Arushi Bidhuri
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Written By: Arushi Bidhuri | Updated : April 15, 2022 10:47 AM IST
The polluted air that cloaks India contains toxins that can even lead to death, warn researchers. According to a study published in Science Advances, 100,000 people died prematurely in Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Surat, Pune, and Ahmedabad in India. A quick surge in developing air pollution caused almost 180,000 unnecessary deaths in fast-growing tropical cities over 14 years.
The researchers blamed growing industry and household sources like road traffic, garbage burning, and widespread use of charcoal and fuelwood for the rapid decline in air quality.
As per the researchers, we have entered an era of air pollution wherein some cities might experience degradation in a year and others in a decade. The researchers also discovered a 1.5 to four-fold increase in urban population exposure to air pollution in 40 of the 46 cities for NO2 and 33 of the 46 cities for PM2.5 over the study period.
The study highlights that the number of persons dying a premature death as a result of air pollution increased the most in cities in South Asia, particularly Dhaka in Bangladesh (which has a population of 24,000 people) and Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Surat, Pune, and Ahmedabad in India (totalling 1,00,000 people).
We talked to Dr Megha Consul, Principal Consultant, Pediatrics, Max Hospital, Gurugram to understand the adverse effects of increasing air pollution. She says, "Asthma, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer have all been linked to outdoor air pollution. Poor air quality can make it difficult to breathe, and your body may take a few days to recover. Fine particles (2.5 micrometres in diameter or less) from factories/ industries, power plants, and vehicle emissions are one type of air pollution. Another important form is ozone, which is the major component of urban pollution. Our lungs can become inflamed when we breathe in high levels of small particles or ozone. The smaller the particles in the air, the easier they can permeate deep into our lungs and absorb more poisonous components, resulting in death."
Further explaining the effects of air pollution, Dr Megha, "pollution can cause a variety of ailments in both the short and long term, including stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, trachea, bronchus, and lung diseases, severe asthma, and lower respiratory infections."
Dr Megha lists down some of the ways that can help mitigate the risk of the above-mentioned health effects of air pollution:
