Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha has seen a sharp deterioration in its air quality in recent years.  According to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago’s Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), residents of Bhubaneswar could live about 2.7 years longer if World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines were met. Way back in 1998, the gain in life expectancy by meeting the same air quality standards was 1.4 years. This, along with other insightful details, was shared in a workshop organized by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, B.J.B Autonomous College and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC-India) in Bhubaneswar on 1^st October 2019.

Sharing his insights on the impact of air pollution on human health, Dr. Damodar Bindhani, Head, Pulmonary Medicines, CARE Hospital, “Number of hospital visits and doctor consultation for cardiovascular diseases, asthma, cough, respiratory infection, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has almost doubled in last decade in Bhubaneswar. The increase is due to the worsening air quality in Bhubaneswar. The worst victims of these diseases are children below five years of age, young adults, and senior citizens. Smokers and people who have prior cardiovascular problems have become more vulnerable to aggravation of their disorders when they are being exposed to the bad air outside.”

Talking about how residents can play an active role in curbing air pollution, Chinmayee Panda, a civil society member and General Secretary of Ankur Foundation that works on environmental protection and conservation said, “In Bhubaneswar, awareness among the citizens can contribute a lot to check air pollution and even using public transport more often can be of great help.”

Talking at the workshop, Sandeep Sahu, Senior Journalist added, “Tools like AQLI can help citizens and policymakers to make pollution a subject of popular discourse. Its high time that we realize that it’s the same air that we all breathe in and hence take a pragmatic approach to clean our skies.”

The workshop, meant to raise awareness about the impact of pollution on human health, was attended by more than 80 students and representatives from the civil society. All the participants were handed over a city-specific AQLI handout for increasing their awareness.