‘Act before we are left gasping for clean air’

A hybrid round-table discussion titled ‘Air Pollution: Facts to Act’, to prioritise a city-level action plan to tackle air pollution, was held at UP 112 headquarters by the Lung Care Foundation (LGF) on Wednesday. The programme stressed on the need to take concrete steps against air pollution “or we would soon be left gasping for clean air.”

The recent surge in researchbased evidence released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the latest revision of air quality guidelines by WHO, has re-emphasised the need for clean air for better health. India tops the list of most polluted countries in the world, shortening the average lifespan of Indians by up to 6.3 years as per the latest report released by Air Quality Life Index - AQLI.

“The Indo-Gangetic plains consisting of many cities across UP are amongst the worst impacted. Sixteen cities in UP are identified to be covered under the National Clean Air Program and there is an urgent need to address this issue,” said Ashish Tiwari, secretary, department of environment and forests and climate change, UP.

Experts highlighted the state of air pollution in the country and Uttar Pradesh and discussed how the situation can be improved using a multipronged approach. Prof Sachchida Nand Tripathi of IIT Kanpur discussed the use of cuttingedge technology to collect data about air pollution.

AP Maheshwari, retired IPS officer and former DG – CRPF, leading this initiative, said: “We must establish networks in other parts of the state and invite responsible citizens to come forward and join hands with the government and other stakeholders to bring about a change.”