A study conducted by the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi has revealed that Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh has the cleanest air in India while Delhi has the most polluted air in the country.
The study took into account the levels of PM 2.5, which stands for particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in size in the air and the number of premature deaths caused by particulate matter pollution.
According to the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), these tiny pollutants are not consumed by the human body well and can cause bronchitis, allergies, persistent coughs and other breathing problems.Chronic exposure to the fine particles emitted from vehicles ( the major source of PM 2.5) could lead to premature deaths as a result of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.
According to the IIT study, 2.79 lakh Indians die prematurely due to COPD, 1.1 lakh die of IHD, and 88,700 and 14,800 die due to stroke and lung cancer, respectively.
The study revealed that PM 2.5 level in Kinnaur was found to be 3.7+-1 microgram per cubic metre (g/m³) annually, which is less than 10% of the national air quality target of 40g/m³.On the other hand, Delhi’s PM 2.5 level stood at 148+-51g/m³ annually, which is many times higher than the safe limit.
The study further clarified that if India figures out how to accomplish a yearly target of 40g/m³ for PM 2.5, about 45,000 individuals can be spared every year from dying prematurely because of illnesses identified with high contamination levels.
One study, authors were cited as saying that numerous more pass on due to indoor air contamination that is brought on by the smoldering of biomass powers in country zones.
“At present, just 0.06 percent of the populace is breathing safe air as characterized by WHO.”
A United Nations report said that 7.3 million passings happened because of air contamination in South-East Asia and the Western Pacific areas in 2012 while 12.6 million individuals die each year because of an unhealthy environment.
……..a rookie journalist
