Air Pollution in India: A Health and Economic Crisis

Air Pollution in India: A Health and Economic Crisis

Sub : Env

Sec :Pollution

Why in News

• The recent reports from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) highlight the alarming increase in global emissions, with India experiencing a more than 6% rise from the previous year. This growing air pollution problem is not only a major environmental issue but also a severe health and economic crisis affecting millions across the nation.

Health Impacts of Air Pollution:

• Premature Deaths: Air pollution is a leading cause of premature deaths in India, affecting vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly. In 2021, nearly 2 million lives were lost due to pollution-related illnesses.
• Respiratory and Cardiovascular Diseases: Exposure to pollutants can lead to respiratory conditions, asthma, and cardiovascular problems. Children exposed to poor air quality may suffer lifelong health impairments.
• Impact on Vulnerable Communities: Low-income groups are the hardest hit, often living closer to pollution sources and lacking resources to protect themselves.
• Increased Healthcare Expenditure: Poor air quality raises healthcare costs due to higher rates of hospitalization and treatment for pollution-induced illnesses.
• Productivity Losses: Economic productivity is affected by increased absenteeism from work and school due to health complications.

Government Initiatives: NCAP launched in 2019 to reduce particulate matter by 20-30% by 2024, later adjusted to 40% by 2026.

About National Clean Air Programme (NCAP):

• It was launched by the MoEFCC in January 2019 as a long-term, time-bound, national level strategy that features:
  • Making determined efforts to deal with the air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner.
• Achieving 20% to 30% reduction target in Particulate Matter concentrations by 2024 where 2017 is kept as the base year for the comparison of concentration.
• Identification of 122 non-attainment cities (presently 131 non-attainment cities) across the country based on the 2014-2018 Air Quality data.
• Non- Attainment Cities are the cities which do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
• Preparation of the city-specific action plans including measures to strengthen the monitoring network, reduce vehicular/industrial emissions, increase public awareness etc.
• Implementation of the city specific action plans to be regularly monitored by Committees at Central and State level namely Steering Committee, Monitoring Committee and Implementation Committee.
• Facilitating collaborative, multi-scale and cross-sectoral coordination between the relevant central ministries, state governments and local bodies.

Establishing the right mix with the existing policies and programmes which include the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and other government initiatives related to climate change.

The NCAP tracker is a joint project of the Carbon Copy portal and Maharashtra-based Respirer Living Sciences.

Objective:

• To augment and evolve effective and proficient ambient air quality monitoring networks across the country.
• To have efficient data dissemination and public outreach mechanisms for timely measures for prevention and mitigation of air pollution.
• To have a feasible management plan for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.

Proposed Reforms for Air Quality Management:

• Stricter Implementation and Enforcement: A focus on health-centric policies, stricter enforcement, and integrating public health outcomes into pollution control efforts is needed.
• Unified Regulatory Framework: Suggestions have been made to establish a regulatory body similar to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for consistent environmental standards.
• Local and Regional Targets: Prioritizing interventions at state and local levels can lead to more targeted solutions for specific pollution challenges.