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Analysis

June 13, 2018

Delhi air pollution hits hazardous levels, but it’s not the capital’s problem alone

Santosh Harish, Associate Director - Research for EPIC-India, dispels three myths about air pollution in India and explains the research and science behind AQLI.
By
Santosh Harish

It’s November, again, and the same headlines blanket news outlets in India and the world: air pollution in Delhi has hit dangerous levels. Since last winter, this problem had faded from public concern as had the smog itself — until now. Yet, particulate pollution isn’t restricted to Delhi or to winters.

Here are the three common myths that inhibit air pollution from being front and centre of a national public health discourse, all year-long.

Myth 1: Delhi gets foggy. There is no need to be concerned
In December 1952, London was engulfed in dense smog that lasted five days. Smogs were not uncommon in London, and health officials did not immediately realize the gravity of the situation. Not until the casualty rates exploded. Recent research puts the count at 12,000 premature deaths during and within two months of the Great Smog of London: a scale that was unprecedented, and changed the way air pollution was perceived.

Such particulate matter pollution is made up of tiny particles — the tiniest are about 30 times smaller than the width of hair — that comes from vehicles, factories, biomass combustion and construction dust, among other sources. Given their size, they can penetrate deep into our lungs, leading to a large number of heart and lung diseases. The finer the particle, the greater the risk.

This particulate matter pollution is the single largest environmental health risk across the world, contributing to 4.2 million premature deaths in 2015-16. To put this in perspective, more deaths are attributed to particulate pollution than to Malaria and HIV-AIDS combined. A recent study from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), on the impact on prolonged exposure to particulates, finds that an additional 10 micrograms per cubic meter of PM10 pollution (PM10 is particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter) reduces life expectancy by 0.6 years.

Using that metric, the researched at EPIC have created the Air Quality-Life Index (AQLI), a tool for people to relate air quality levels in their cities to their health. Using the tool, anyone can find out how much longer they could live if air quality in their cities met national or global standards.

Continue reading at The Economic Times…