Air pollution has been a major issue of interest since a very long time, especially in recent times when climate change and global warming have caught the eyes of policymakers as well as global business leaders.
And with India associated with the coal-based power generation and mass-scale operation of unorganised industries which directly adhere to all the negligible level including the posted environmental norms, and automotive emissions.
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Additionally, the sheer gap between the rich and poor also contributes to the issue of poor air quality in many of the nation’s cities putting directly putting the health and lives of more than 1.3 billion population at stake.
According to the recent World Air Quality report issued by Switzerland based IQAir, India has secured the fifth position on the World’s most polluted countries in the world on the basis of the amount of PM2.5 concentration level in its air in 2019.
With Bangladesh and Pakistan taking the first and the second position with 83.3 micrograms per cubic metre and 65.8 micrograms per cubic metre respectively. followed by Mongolia and Afghanistan coming in the top 4 on the world’s most polluted countries in the world list.
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Although India’s air quality index has improved by a mere 20% in 2019 if compared to 2018. The average exposure to PM2.5 which has increased the WHO (World health organization) recommended standard of PM2.5 by a worrying 500%, making the initial air quality a massive threat to human health.
Certain reports suggest that the wildfires and open burning agricultural practice have played a major role in impacting the air quality of the polluted cities. This must be noticed that Delhi, which has seen a thick cover of smog cover its blue marble skies in the months of October and November last year were due to crop-burning practice in neighbouring agricultural farmlands in the states of Punjab and Haryana.
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Whatever might be the reason or the cause it is upto us whether we want to live a healthy and prosperous life or to suffer.
