Air pollution on the rise
20/02/2017
Air pollution has also emerged as the deadliest form of pollution and the fourth leading risk factor for premature deaths worldwide. The air Indians breathe is turning more toxic by the day and an average of two deaths take place daily due to air pollution. According to medical journal The Lancet, over a million Indians die every year due to air pollution and some of the worst polluted cities of the world are in India. The study released this week but based on 2010 data estimates that globally 2.7-3.4 million preterm births may be associated with PM2.5 exposure and South Asia is the worst hit accounting for 1.6 million pre-term births. Causes of air pollution and climate change are intricately linked and needed to be tackled together. The smog over northern India is extracting a heavy toll, every minute two lives are lost in India due to ambient air pollution. Recently, 48 leading scientists released the study and they find that Patna and New Delhi the worst polluted cities of the world for PM 2.5 levels or the fine particulate matter that hurts the heart most. Broader evidence base on interrelated health and climate change trends will notably help demonstrate clear co-benefits of action. An estimated 18,000 people die every day due to air pollution exposure, making it the world’s largest single environmental health risk. The World Bank in turn estimates it costs the global economy USD 225 billion a year in related lost labour income.
No credible study to quantify number of people who have developed lung and allied diseases or number of deaths directly as a result of air pollution is available. This is special collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) to promote synergies, collaborate on data sources, and ensure strong engagement with Ministries of Health.
According to the WHO, compared with a future without climate change, the following additional deaths for the year 2030 are projected, 38,000 due to heat exposure in elderly people, 48,000 due to diarrhoea, 60,000 due to malaria, and 95,000 due to childhood undernutrition. The WHO projects a dramatic decline in child mortality, and this is reflected in declining climate change impacts from child malnutrition and diarrhoeal disease between 2030 and 2050.
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