Indians most exposed to air pollutant PM 2.5
India is followed by Nepal, Niger, Qatar and Nigeria in exposure to PM 2.5 in 2019, says report
NEW DELHI: Globally, Indians had the highest exposure to particulate matter 2.5 – a pollutant that causes respiratory ailments last year – according to the State of Global Air 2020 (SOGA) report, which underscores the immediate need to tackle the issue at a time when air quality levels have been plunging in the National Capital Region.
India is followed by Nepal, Niger, Qatar and Nigeria in recording high PM 2.5 exposure, a pollutant that causes several respiratory ailments and exacerbates many others underlying medical conditions, according to the report released on Wednesday.
It also said India has been recording an increase in PM 2.5 pollution since 2010. Central Pollution Control Board data from 2019 also shows that the national average of PM 2.5 concentration has been on a rising trend in the past three years owing to vehicular emissions and dust pollution.
Out of 20 most populous countries in the world, 14 have recorded a gradual improvement in air quality, but these don’t include India, Bangladesh, Niger, Pakistan and Japan.
“We need to read the complete report to be able to
respond. But we can say that PM 2.5 standards were set only in 2009 following which monitoring began. So, we do not have trends for the entire decade as monitoring has gradually improved. Also, it’s not possible to say that the country is saying a decline or rise in pollution levels. Some cities are improving while some cities are also showing fluctuating trends,” said a senior officials from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Union environment minister, Prakash Javadekar has previously said that Delhi’s air quality has improved significantly since 2016. He had also told the Lok Sabha last year that the government would resolve the annual toxic air pollution crisis in Delhi in less than 15 years — the time Beijing took to curb a similar problem. Every year with the onset of cold weather conditions, New Delhi and neighbouring areas witness a spike in air pollution that leaves the densely populated cities shrouded in a thick layer of toxic smog. Scientists attribute this to local sources of pollution coupled with fumes released by stubble burning in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh along with weather conditions such as low wind speed that don’t disperse pollutants in Delhi-NCR.
Air Quality in the capital entered the poor category with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 207 on October 6, and very poor category (304) on October 14. On Wednesday, the AQI was again in the poor category (256).
“Satellite data of the past 10 to 15 years shows there is an overall increase in air pollution levels. But in the past two years we are seeing a marginal improvement based on satellite data. We are studying what could be the factors leading to this improvement. Is it meteorology or a reduction in emissions also?” said Sagnik Dey, associate professor, IIT Delhi.
The SOGA report released by US-based Health Effects Institute and Global Burden of Disease project uses both data from ground monitors and satellite data to make their assessments. To estimate the annual average PM2.5 exposures, or concentrations, scientists link the concentrations in each block (they divide the globe in blocks or grids) with the number of people living within each block to produce a population-weighted annual average concentration.
Out of 87 health risk factors based on the total number of deaths caused in 2019 that are assessed by the team, air pollution has the fourth highest risk globally. It is preceded by high systolic blood pressure, tobaccorelated and dietary risks.
However, in India, air pollution is the highest risk factor because of the huge burden of premature deaths it contributes to. India is also among top ten countries with highest ozone (O3) exposures in 2019. Qatar recorded the highest O3 exposure followed by Nepal and India. Among 20 most populous countries, India recorded the highest increase (17%) in O3 concentrations in the past ten years.
On average, global exposure to ozone increased from about 47.3 ppb in 2010 to 49.5 ppb in 2019.