Stopgap solutions like odd-even usage of car number plates or temporary smog towers will not solve the problem. Long-term national policy interventions are needed
Five hundred and thirty-nine children dead every day. Twenty-two children every hour. One child every five minutes.
No, this is not a report from the war zone in Gaza. It is the toll of breathing India’s toxic air. According to the State of Global Air 2020 report, air pollution killed over 1.16 lakh newborns in India within 27 days of their birth. As per a study by Lancet Planetary Health, one of every five deaths in 2019 could be attributed to air pollution. The effects of air pollution start impacting a child even before she is born. Studies have shown a direct link between pregnant women exposed to bad air quality and stillbirth, preterm delivery, and low birth weight in babies.
Particulate matter pollution is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease in India. PM2.5 pollution (fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometres and smaller) is estimated to cut short an Indian’s life expectancy by over five years. And in Delhi, which frequently tops the list of the most polluted cities in the world, by almost 12 years. Over the years, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI), has consistently been over the World Health Organisation’s acceptable limit by 8-10 times. A top pulmonologist tells me, this is equal to smoking 30 cigarettes a day.
Come winter, and the drop in Delhi’s air quality is caused due to cold, heavy air-trapping pollutants like vehicle emissions, construction dust, noxious gases from industries, and smoke from stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. The other causes are coal burning for energy generation, biomass and waste burning (both residential and commercial), brick kilns, and diesel generators.
Though Delhi makes the headlines every year, the problem is not limited to the National Capital Region (NCR). It is a pan-India problem. Cities in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar have regularly featured in lists of Indian cities most affected by air pollution. This year, the air pollution in Mumbai was so bad that firework displays for the World Cup Cricket matches were cancelled.
Air pollution is not only bad for health, but also for the economy. Premature deaths and increased morbidity as a direct result of air pollution leads to a loss of output equal to US $37 billion, over 1 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Mitigating air pollution in India must be viewed as an investment, rather than an expenditure. This will ensure future social and economic growth. Stopgap solutions like odd-even usage of car number plates or temporary smog towers will not solve the problem. Long-term national policy interventions are needed both at the macro level and the micro level.
Transport sector: Phasing out petrol or diesel vehicles and switching to electric vehicles (EV) is a must. The Union government needs to heavily subsidise electric vehicles to entice consumers to switch to EVs. Instead, as per media reports, the government has decided to discontinue FAME II subsidy (incentivising electric buses, two/three/four wheelers). This will militate against faster adoption of EVs. Use of public transport and cycling, for short distances, must be encouraged. The use of bioethanol instead of conventional fossil fuels will also lessen the burden on the environment.
Industrial sector: Brick kilns need to adopt the Induced-Draught Zigzag Kilns instead of the widely-used Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kilns. Stacking the kilns in a zigzag pattern leads to more efficient fuel combustion, and reduces PM2.5 emissions by 20 per cent and black carbon emissions by 30 per cent. Highly polluting industries should be monitored for particulate matter concentration and emission rate through Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS). Heavy fines must be levied for exceeding applicable limits.
Residential sector: Open burning of garbage and household waste needs to be completely banned and strictly enforced. Start in the locality. Also imperative is a switch from traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes in rural and deprived households to 100 per cent usage of LPG fuel. Though the concept of
the government’s Ujjwala scheme was good, how it failed miserably in its implementation can become the subject of a forthcoming column.
Environmental sector: From the Western Ghats to the Andamans, the Union government’s mantra seems to be industrialisation at the cost of environmental damage. India has been ranked at the bottom in a list of 180 countries that were judged for their environmental performances in the 2022 Environmental Performance Index. Vast tracts of forest land and ecologically fragile areas have been sacrificed at the altar of profit. Our ecosystem needs to be protected.
“Modern civilisation has put a price even on air.” This was not said last week, last month, or last year. These are words written in 1913. Gandhi ji.
[This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, November 24, 2023 ]