In News
- India topped air pollution death toll in 2019, according to a recent report on pollution and health published in The Lancet Planetary Health.
Highlights of the Report
- Global Scenario:
- According to the report, Air pollution alone contributes to 66.7 lakh deaths globally. Comparative to the previous analysis from 2015.
- Overall, pollution was responsible for an estimated 90 lakh deaths in 2019 (equivalent to one in six deaths worldwide), a number that has remained unchanged since the 2015 analysis.
- Ambient air pollution was responsible for 45 lakh deaths
- Hazardous chemical pollutants for 17 lakh
- Lead pollution is responsible for 9 lakh deaths
- In India:
- Air pollution was responsible for 16.7 lakh deaths in 2019, or 17.8% of all deaths in the country that year. This is the largest number of air pollution-related deaths in any country.
- The majority of the air pollution-related deaths in India (9.8 lakh out of 16.7 lakh) were caused by PM2.5 pollution, and another 6.1 lakh by household air pollution.
- Although the number of deaths from pollution sources associated with extreme poverty (such as indoor air pollution and water pollution) has decreased, these reductions are offset by increased deaths attributable to industrial pollution (such as ambient air pollution and chemical pollution).
- Air pollution is most severe in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This area contains New Delhi and many of the most polluted cities.
- Burning of biomass in households is the single largest cause of air pollution deaths in India, followed by coal combustion and crop burning.
- India does not have a strong centralised administrative system to drive its air pollution control efforts and consequently improvements in overall air quality have been limited and uneven, the report has said
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Types of Pollution – Major Pollutants |
Health Hazards |
Government initiatives |
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Air pollution – 1. Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) 2. Ozone (O3) 3. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 4. Carbon monoxide (CO) 5. Sulphur dioxide (SO2), etc
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Asthma, and other respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, can impair blood vessel function and affect lung development, etc. |
1. Notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards 2. National Air Quality index. 3. Taxing polluting vehicles and incentivizing hybrid and electric vehicles. 4. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana programme. |
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Water Pollution – Organic pollutants, inorganic pollutants, pathogens, suspended solids, nutrients and agriculture pollutants, thermal, radioactive pollutants, heavy metals, etc, |
Diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, polio, cancer, neurological disorder and cardiovascular diseases, etc |
National River Conservation Plan for abatement of pollution in identified stretches of various rivers and undertaking conservation activities like interception & diversion of raw sewage, construction of sewerage systems, setting up of sewage treatment plants, low cost sanitation facilities, education and awareness creation, community participation, electric/improved wood crematoria and riverfront development. |
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Land Pollution – Agricultural toxins like herbicides, insecticides, bactericides, and fertilizers, etc Radioactive toxins |
Breathing disorders, birth defects, skin diseases, and cancer. |
Comprehensive amendments to various Waste Management Rules including Municipal Solid Waste, Plastic Waste, Hazardous Waste, Bio-medical Waste and Electronic Waste |
Some More Govt Initiatives
- Introduction of cleaner/alternate fuels like gaseous fuel (CNG, LPG, etc.) ethanol blend, etc.
- Promotion of cleaner production processes.
- Decision taken to leapfrog directly from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel standards.
- Taxing polluting vehicles and incentivizing hybrid and electric vehicles.
- Notification of Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules.
- Ban on burning of leaves, biomass, and municipal solid waste.
- Promotion of public transport network of metro, buses, e-rickshaws and promotion of carpooling, Pollution Under Control, lane discipline, and vehicle maintenance.
- Issuance of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
- Action plan for sewage management and restoration of water quality in aquatic resources by State Governments.
Way Forward
- In India, we need integrated surveillance platforms for health and pollutants exposure surveillance.
- Such surveillance via biological and environmental monitoring can inform risk attributions within health programmes already in place to reduce the burden of maternal and child health as well as non-communicable diseases.
- Health-based criteria should become the basis of air quality regulations. Only this can help break a business and political resistance to hard mitigation measures to combat air pollution.
- A strong centralised administrative system to drive its air pollution control efforts.
- Improve air quality monitoring to include more pollutants and more areas in cities to assess the risk of air pollution, and make appropriate policies to control it.
- Efforts to create awareness amongst people about hard policy decisions.
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The Lancet Planetary Health
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Lead Pollution
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Source: IE
