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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | The thing about air -Mala Kapur Shankardass

The thing about air -Mala Kapur Shankardass

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published Published on Feb 26, 2019   modified Modified on Feb 26, 2019
-The Indian Express

The pollution problem is not merely a technological issue, but a social concern.

Air pollution is a silent killer in India, especially in the country’s northern belt. Eighteen per cent of the world’s population lives in India, but the country bears 26 per cent of the global disease burden due to air pollution. According to estimates of the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative — published last year in Lancet Planetary Health — over half the 12.4 lakh deaths in India attributed to air pollution in 2017 were of individuals under the age of 70. The average life expectancy in the country could be 1.7 years higher, if air pollution is contained at a level at which human health isn’t harmed.

However, policy and civil society responses to air pollution have been limited and delayed. It was only in January that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change revamped the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to make it the country’s first overarching policy framework on air quality. A few days before the programme’s launch, Bloomberg Philanthropies and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) came forward to provide technical assistance to the government for implementing the NCAP by an emission inventory database. The two institutes would also cooperate with the government in identifying sources of pollution and tracking emissions in order to help it realise the target of reducing particulate matter by 20-30 per cent in the next five years. Time will tell if such techno-centric initiatives bring about ground-level changes — or become interim solutions.

Globally, there have been several technological breakthroughs in evaluating and improving air quality. In India too, researchers, entrepreneurs and environmentalists have voiced the need for devices such as sensor-based monitors, air purifiers and smog towers. The use of mass spectrometers has been advocated to identify volatile substances that pollute air. However, there is a flip side to the use of such gadgets. Their increasing use might improve air quality. But their energy footfall is likely to offset recent gains in energy efficiency.

Air pollution is not a local issue that can be resolved by using household gadgets or placing devices at a few places. It is a nationwide concern that requires systemic measures, long-term planning, stringent action against those violating emission laws and standards. India lacks auditors who can enforce these standards. The country also requires inter-departmental coordination, continuous monitoring, appropriate warning systems and adequate protocols for assessment of air quality.

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The Indian Express, 26 February, 2019, https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/air-pollution-lancet-india-disease-burden-initiative-5600568/


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