Air quality in North India far behind South India; CII papers

Ludhiana, Khanna among Top 20 most polluted cities in the world
“The air quality in North Indian cities is 2-3 times worse than cities in South India. The worsening air pollution has led to a sharp rise in cases of chest and throat disease in India. India’s worsening air pollution caused some 1.1 million premature deaths in 2015 and the country now rivals China for among the highest air pollution health burdens in the world.

India has 10 cities in Top 20 most polluted cities in the world including Ludhiana and Khanna . The high speed of urbanization is one of the key drivers of air pollution.”

These were the main highlights of CII theme papers which were released by Meenakshi Lekhi, MP , the chief guest at a conference on ‘Sustainable Development Challenges in India’ which was held in New Delhi today.

The papers captured the impact on health because of climate change and air pollution as well as the health problems arising out of water and sanitation challenges.

The papers revealed that unplanned urbanization and the resulting deterioration in basic services appears to contribute to the spread of diseases. WHO reports says that nearly one quarter of all deaths worldwide result from preventable environmental causes relating to water, sanitation and hygiene, indoor and outdoor pollution, harmful use of chemicals such as pesticides and climate change.

The paper highlights that because of the climate change scenario, the temperature in India is projected to rise by 1.7 to 2 degrees by the year 2030. The rising temperature will lead to an increase in health related deaths and illnesses. Increasing global temperatures affect levels and seasonal patterns of both man-made and natural air-borne particles, which can trigger severe respiratory illnesses including Asthma.

At present about 6% children in India suffer from respiratory tract infection and 2% of adults suffer from Asthma. In India Asthma deaths are expected to increase by almost 20% in the next 10 years if urgent steps to curb climate change and prepare for its consequences are not undertaken.

The leading cause of air pollution led deaths is fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5 India registered an alarming increase of nearly 50% in premature deaths from particulate matter between 1990 and 2015. The deadliness of PM2.5 is illustrated by the fact that it is considered the leading environmental risk factor for death and exposure to it.