DNA Special: How air pollution is bigger threat than we perceive

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) released data on deaths due to pollution in the country. According to these startling figures, 16 lakh people died due to pollution in the country in 2019. Out of these, 9.8 lakh people lost their lives due to high levels of PM 2.5 in the air, while 6.10 lakh people died due to indoor pollution.

Pollution kills nearly 4,383 people in our country every day and the number of deaths every hour is 282. This basically means pollution is responsible for 18 per cent of the total deaths in the country. A comparative study of the last 29 years has also revealed that Indoor Air Pollution in India has decreased by 64 per cent but Outdoor Air Pollution has increased by 115 per cent.

These figures have also assessed the economic losses suffered by India due to pollution. India lost Rs 2,60,000 crore last year due to pollution. These losses are equivalent to 1.4 per cent of India's total GDP. 

A report further suggests that to change things India could invest 401 billion US dollars worth capital expenditure towards a green future between 2015 and 2030 period.

In the report published on Tuesday, Bank of America Securities said that there are seven major drivers for the condition to improve. This includes the push to cut diesel intake, increase natural gas and renewable energy, stricter emission norms, cleaning up Ganga river and better energy efficiency.

By and large, it is also possible that when someone dies, people say that the person died of a heart attack, cancer or any other disease, but such is the grave situation now that the time has come when people will say that the person was killed because of pollution. This is what has happened in connection with the death of a 9-year-old girl in London.

Nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah died in February 2013 having suffered numerous seizures and having made almost 30 hospital visits over the previous three years.

She had lived 25 metres from the South Circular Road in Lewisham, south-east London – one of the capital’s busiest roads. An inquest held at Southwark Coroner’s Court concluded that dangerous levels of air pollution contributed to Ella’s death. 

On Tuesday, the level of PM2.5 in London was 80 and the volume of PM 10 is 27, while in Delhi, PM2.5 was 398 and PM10 was 404.

In India, 16 lakh people died due to pollution last year, and 2 lakh people die every year in road accidents and this year, 1, 46,000 people were killed so far due to coronavirus. That means pollution is India's biggest problem today.

In spite of the National Clean Air Program, which was launched last year to reduce pm2.5 i.e. toxic particles of air by 2024, the pollution level is increasing instead of decreasing.

We all know what is causing pollution– fast-cutting trees, growing trains, diesel generators, construction work– all the work being done in the name of progress is increasing pollution in return. Our Vedas have taught to us walk the path of development while respecting nature, but we have forgotten that.