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Increasing exposure to high levels of air pollution is causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and even premature deaths in Indians.
Delhi the most polluted city on Earth!
Delhi has just earned the distinction of being the most polluted city on Earth as air quality has reached epically bad proportions. On November 8 2017, air pollution went up so much that air quality monitoring stations reported Air Quality Index of 999, which was way higher than the upper limit of the worst category, Hazardous. (An extra-sensitive air quality instrument at the US embassy got a reading of 1,010)
The airborne particles and toxic chemicals that make up the smog choked the 19 million residents of the metropolitan area, where merely breathing the air was, at its worst, like smoking 50 cigarettes in a day, even prompting Delhi’s chief minister to call his city a “gas chamber”:
Air pollution is indeed a major medical hazard as a report by The Lancet Commission on pollution and health said that 9 million premature deaths around the world stemmed from air pollution in 2015, and 2.5 million of them happened in India.
Toxic Air in Maharashtra
Pollution is affecting around 6.7 million children below five years of age in Maharashtra who are inhaling particulate matter (PM10) that is above the permissible limits set by the law, revealed by a recent report on air quality in India by Greenpeace India.
The report also said 1.4 million of these children are exposed to twice the pollution standards and 2.6 million children live in districts where there are no air-quality monitoring stations.
Chennai residents also breathing unhealthy air
Chennai residents are exposed to unhealthy air all the time, this according to a citizen-led air quality monitoring network who collected data from January 1 to 23rd 2018.
Data collected reveals toxic air is being lodged deep in the human lungs, in Kuruvimedu (Vallur), Kodungaiyur, Anna Salai at Teynampet and Mugatwarakuppam in Ennore, ranging from unhealthy to hazardous for more than 80 per cent of the time.
The Lung Care Foundation, founder Mr Kumar said that “The presence of manganese, a neurotoxin, carcinogenic nickel and lead which affects the brain development of children is particularly worrisome and the WHO says no safe levels of Nickel can be recommended for this human carcinogen.”
Foodnetindia urges the government to do much more in regards to air pollution in India as millions of Indians are dying due to it.
Sources:
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/11/22/16666808/india-air-pollution-new-delhi
