0.2126
7667766266
x

Particulate Matter in Air

iasparliament Logo
October 23, 2017

What is the issue?

  • Festivals, crop stubble burning, industrial & transportation smoke will soon increase the level of particulate matter in air.  
  • This is increase will be sustained due to reduced wind speed as winter sets in.

What does the statistics say?

  • ‘Global Burden of Disease’ study estimates that, in India, ambient air pollution is responsible for 3,283 premature deaths every day.
  • India also recorded the largest deaths due to pollution during the past 25 years.
  • Half of the top 20 polluted cities in the world are in India.

What are the long term health effects?

  • Till now, almost all air pollution-related deaths were thought to be due to lung diseases.
  • However, evidence of pollution aggravating other diseases like heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cancer is coming up.
  • Especially deaths related to ‘particulate matter’ may not be because of diseases of lungs, but due to these other conditions.
  • Ultrafine particulate matter emitted by road traffic, rapidly enters the bloodstream after being inhaled.
  • These particles then interfere with the normal reactivity of blood vessels, and are distributed to many organs including the kidneys.

What is the way ahead?

  • Remedial measures have shown reduction in adverse outcomes effects and improved life expectancy in several parts of the world.
  • Better urban planning with proper land-use assessment and environment consciousness needs to be done.
  • Inter-disciplinary groups to evaluate the full range of impacts of air pollution on human health are needed.
  • Tools need to be developed to identify pollutants, find origin of particles, and develop culturally-appropriate solutions.

 

Source: The Hindu

Login or Register to Post Comments
There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to review.