Page 8 - Air Pollution Study

Delhiites lose nearly 12 years of their lives to air pollution, says report

Delhi has emerged as the world's most polluted city in a new study which has also found that its residents are on track of losing 11.9 years of life if the current levels of pollution persist. The Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) released by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago also showed that all of India's 1.3 billion people live in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds the 5 g/m3 limit set by World Health Organization (WHO). It also found that 67.4 per cent of the country's population lives in areas that exceed the country's own national air quality standard of 40 g/m3. The study said fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) shortens an average Indian's life expectancy by 5.3 years, relative to what it would be if the 5 g/m3 pollution limit set by (WHO) was met. The AQLI said that Delhi is the most polluted city in the world with its 18 million residents on track to lose 11.9 years of life expectancy on average relative to the WHO lim

Air pollution remains greatest global threat to human health: Study

Air pollution remains the world's greatest external risk to human health, but most of its impact on global life expectancy is concentrated in just six countries, including India, a study has found. The University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) in its annual Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report noted that as global pollution edged upwards in 2021, so did its burden on human health. The average person would add 2.3 years onto their life expectancy -- or a combined 17.8 billion life-years saved worldwide, if the world were to permanently reduce fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) to meet the World Health Organization's (WHO) guideline, the researchers said. The yet-to-be peer-reviewed data makes clear that particulate pollution remains the world's greatest external risk to human health. The impact of life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, more than 3 times that of alcohol use and unsafe water, and over 5 times that of transport injuries like car crashes, they ...

CSIR-NEERI plans grid-based strategy to combat Delhi's air pollution

The CSIRNational Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) on Saturday said it will develop a grid-based mitigation strategy to tackle the air pollution problem in Delhi. Presenting the plan during the India Clean Air Summit (ICAS) 2023 in Bengaluru, S K Goyal, Chief Scientist and Head, CSIRNEERI, Delhi Zonal Centre, said: "We will develop a grid-based mitigation strategy, termed 'Local Area Management Plan' (LAMP), for each hotspot, for each season." The 'one size fits all' approach has rarely worked for air pollution mitigation, he said, adding that LAMP will allow policymakers to devise tailored strategies for pollution control within their jurisdiction, aligning with the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) goals. Inspired by a tile-by-tile concept, the approach involves segmenting the entire National Capital Region into a grid of tiles, each covering two sqkm. These tiles will be closely monitored through a network of stationary and mobile sensors over two ...

Particulate air pollution growing risk for premature death globally: Study

The total number of premature deaths and years of disability from cardiovascular diseases attributable to particle air pollution rose from 2.6 million in 1990 to 3.5 million in 2019, a 31 per cent worldwide increase, according to a study. The research, published on Wednesday in Journal of the American Heart Association, analysed particulate matter (PM) pollution as a risk factor for death and disability using freely available data from 204 countries collected between 1990 and 2019 and detailed in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. PM pollution consists of small particles of liquid and solids suspended in the air and inhaled into the lungs, such as vehicle emissions, smoke, dust, pollen and soot. Exposure to PM pollution was estimated using a tool from the 2019 update to the GBD study that incorporated information from satellite and ground-level monitoring, computer models of chemicals in the atmosphere and land-use data. The researchers from Tehran University of Medical ...

Air pollution could be driving antibiotic resistance: New Lancet study

Controlling air pollution could aid in reducing antibiotic resistance, which is when disease-causing microbes are able to resist the drugs designed to kill them, according to new research published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal. The association between PM2.5 air pollution and increase in antibiotic resistance has strengthened over time, with enhances in PM2.5 levels leading to larger increases in antibiotic resistance in more recent years, the analysis found using data for 116 countries from 2000 to 2018. Sources of PM2.5 include industrial processes, road transport, and domestic coal and wood burning. Previous research indicates 90 per cent of the world's population, or 7.3 billion people, are directly exposed to unsafe average annual PM2.5 levels, with 80 per cent of them living in low- and middle-income countries. PM2.5 air pollution was one of the leading factors driving antibiotic resistance, accounting for 11 per cent of changes in average antibiotic resistance level

Delhi registered 101 'good to moderate' air quality days in Jan-June 2023

Delhi registered the highest number of 'good to moderate' air quality days this year since 2016, barring COVID-19 affected 2020, the environment ministry said on Friday. "The number of 'Good to Moderate' Air Quality Days for the first half-year period (January to June) was 30 in the year 2016; 57 in 2017; 65 in 2018; 78 in 2019; 126 in 2020; 84 in 2021; 54 in 2022; and 101 in the current year 2023," the ministry said in a statement. During this period, the city also experienced the least number of days with 'poor to severe' air quality in 2023, as compared to the corresponding period of last seven years since 2016 (barring 2020 the year of lockdown due to coronavirus). "The number of 'Poor to Severe' Air Quality Days for the first half-year period (January to June) have also been progressively reducing from 147 in 2016 to 80 in 2023," it said. The ministry said favourable meteorological conditions and continual efforts at the ground level to prevent, control and abate air pollutio

Automobile emission leading cause of recorded air pollution: IITR study

The pre-monsoon report on air quality released by IITR said that leading cause of air pollution during 2022-23 was automobiles, with number of registered vehicles having risen by 6.3% since 2022

Most pollution boards financially surplus but don't spend on infra: Study

11% of their total expenditure was on infrastructure and 2% was on research, development, and studies

Poor air quality in India linked to cognitive problems in babies: Study

Poor air quality in India could be causing cognitive deficits in babies and toddlers, according to new research

Air pollution can affect your Covid-19 vaccine efficacy, says study

Air pollution can induce chronic inflammation, which has been associated with a negative effect on vaccine efficacy, the study said

India eighth most polluted country in the world; Lahore most polluted city

Bhiwadi, located on the outskirts of Delhi, was ranked among the two most polluted cities in the world. Delhi followed it closely behind

39 Indian cities among world's 50 most polluted: Swiss firm report

The Swiss firm IQAir in its 'World Air Quality Report' released on Tuesday ranked India the world's eighth most polluted country in 2022, dropping from fifth place the previous year

Kerala govt to install air quality monitoring devices at hospitals in Kochi

The Kerala government has decided to install air quality monitoring devices in select hospitals of the coastal city, which is reeling under toxic haze from the fire at the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant. State Health Minister Veena George said installing the air quality monitoring devices will help identify the possibility of people getting sick due to the worsening air quality. "The devices will help identify the possibility of people falling sick and ensure preventive measures to be taken well in advance," George said in a release. Meanwhile, the Ernakulam district administration and the State Disaster Management Authority has held an online discussion on the fire situation with the New York Fire Safety Department Deputy Chief, George Healy. During the meet, Haley urged the administration to remain cautious as there are chances that fire may breakout again even after it appears to have been doused, the district administration said in a statement. The New York Fire safety offi

Chinese EV maker showcases world's first car powered by sodium-ion battery

Chinese EV maker JAC has showcased the world's first electric vehicle (EV) that is powered by a cheaper sodium-ion battery which could help reduce the cost of future EVs by 10 per cent

IIT KGP researchers find increasing atmospheric pollution in rural India

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have found increasing atmospheric pollution in rural India using Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) measurements from satellites. The researchers found that air pollution is not typically an urban phenomenon but can affect the environment in rural pockets also. They conducted an analysis of the rural air quality to assess the extent of air pollution by measurements of NO2 through satellite imaging. The analysis exposes increasing trends (0.050.441015molec./cm2/yr) of NO2 in the rural regions of India, the institute said in a statement on Wednesday. The statement said a team of Prof Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath and Research Scholar Mansi Pathak of Centre for Ocean, River, Atmosphere and Land Sciences (CORAL) of IIT Kharagpur analysed the significant impact of urban pollution on the air quality of rural India by differentiating the pollution in two zones - rural and urban - and assessing the extent of air pollution in rural India. Th

Soil tainted by air pollution releases carbon, finds new research

According to New UC Riverside research, nitrogen released by gas-powered machines causes dry soil to let go of carbon and release it back into the atmosphere, where it can contribute to climate change

30% increase in number of respiratory patients this New Year, say doctors

Respiratory illnesses increase during the winter season due to air pollutants settling down in the atmosphere

New Haryana rules on stone crusher units may blunt the war on air pollution

Easing of proximity norms will not only impact air and water quality but could also turn vast tracts of farm land barred, say experts

DIY air filter can effectively filter out viruses, air pollutants: Study

An simple, easy-to-construct air filter can protect against illness caused not only by viruses but also by chemical pollutants, according to a study. The filter named Corsi-Rosenthal boxes, or cubes, can be constructed from materials found at hardware stores: four MERV-13 filters, duct tape, a 20-inch box fan and a cardboard box. "The findings show that an inexpensive, easy-to-construct air filter can protect against illness caused not only by viruses but also by chemical pollutants," said study lead author Joseph Braun, an associate professor at Brown University in the US. "This type of highly-accessible public health intervention can empower community groups to take steps to improve their air quality and therefore, their health," Braun said in a statement. As part of a project, boxes were assembled by students and campus community members and installed in the School of Public Health as well as other buildings on the Brown University campus. To assess the cubes' efficacy at remov

Pollution levels remain high in northern India due to rain deficit: Experts

Bad air quality days continue to haunt the Indo-Gangetic Plains with the air quality Index (AQI) oscillating between 'poor' and 'severe' categories