India was listed as the 5th most polluted country by the WHO (2019) based on PM2.5 emission concentrations, with 21 of the top 30 most polluted cities being in India.
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RESEARCH REPORT
India was listed as the 5th most polluted country by the WHO (2019) based on PM2.5 emission concentrations, with 21 of the top 30 most polluted cities being in India. The level of air pollutants in India is increasing day by day. This makes living difficult, mainly for infants, the elderly, the homeless and the underprivileged segment the society. If the pollution keeps rising, the mortality rates will stoop very low and life expectancy will also decrease. People are aware of it but still, they do not take the necessary steps to solve the issue. The government’s initiatives to reduce pollution did not help to change the air quality. Global Burden of Disease estimates that air pollution is the fifth leading cause of death in the nation. The negative effects could have a significant influence on human health, as well as on biodiversity, other life forms, heritage, cultural structures, and even climate in the long run. Since the middle of the 2010s, air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) has received widespread attention. The increase in particulate matter (PM) content was the driving force behind this. The government’s actions towards controlling pollution were not giving good results and now the pollution has gotten worse.
India’s air pollution crisis has dominated press coverage for the past few years. The condition of Delhi, the nation’s capital city, and the associated health care expenses have been deemed a “national crisis.” While security guards, street sweepers, and rickshaw drivers spend numerous hours outside breathing in squalor without any attempt at protection, toddlers stand at school bus stops wearing neatly ironed uniforms. Ask middle-class residents whether they have air purifiers in their homes and the answer is invariable no. This is true despite extensive coverage of the pollution crisis in the city’s capital by local media and numerous doctor’s warnings about serious health risks, particularly for kids, the sick, and the elderly. “The tragedy is that there is no political will at all either on the part of the federal government or the state government of Delhi and, as a result, we can see both blaming each other for the crisis that we are in,” said Yogendra Yadav, a political polling expert. “Whatever little government action you get to see is because of the pressure that environmental activists and the Supreme Court get to exert.”(Dasgupta, Bhardwaj, 2018). Morbidity and mortality rates have resulted in welfare losses that have cost India’s economy about 5.9 percent of GDP. According to a 2018 report from the Health Effects Institute, the number of air pollution-related deaths in India is expected to increase from 1.1 million in 2015 to 1.7 million in 2030. (Roy, Chandra, Ratho, 2020)
The main causes of air pollution emissions and poor air quality include expanding urbanization, increasing industrialization, and related human activities.
The problem reaches its height in India, where burning stubble causes Delhi to be shrouded in a fog right before winter. But the issue doesn’t only affect Delhi; it affects everyone all year round. Delhi is an example, only roughly one-third of the city’s pollution is produced there; the other two-thirds are brought in by neighboring states be a result of industrial pollutants or farms in Punjab and Haryana burning stubble during harvest or burning firecrackers on the festival of Diwali.
One of the main causes of the increase in air pollution is transportation and industrial operations. Also, the auto-rickshaws that are used for transportation, sometimes use other cheaper fuels as they cannot afford gasoline. Older vehicles and poor fuel quality are some of India’s main factors contributing to excessive traffic emissions.
The cause of pollution is also due to overpopulation. Consistent population expansion has resulted in excessive energy use. About 80% of the landfill are filled with their waste and then burnt in containers which causes several GHG emissions in addition to problems with bad odor and poor water quality in the adjacent communities.
According to Pallavi Pant (Lou Del Bello,2022), senior scientist at the Health Effects Institute in Boston, US, air quality is a year-round issue in South Asian megacities like Delhi, but because it is seasonal, it frequently drops off the political agenda.
Some of the most significant roadblocks to environmental protection that our nation currently appears to be struggling to overcome include a lack of infrastructural facilities, a lack of adequate financial resources to implement advanced infrastructural innovations, and difficulty relocating industries away from urban centers even after binding court rulings
A severe effect of air pollution is nitrogen deposition on plants and animals. Our biodiversity may suffer as a result of acid rain, which is brought on by air pollution. (Gurjar, 2021)
Long-term exposure to particulate pollution can cause serious health issues, such as an increase in respiratory symptoms including coughing, trouble breathing, or inflammation of the airways, as well as impaired lung function, worsened asthma, and the onset of chronic respiratory disease in children.
Such denials lack credibility given that more and more Indians are developing respiratory disorders and that specialists in different cities have found a direct link between extremely polluted locations and such diseases, particularly in youngsters and the elderly. (Gupta, 2018). It is especially unexpected given that a physician now leads the ministry, and his encounters as well as conversations with colleagues should persuade him that no one is exaggerating the issue of air pollution. Unlike in many Chinese cities, where face masks are a common sight when smog levels spike, it is still rare to see locals taking measures to reduce their exposure. (Dasgupta, Bhardwaj, 2018)
India has a wide range of laws, rules, and recommendations to manage air pollution. The problem is that they are not applied with even remotely enough strictness. Although policy announcements were met with great anticipation, the NCAP in particular has drawn criticism for having a toothless mandate. Experts believe that because of little funding and poor planning, flagship programs like the Clean Air Programme (NCAP)(Lou Del Bello, 2018), which was implemented in 2019 and aims to improve air quality in more than 100 of India’s most polluted cities, were doomed from the start. The proposed NCAP makes no mention of how such a scenario may be short-term improved.
NCAP was badly constructed since it required towns to reduce pollution within their bounds. Outside pollution cannot be controlled by cities. There are limits in cities, but none exist in the air. Officers in the Delhi government as a result have lost faith in NCAP. They think that even if they do their part, the air quality won’t improve if the neighboring states don’t. Why therefore should they make an effort?
Again, it is obvious that this is something that must be done, but it will undoubtedly be a lengthy procedure that cannot address the issue of air pollution with the necessary urgency.
A group of extremely committed professionals is in charge of this strategy. But each time they attempt to put it into practice, they run into opposition from various ministries in the federal and state governments as well as lobby groups for farmers, transporters, real estate agents, and vehicle manufacturers. As a result, the implementation is, at best, imperfect.
Perhaps it is unreasonable to anticipate that a proposal created by a ministry will discuss the importance of a political will. However, it could have discussed the necessity for increased civic engagement. Currently, residents of many Indian cities, particularly those in the north, complain about the dreadful air pollution before hopping into their diesel SUVs and heading out to buy air purifiers for their houses. Delhi may be the first city in the world where a BRT route project collapsed due to driver disobedience. The necessity to adopt such behavior is essential.
Also, the apparent lack of concern about the toxic air — whether brought on by ignorance, apathy, or the blinding effects of poverty — provides federal and local politicians with the justification they need to avoid taking decisive action to address the issue.
As the cost of inaction is high and millions of lives are at risk, all stakeholders should work together to create long-term solutions.
It is necessary to make efforts to raise public awareness by clearly explaining the link between air pollution and people’s health, income, and standard of living. 1.24 million Indians died from air pollution in 2017, half of whom were under 70, which decreased the nation’s average life expectancy by 1.7 years. At least 140 million people in India live in areas that are significantly more polluted than what is considered safe by the WHO. To help youngsters comprehend the issue and help the public hold political officials accountable, air pollution should be covered in the curriculum starting in the primary grades. However, the matter shouldn’t be politicized at the same time. Instead, political parties ought to work together to give this issue the attention it merits. (Mookherjee,2022)
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