent Environmental Performance
Index study, India officially has the worst air pollution beating China,
Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. It ranks last on ambient air quality of all 170
plus countries surveyed.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor of
Environmental Economics, Michael Greenstone speaking on ‘Shorter lives due to
air pollution and some potential solutions for India’ at a lecture organised by
PHFI earlier this week noted: “There is new evidence on people’s exposure to
ambient concentrations of airborne Particulate Matter the most dangerous form
of air pollution in India, China, and other countries. For much of India’s
population, these concentrations greatly exceed India's National Ambient Air
Quality Standards and levels that the World Health Organisation consider safe.”
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