19 Dec

Air Pollution in India

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Contents

• Current Pollution situation in India
• Impacts
• Key challenges in fighting Air Pollution
• Way Forward
• Air Quality Life Index Report, 2023
• International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, 2023

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Current Pollution situation in India:

• As per WHO, India has the 37 out of world’s 50 most polluted cities. Similarly, as per the Air Quality Life Index Report 2023, India has 50 of the world’s most polluted cities.
• Major sources of air pollution in India include Transportation, biomass burning for cooking, Electricity generation, industry, construction, waste burning, and episodic agricultural burning.

Impacts

i. Health – As per the Air Quality Life Index Report 2023, in North India, PM2.5 shortens lives by eight years

• Air pollution can cause mental health, Alzheimer’s and loss of vision.
• It can also increase vulnerability to diseases such as COVID-19.
• Women who are chronically exposed to particulate air pollution are more likely to have underweight babies and preterm birth.

ii. Economy

• Lost output due to premature deaths and morbidity from air pollution amount to around 1.4% of GDP (i.e. around 2,60,000 crores). The overall economic cost of air pollution is estimated at around 7% of GDP (or 14 lakh crores).
• Agricultural losses: Other than impacting farm labour productivity, air pollution (PM, Ozone etc.) can lead to reduction in wheat and rice production by around 25%.
• Air pollution impacts various dimensions of economy from labor productivity to crop yield.

iii. Environmental Impact

• Reduction in yields of Solar Power Plants – due to rising dust and particulate matter
  (PM)

Key challenges in fighting Air Pollution:

• India’s Economic growth is built on fossil fuels:
  • Coal, Oil, and Natural Gas account for roughly 75% of our power generation and 97% of road transport. But they contribute to the pollution of CO, SO2, NO2, Ozone, PM etc.
• Stubble Burning -> Farmers yet to get credible alternative
• Solid Fuel dependency for cooking in rural areas -> firewood or dung cake -> Drudgery; Health Impact;
• Capital and Human Resource for dealing with air pollution is lacking
  • This leads to poor monitoring and poor compliance of air pollution norms

Way Forward

• Legal and Policy Initiatives:
  • Effective implementation of National Clean Air Program:
  • Phase out of existing coal, oil and gas infrastructure
    • Closure of old coal-fired power plants can yield health benefits that exceed the value of electricity generated.
    • Phase out dates for diesel, petrol and gas cars -> Promote electric vehicles
    • Transition to affordable and carbon neutral transport -> Strengthening of public transport, good walking and cycling infrastructure.
    • Transition to renewable energy.
      • Share of renewable energy in India has risen dramatically to around 100
        GW in Aug 2021, but there is still a long way to go.
• Deal with issue of stubble burning
  • PUSA decomposer (use of biotechnology); Awareness; Higher subsidy for machinery etc.
• Healthy Way to Cook: Critically analyze the shortcomings of PM Ujjwala Yojna and bring changes to ensure 100% coverage and utilization.
• Revise Ambient Air Quality Standards to bring them to WHO levels and implement them without exceptions.
• Expand country’s Air Quality Monitoring Network – A number of new, low cost monitors have entered service, that capture readings for not only PM2.5 and 10 but also other gases like NO2, SO2, methane, VoCs etc.
• Strengthen CPCB and other SPCBs to effectively implement the air pollution norms.

Conclusion

• China was once amongst the most polluted countries in the world. But consistent efforts in the field of prioritizing zero-emissions transport, staggered use of Internal Combustion engines, promotion of Electric vehicles etc. while continuing to grow economically, shows that air pollution can be clamped down without impeding economic growth.

REPORT: Air Quality Life Index Report, 2023 – By the University of Chicago

• The world’s fifty most polluted regions belong to northern plains of India. Seven states – Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, NCT, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal comprise a majority of this region.
• In North India, PM2.5 shortens lives by eight years.
• NCT of Delhi is the most polluted city in the world.

International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, 2023

About International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies:

• The International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies is commemorated annually on 7th September. It recognizes that clean air is important for the health and day-to-day lives of people, while air pollution is the single greatest environmental risk to human health and one of the main avoidable causes of death and disease globally.
• UNGA by a resolution 74/212 of 22nd Jan 2020, designated the Day to emphasize the need to make further efforts to improve air quality, including reducing air pollution, to protect human health.

On 7th Sep 2023, the 4th International Day of Clean Air for blue skies focused on the theme, ‘Together for Clean Air‘. The theme aims to highlight the urgent need for stronger partnerships, increased investment, and shared responsibility of overcoming pollution.