Editor,
Recently there was an attempt at cloud seeding to produce artificial rain in Delhi in order to offset the air pollution in the national capital. The “Right to Breathe Clean Air” is an integral part of the ‘Fundamental Right to Life. The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change for 2025 offers a grim reckoning : over 1.7 million died in 2022 due to exposure to PM2.5 a deadly particulate pollutants.
The death toll is 38% higher than the corresponding figure in 2010. Fossil fuels were responsible for 44% of these deaths, with petrol use for road transport accounting for 2.69 lakh fatalities and coal from power plants causing nearly 3.94 lakh deaths. Mortality is not the only consequence of such poisoned air; the economic cost from this is staggering too. The Lancet report mentions that premature mortality in 2022 due to outdoor air pollution in India translated into a financial loss of $339.4 billion, or 9.5% of India’s GDP. The wider global picture is just as disconcerting. Twelve of the 20 indicators tracking health threats linked to climate change – from extreme heat to food insecurity to air pollution have reached record highs.
It is observed that the government often reaches for cosmetic measures: New Delhi’s experimentation with cloud-seeding instead of addressing the structural causes of environmental degradation is a case in point. Weak enforcement of laws and institutional complicity are not the only challenges though: the public indifference to poor air is shocking.
The report reveals that if the world were to consistently reduce fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) to align with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guideline, the average human life expectancy could increase by an impressive 2.3 years. The WHO, in its wisdom, prescribes that PM2.5 concentrations should not exceed 5 µg/m³. Shockingly, this leaves 1.3 billion people of India living in perilously polluted environments. India bears the brunt of this crisis, emerging as the second-most polluted country trailing only behind Bangladesh.
While industrialisation and urbanisation play pivotal roles in exacerbating air pollution, it is the collective negligence that poses an even graver challenge. A glaring lack of sustainable urban planning, coupled with inadequate air quality data and standards, serves as a harbinger of disaster. One of the most concerning revelations of the report is the minimal focus on disseminating accurate air quality data by governments.
For a national cause all should come forward to control pollution and address the issue head-on. The AQLI report, although yet to undergo peer review, underscores an undeniable truth that particulate pollution, particularly PM2.5, remains the foremost external threat to human health worldwide. These tiny particles, measuring just 2.5 micrometres, can easily infiltrate our circulatory system, triggering myriads of health problems.
Each Diwali, there is massive collective endorsement for polluting crackers, their noxious impact notwithstanding. The rise of religious majoritarianism seems to have encouraged a dangerous prioritisation of polluting rituals over considerations to health and environment. India can no longer afford to treat climate-health losses as collateral damage. The government must integrate climate policy and the economic consequences of climate change with the principles of governance and right to health, and undertake mitigatory actions across multiple fronts
With just 6.8 per cent and 3.7 per cent of Asian and African governments providing their citizens with open air quality data, respectively, it is evident that information is a rare commodity. Equally alarming is the dearth of air quality standards in these countries. This lack of transparency and uniformity perpetuates the crisis.
There is need for a deeper study on this issue to find ways to bring down air pollution. An even graver challenge is the glaring lack of sustainable urban planning, coupled with inadequate air quality data and standards, serves as a harbinger for disaster. To get results we should involve people who are fully dedicated to this cause. Here one must quote the example of Greta Tumberg of Sweden. Thunberg became well-known after she protested outside the Swedish parliament in 2018, when she was 15. She held a sign saying “School Strike for Climate,” to pressure the government to meet carbon emissions targets. Her small campaign had a global effect, inspiring thousands of young people across the world to organise their own strikes. By December 2018, more than 20,000 students – from the UK to Japan – had joined her by skipping school to protest.
A year later, she received the first of three Nobel Peace Prize nominations for climate activism. We need to find such dedicated persons to make the mission for fighting for cleaner air a successful one.
Yours etc.,
Yash Pal Ralhan,
Via email
