With constant degradation of air quality in major cities of Odisha, experts have batted for concerted efforts by citizens and immediate implementation of World Health Organisation (WHO) standards to improve air quality and life expectancy in affected places.

As per the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) launched by the Centre, about 122 cities fall under non-attainment cities, which consistently show poor air quality than the National Ambient Air Quality standards. Out of these, six cities – Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Angul, Talcher, Rourkela, Kalinga Nagar (Jajpur) and Balasore – have constantly shown degrading air quality standards.

Discussing the impact of poor air quality in a workshop jointly organised by Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB), Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India) and Tata Centre for Development at UChicago (TCD), at Kalinga Nagar recently, experts were of the opinion that the average life expectancy of Kalinga Nagar residents could increase by three years if WHO air quality standards are met.

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