Air pollution kills 12L people a year
Greenpeace report says three per cent of GDP is lost due to air pollution
New Delhi, Jan. 11: Delhi tops the list of 20 most polluted cities in the country where 12 lakh deaths take place every year due to air pollution, according to a Greenpeace India report published on Wednesday.
It also claimed that none of the 168 cities it assessed complies with air quality standards prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to the report, 12 lakh deaths take place every year in India due to air pollution, which is only a “fraction less” than that caused by tobacco usage, and three per cent of the GDP is lost due to air pollution.
The report said that only a “few” cities in southern India comply with air quality standards prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and pinpointed fossil fuels as one of the “main culprits” for the deteriorating air quality across the country.
“The top 20 most polluted cities have PM10 levels between 268 g/m3 and 168 g/m3 for the year 2015. While, Delhi tops the list with 268 g/m3, it is followed closely by Ghaziabad, Allahabad, and Bareli in Uttar Pradesh; Faridabad in Haryana; Jharkhand; Rajasthan; Jharia in Alwar in Ranchi, Kusunda and Bastacola in Jharkhand; Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh; and Patna in Bihar with PM10 levels ranging from 258 g/m3to 200 g/m3,” the report titled Airpocalypse said.
The information was obtained through online reports and Right to Information applications from State Pollution Control Boards across India and assessment of air quality was done in 168 cities across 24 states and Union territories.
“This report shows that deadly air pollution is not a problem restricted to Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region) or even to India’s metros. It is a national-level problem that is killing 12 lakh Indians every year and costing the economy an estimated three per cent of GDP.
The assessment of air pollution levels for Delhi highlighted that PM10 concentrations are 268 g/m3 for year 2015, which were at 4.5 times higher than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards annual limit set by CPCB and about 13 times the annual limit set by WHO.
Detailed observation of the data suggests that PM10 levels have been high throughout 2015 for Delhi with October to February being the severely polluted months.