Why the report had been opposed in India?

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has substantially tightened its health-based global air quality guidelines, lowering the guideline value for PM2.5 from 10 micrograms per cubic metre to 5.
• This means that there is hardly any place in India which follows the WHO norms,” Dr Sundeep Salvi, Chair for Chronic Respiratory Diseases of the Global Burden of Diseases study (GBD-19).
• According to the report, air pollution is most severe in the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
• This area contains New Delhi and many of the most polluted cities. Burning of biomass in households was the single largest cause of air pollution deaths in India, followed by coal combustion and crop burning.
• The number of deaths remains high despite India’s considerable efforts against household air pollution, including through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana programme.
• India has developed a National Clean Air Programme, and in 2019 launched a Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region.
• However, India does not have a strong centralised administrative system to drive its air pollution control efforts and consequently improvements in overall air quality have been limited and uneven, the report has said.
• Professor Kalpana Balakrishnan, Dean (Research), Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research Chennai, and one of the authors of the report, stressed the need for a radical shift in the approach to pollution management efforts.
• In India, we need integrated surveillance platforms for health and exposure surveillance.
• Population exposure surveillance via biological and environmental monitoring can inform risk attributions within health programmes already in place to reduce the burden of maternal and child health as well as non-communicable diseases.
• Impacts from lead as shown in the report, that impacts children’s IQ, really drive home the point of irreversible long-term damage for multiple generations.

Lead pollution

• Dr Salvi too cited the implications of lead pollution.
• An estimated 9 lakh people die every year globally due to lead pollution and this number is likely to be an underestimate.
• Earlier the source of lead pollution was from leaded petrol which was replaced with unleaded petrol.
• However the other sources of lead exposure include unsound recycling of lead-acid batteries and e-waste without pollution controls, spices that are contaminated with lead, pottery glazed with lead salts and lead in paint and other consumer products,” he said.
• Globally more than 80 crore children (India alone contributes to 27.5 crore children) are estimated to have blood lead concentrations that exceed 5 µg/dL — which was, until 2021, the concentration for intervention established by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• This concentration has now been reduced to 3.5 µg/dL.

When new guidelines were released for Air quality?

• WHO released the new guidelines for Air Quality in 2021.
• The 2021 guidelines recommend new air quality levels to protect the health of populations, by reducing levels of key air pollutants, some of which also contribute to climate change.
• By striving to achieve these guideline levels, countries will be both protecting health as well as mitigating global climate change.
• WHO move sets the stage for eventual shifts in policy in the government towards evolving newer stricter standards.
• WHO’s new guidelines recommend air quality levels for 6 pollutants, where evidence has advanced the most on health effects from exposure.
• 6 classical pollutants include particulate matter (PM 2.5 and 10), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO).

Suggestions

• Adopt or revise and implement national air quality standards according to the latest WHO Air Quality Guidelines.
• Monitor air quality and identify sources of air pollution.
• Support the transition to exclusive use of clean household energy for cooking, heating and lighting.
• Build safe and affordable public transport systems and pedestrian- and cycle-friendly networks
• Implement stricter vehicle emissions and efficiency standards, and enforce mandatory inspection and maintenance for vehicles.
• Invest in energy-efficient housing and power generation
• Improve industry and municipal waste management
• Reduce agricultural waste incineration, forest fires and certain agro-forestry activities (e.g. charcoal production)
• Include air pollution in curricula for health professionals and providing tools for the health sector to engage.

Where most polluted cities are located around the world?

• Central and South Asia have some of the worst air quality and were home to 46 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities in 2021.
• Bangladesh was the most polluted country in the world, it recorded an average PM 2.5 level of 76.9 micrograms per cubic metre.

India’ s Performance

• India’s annual average PM2.5 levels reached 58.1 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) in 2021, returning to pre-quarantine concentrations measured in 2019.
• India is the fifth most polluted country among 117 countries, regions and territories around the world, assessed.
• Sixty-three Indian cities dominated the list of 100 most polluted cities.
• No city in India has met the WHO air quality guideline of 5 µg/m3.
• In 2021, 48 per cent of India’s cities exceeded 50 µg/m3, or more than 10 times the WHO guideline.
• India was home to 14 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities.
• New Delhi continues to be the world’s most polluted capital city for the fourth consecutive year.
• Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi has topped the list followed by Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.

Air pollution in India

• About India, the Lancet report says that in 93 per cent of India, the amount of pollution remains well above the WHO guidelines.
• It says that in 2019, India had the largest estimated number of pollution-related deaths, even though some effort has been made to deal with it through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana programme.
• The scheme was launched by the Narendra Modi Government in 2016 and is aimed at making LPG connections available to rural households.
• A 2019 study published by the Collaborative Clean Air Policy Centre noted that the single greatest contributor to air pollution in India was the burning of solid fuels in households.
• According to the first independent impact assessment of the government’s flagship scheme released in March 2022, greater penetration and usage of LPG as a cooking fuel is estimated to have prevented at least 1.5 lakh pollution-related premature deaths in the year 2019.

Who recently released the Air Quality database 2022?

• The  World Health Organisation (WHO) has released Air Quality Database 2022, which shows that Almost the entire global population (99 %) breathes air that exceeds WHO’s air quality limits.
• The WHO for the first time has taken ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). It also includes measurements of Particulate Matter with diameters equal or smaller than 10 μm (PM10) or 2.5 μm (PM2.5).
• The findings have prompted WHO to highlight the importance of curbing fossil fuel use and taking other tangible steps to reduce air pollution levels.
• Earlier, in the 2021 World Air Quality Report released by IQAir (a Swiss group), India was home to 11 of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021.

Findings

• Unhealthy Air: More than 6,000 cities in 117 countries are now monitoring air quality but their residents are still breathing unhealthy levels of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, while people in low and middle-income countries suffer the highest exposure.
• Increased Collection of Data: As many as 2,000 more cities and human settlements are now recording ground monitoring data for particulate matter, PM10 and/or PM2.5, than in the last update (2018).
• This marks an almost sixfold rise in reporting since the database was first made in 2011.
• Impact of Air Pollution: Meanwhile, evidence base for the damage air pollution does to the human body has been growing rapidly and points to significant harm caused by even low levels of many air pollutants.
• Particulate matter, especially PM 2.5, is capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and entering the bloodstream, causing Cardiovascular, Cerebrovascular (stroke) and Respiratory Impacts.
• NO2 is associated with respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, leading to respiratory symptoms (such as coughing, wheezing or difficulty breathing), hospital admissions and visits to emergency rooms.
• Compliance with WHO Air Quality Guidelines: In the 117 countries monitoring air quality, the air in 17% of cities in high-income countries falls below WHO’s air quality guidelines for PM 2.5 or PM 10.
• In low and middle-income countries, air quality in less than 1% of the cities complies with WHO recommended thresholds.

Source of Air Pollution

•  Nitrogen dioxide: It is one of the major pollutants and major sources of NOx include emissions from motor vehicle exhaust, industrial facilities, and chemical solvents.
• Agriculture & Allied Sources: Ammonia (NH3) -It is another gaseous pollutant that is monitored.
• It occurs naturally in air, soil and water, and is used as an agricultural fertiliser and in cleaning products.
• Short-term inhalation of high levels of ammonia can cause irritation and serious burns in the mouth, lungs and eyes.
• Stubble burning: It is also one of the major sources of air pollution in northern India, especially in winters.
• Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter: They emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels have, historically, been the main components of air pollution in many parts of the world.
• The largest source of SO2 in the atmosphere is burning fossil fuels by power plants and other industrial facilities.
• Short-term exposure to SO2 can harm the respiratory system, making breathing more difficult.
• Particulate matter (PM) are inhalable and respirable particles composed of sulphate, nitrates, ammonia, sodium chloride, black carbon, mineral dust and water.
• Carbon monoxide (CO): It is a toxic, colourless and odourless gas, given off when fuel containing carbon, such as wood, coal and petrol, are burned.
• Major sources of methane include waste and the fossil fuel and agricultural industry.
• Ozone (O3): It occurs both in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and at ground level. At the ground, O3 is created by the chemical reaction between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds.
• It is formed when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, refineries and other sources chemically react in presence of sunlight.
• It can trigger a variety of health problems, including chest pain, throat irritation and airway inflammation.

How is PM 2.5 measured?

• The report is based on PM2.5 air quality data from 6,475 cities in 117 countries, regions and territories around the world.
• PM2.5, particulate matter consisting of fine aerosol particles measuring 2.5 microns or smaller in diameter, is one of six routinely measured criteria air pollutants and is commonly accepted as the most harmful to human health due to its prevalence in the environment and broad range of health effects.
• PM2.5 is generated from many sources and can vary in chemical composition and physical characteristics.
• Common chemical constituents of PM2.5 include sulphates, nitrates, black carbon, and ammonium.
• The most common human-made sources include internal combustion engines, power generation, industrial processes, agricultural processes, construction, and residential wood and coal burning.
• The most common natural sources for PM2.5 are dust storms, sandstorms, and wildfires.
• India's annual average PM2.5 levels reached 58.1 µg/m³ in 2021, ending a three-year trend of improving air quality. India's annual PM2.5 averages have now returned to pre-quarantine concentrations measured in 2019.
• India was home to 11 of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021.
• In 2021, Mumbai had recorded Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 annual average of 46.4 microgram/cubic metre – nearly nine times above the World Health Organisation (WHO) limit.

• These deaths lead to the loss of 62,700,000 years of life, 2,700,000 emergency room visits due to asthma, 2,000,000 preterm births and 1,755,200,000 work absences. Of these over 2 million preterm births, over 350,000 are in China and 981,000 in India.
• The report mentions that in 2021, Central and South Asia had some of the world’s worst air quality and were home to 46 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities. Further, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, 70 per cent of global air quality related deaths occur in this region.
• In fact, except in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, PM2.5 concentrations increased in Central and South Asian countries in 2021, which negated the quarantine-related improvements in the air quality.
• The global response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the form of stringent lockdowns had led to a dip in greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and air pollution.

 Measures taken by Government

• System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) Portal
• Air Quality Index: AQI has been developed for eight pollutants viz. PM2.5, PM10, Ammonia, Lead, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, ozone, and carbon monoxide.
• Graded Response Action Plan
• For Reducing Vehicular Pollution: BS-VI Vehicles,Push for Electric Vehicles (EVs),Odd-Even Policy as an emergency measure
• New Commission for Air Quality Management
• Subsidy to farmers for buying Turbo Happy Seeder (THS) Machine