Air pollution is
not adequately addressed by governments in Asian nations and is not discussed among those in major metros of India. Other issues that are seemingly critical and relating to economy and development and recently religion have
taken precedence as topics for discussion in living rooms. The fact
remains that the overall health of
Indian population remains compromised due to lack of awareness on contributing
factors such as air and water pollution, hygiene and sanitation, malnutrition
and farm practices. Substantial research has been conducted on the effects of
air pollution and increasing affliction of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such
as Diabetes, Lung diseases, Heart diseases among the populace of Indian cities.
According to the WHO, about 5.8 million deaths that occur in India every year are
associated with NCDs.
After WHO’s Global
action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013-2020 India took the
first step towards developing specific
national targets and indicators aimed at reducing the number of global premature
deaths from NCDs by 25% before 2025. India has also taken major steps towards
reducing indoor air pollution by distributing LPG cylinders to households in
villages calling for a marked shift from using firewood for cooking and
protecting women from air pollution.
In India, various
aspects of outdoor pollution including vehicular emissions are not monitored or
regulated in keeping with international norms. Regulatory authorities turn a
blind eye to condemned and unfit vehicles plying the roads of Indian cities
contributing to severe forms of air pollution. The present trend in prevalence of NCDs among Indians is
predominantly because of lack of awareness on air pollutants when granting
Fitness Certificates to such unusable vehicles allowing them to contribute to severe air pollution.
Essentially, it is about creating awareness among regulatory and enforcement
authorities who need to ensure compliance of environmental and other regulatory
norms meant to stem air pollution.
Construction
industry is yet another industry that gives rise to passive emissions and it should work at reducing emissions by effectively changing its
working model by way of reducing emissions from dust and debris spilling on to
the roads affecting general public and by adopting business practices that prevent air pollution.
To state an
example, is the neglect of the health of police constables in charge of
monitoring the traffic on the roads of India’s metros and
lack of initiatives to address such occupational hazards. It is
understood that many of this law enforcement workers face premature deaths most
often because of lung diseases. Such government workers exposed to elements of
nature and air pollutants require constant and mandatory monitoring of health
through frequent health check-ups at their workplace. Masks to protect
themselves from air pollution alongside preventive medicine and health care is
to be distributed. Budgetary allocation and expenditure towards health and
preventive action for government workers who are exposed to air pollution needs
to be examined and probably some benefit can be achieved through a public,
private partnership.
Large neon signs
and LED displays at public places such as beaches, bus stations and railway
stations can disseminate awareness on tobacco consumption and offer other
household behavioral advice to stem indoor air pollution, which may require
large-scale private funding. Advertisements on TV screens do reach households,
but lack of time to watch TV monitors may not reach the required audience. If such dissemination is to take place in public
places in the form of short movies and streaming documentaries can catch the eye and attention of those who
wait at such places. It requires substantial private funding to create
non-emitting visual displays of air pollution causes and remedies. The results
may be more comforting and effective.
Cities and towns
near coal mining require acute monitoring and preventive action by government
and for this purpose there is a need to collate and distribute real-time data
to the public and other stakeholders for future action. It is important to have
a neutral, third-party and authentic real-time data collection unit that
remains accountable to all stakeholders
including funding organizations. Investments in clean coal technologies is
crucial and therefore bringing down the cost of such technologies is an
important aspect of negotiation under the UNFCCC. A representative needs to be
sponsored and sent to address air pollution in India at the upcoming UNFCCC
meet to discuss the aspect of making clean coal technology an imminent part of coal mining and solutions
to tackle emissions from other extractive industries should be made available
at a reasonable cost to developing nations that are dependent on fossil fuel
for their energy needs.
Environmentally
sound technologies or ESTs need to be made available to developing nations that
are struggling to tackle air pollution for lack of access to advanced
technologies owing that are capable of mitigating such impacts. A consortium
that aids in granting access to ESTs through subsidies and by granting
financial aid, incentives and adequate monetary compensation for such inventions
needs to be worked through to help developing nations.
Ultimately, air
pollutants result in affecting precipitation levels of a region, lead to ozone
depletion and have a direct effect on climate change impacts. It is imperative
that we address localized air pollutants in order to address the larger aspects
of climate change.