Every breath we take!
Effects of the air pollution on the lives of people in India
Effects of the air pollution on the lives of people in India
Content
Introduction
Breathing is one of the most vital process for life. In a lifetime, an average human breaths about 250 million litres of air. We live in big cities and navigate busy streets while breathing in air full of unwanted particles.
Today, air pollution is one of the worldās largest health and environmental problems. Air pollution is categorized in 2 categories
In this report, we look in detail at the effects of outdoor particulate pollution (mainly PM 2.5)
PM 2.5 refers to atmospheric Particulate Matter (PM) that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, which is about 3% the diameter of a human hair. Because of its small size, PM 2.5 are able to enter into the lungs and even the circulatory system.
US Environmental Protection Agency stipulates that for good quality air, PM 2.5 concentation must be less than 12Ī¼g/m3 averaged over 24 hours [source here].
Today, air pollution is one of the worldās largest health and environmental problems. Air pollution is categorized in 2 categories
- Indoor (household) air pollution
- Outdoor air pollution
In this report, we look in detail at the effects of outdoor particulate pollution (mainly PM 2.5)
PM 2.5 refers to atmospheric Particulate Matter (PM) that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, which is about 3% the diameter of a human hair. Because of its small size, PM 2.5 are able to enter into the lungs and even the circulatory system.
US Environmental Protection Agency stipulates that for good quality air, PM 2.5 concentation must be less than 12Ī¼g/m3 averaged over 24 hours [source here].
Good
< 12.0 Ī¼g/m3
Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
Moderate
12.1-35.4 Ī¼g/m3
Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
35.5-55.4 Ī¼g/m3
Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.
Unhealthy
55.5-150.4 Ī¼g/m3
Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
Very unhealthy
150.5-250.4 Ī¼g/m3
Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.
Hazardous
> 250.5 Ī¼g/m3
Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects.
Air Quality in India
Air pollution is amongst the top threats to global health, World Health Organization has said [source here]. India has one of the highest exposure levels to air pollution globally. In 2018, India was the 3rd most polluted country in the world [source here]. The annual exposure to ambient particulate matter, as the population-weighted mean PM2Ā·5, in India in 2017 was one of the highest in the world [source here].
Delhi (with population over 26 million) is the most polluted national capital in the world.
Delhi (with population over 26 million) is the most polluted national capital in the world. On 3rd Nov. 2019 (the most polluted day of year), the 24-hr (daily) average ambient concentrations of PM 2.5 reached 538.8 Āµg/m3 (more than 44 times than the acceptable standards).Upper limit for āgoodā air quality,
PM 2.5 level: 12 Āµg/m3
PM 2.5 level: 12 Āµg/m3
Limit at which air starts being "unhealthy",
PM 2.5 level: 35.5 Āµg/m3
PM 2.5 level: 35.5 Āµg/m3
Most polluted day last year in Delhi region,
PM 2.5 level: 538.8 Āµg/m3
PM 2.5 level: 538.8 Āµg/m3
Most polluted day last year inPM 2.5 level: - Āµg/m3
October-November was the worst period of air quality for 2019 in the Indian capital. The supreme court of India also slammed some state and central government for its failure to improve air quality in Delhi NCR and said āDelhi is worse than hellā [source here].
New Delhi, India
Delhi, being the national capital gets a lot of attention but the some parts of India are even worse and others are not doing great as far as air quality is concerned. A study by IQAir AirVisual and Greenpeace identified the cities with the worst air pollution (highest PM 2.5 concetration) in 2018.
The visualization below visualizes the daily PM 2.5 concentration thoughout the year (2019) for the most polluted cities in India.
7 out of 10 and 22 of the 30 most polluted cities are in India
The list was toped by Gurugram (formerly known as Gurgaon), in south of Delhi, where the average PM 2.5 concetration is more than 13 times the accepted WHO standards. The top 10 most polluted cities in India are all in North India. There is surge in the PM 2.5 levels during early winters in most of these cities and this pattern can be seen in most of the Northern cities in India.The visualization below visualizes the daily PM 2.5 concentration thoughout the year (2019) for the most polluted cities in India.
Gurgaon, India
No. of day with unhealthy levels: 236
Ghaziabad, India
No. of day with unhealthy levels: 232
Faridabad, India
No. of day with unhealthy levels: 228
Bhiwandi, India
No. of day with unhealthy levels: 143
Noida, India
No. of day with unhealthy levels: 234
Patna, India
No. of day with unhealthy levels: 195
Lucknow, India
No. of day with unhealthy levels: 201
Human Cost of Air Pollution
According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is amongst the top threats to global health. According to the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, air pollution was responsible for an estimated 1.24 million (12.5% of total) deaths in India in 2017.
In 2017, an estimated 1 in 8 (12.5%) deaths in India were caused by air pollution.
According to the study, India leads the world in number of premature deaths caused by air pollution. India has 18% of the global population, but 25.3% of premature mortality and health loss caused by air pollution globally were in India.In 2017, about 1 in 4 (25.3%) premature deaths caused by air pollution in the world were in India.
According to Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017 [source here], air pollution was one of the major causes of death and disability in the India. Air pollution cause more death than tobacco smoking, alcohol use, high blood sugar, obesity, high cholesterol or road accidents.51.4% of the deaths attributable to air pollution in India in 2017 were in people younger than 70 years.
In India about 1 in 9 (10.8%) deaths in people younger than 70 years and about 1 in 7 (15.1%) deaths in people older than 70 years was caused by air pollution
The death rate for air pollution is high for sensitive age groups i.e. younger than 5 yrs and older than 70 yrs. Air pollution is the 2nd biggest cause of death for people between 6 to 14yrs and 3rd biggest cause of death in people younger the 5 yrs and older than 70 yrs.Impact on Life Expectancy
Majority of the death caused by air pollution are caused because of the excess exposure to particulate matter. Excess exposure to PM 2.5 adversely affects life expectancy. Produced by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) converts air pollution concentrations into its impact on life expectancy.
AQLI measures the potential gain in life expectancy if the reduced air pollution complies with the World Health Organization guidelines (PM 2.5 concentrations: < 10 Āµg/m3).
AQLI measures the potential gain in life expectancy if the reduced air pollution complies with the World Health Organization guidelines (PM 2.5 concentrations: < 10 Āµg/m3).
Particulate pollution reduces the life expectancy of a typical Indian by 4.3 years
31.6% (around 1 in 3) people live alteast 5 yrs less because of pollution
Since life expectancy at birth is currently 69 years in India, this suggests that reducing particulate pollution to the WHO guideline throughout the country would raise the average life expectancy to 73 (according to the data from 2016).If WHO guidelines were met in Delhi, the gain in life expectancy would have been 10.2 yrs (13.9% for the current life expectancy in Delhi)
The visualization visualizes how many years of life expectancy are lost in different regions in India under current pollution levels.Gain in Life Expectancy if WHO guidelines are met
Cartogram Map
Geographical Map
All data is from 2016. Source: Air Quality Life Index
City, India
City, India
PM 2.5 (Āµg/m3)
10
Gain in life expectancy
10
Economic Cost of Air Pollution
Apart from the adverse health effects, air pollution also hampers economic development. Air pollution causes a lot of premature deaths, increases the incidence of chronic and acute illnesses and contributes to millions of hospital visits and billions of work absences due to illness each year, and all of these come at huge economic costs.
A recent study by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, Toxic air: The price of fossil fuels, tries to analyse the economic cost of air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels. According to the report, India bears one of the highest economic cost of soaring pollution at an estimated INR 10.7 lakh crore ($150 billion) a year. Air pollution cost ~ INR 7991 per capita annually.
A recent study by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, Toxic air: The price of fossil fuels, tries to analyse the economic cost of air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels. According to the report, India bears one of the highest economic cost of soaring pollution at an estimated INR 10.7 lakh crore ($150 billion) a year. Air pollution cost ~ INR 7991 per capita annually.
Air pollution costs India 5.4% of its GDP annually
The report also states that exposure to pollution from fossil fuels lead to around 49 crore days of work absence.Each person in labour force in India takes approx. 1 day of work absence on average because of the illness caused by air pollution
In a country where around 94% of labour force is in unorganized sector and lives on daily wages, 1 day of work absence can cause a lot of financial distress.Conclusion
Air pollution might be one of the biggest threats that India is facing right now. It not only destroys the environment, but also damages the health and economoy of the country. It is one of the topics which does not get the attention it deserves in Indian media or political discussions.
In January 2019, the central government did launch a National Clean Air Program (NCAP) providing a roadmap to prevent, control, and reduce air pollution. This is a much-needed start that needs to be done to clean the air in India; but a lot more effort is required from both the government and civil society. India also has some laws and regulations to control air pollution (like the laws discouraging burning of stubble which causes a lot of pollution in North India), but they are either not very strong or are not enforced.
Aseem Prakash, founding director of the Center for Environmental Politics at the University of Washington, while talking to Vox about the pollution problem in Delhi said āthe problem can be solved, but what you need is political will and a bit of imaginationā [source here].
India cannot afford to delay action on air pollution as it is costing us both life and money.
In January 2019, the central government did launch a National Clean Air Program (NCAP) providing a roadmap to prevent, control, and reduce air pollution. This is a much-needed start that needs to be done to clean the air in India; but a lot more effort is required from both the government and civil society. India also has some laws and regulations to control air pollution (like the laws discouraging burning of stubble which causes a lot of pollution in North India), but they are either not very strong or are not enforced.
Aseem Prakash, founding director of the Center for Environmental Politics at the University of Washington, while talking to Vox about the pollution problem in Delhi said āthe problem can be solved, but what you need is political will and a bit of imaginationā [source here].
India cannot afford to delay action on air pollution as it is costing us both life and money.