Climate : The Unknown Health Hazard
Is the air that we breath to keep us alive, actually killing us ?
This story appears in Quark Magazine and was written for Climate Tracker’s COP Contest.
This is how the view was in most parts of Mumbai when a fire in the Deonar Dumping Ground went out of control. Apart from the sky scrapers, all of the city was enveloped in a thick and hazy smog that contained harmful particulate matter. The condition was so severe that over 70 schools were shut down for 2 days. Countless incidents of respiratory problems and diseases were reported and hospitals were thronged. One of the many pollutants — PM (Particulate Matter) 2.5 levels reached as high as 272 on the Air Quality Index used by the Indian Government. The level of PM 2.5 considered safe is less than 50, and the level above 250 is termed Serious and is described as : “ May cause respiratory impact even on healthy people, and serious health impacts on people with lung/heart disease. The health impacts may be experienced even during light physical activity.”
This was not the first time a fire had broken out at the very same place.
Probably, this was also not the first time that human lives were not given enough importance too. It was reported that the Municipal Corporation had been violating solid waste management regulations for the past 15 years.
This was definitely not the first time that our environment was ignored.
The national capital of India — New Delhi’s air quality became so bad that the period between November 1st to 9th was termed as the Great Smog of Delhi, the cause behind which was the excessive bursting of firecrackers by the residents during Diwali. The PM 2.5 levels reached 372 and the emissions were at 16 times the safety limit.
Several other cities across the world like Beijing and Hongkong too face similar smog related problems.
Surplus emission related smog does not only result in respiratory disorders — it also affects the temperature of a place drastically which results in the creation of favorable breeding conditions for many pathogens (disease causing bacteria/virus). Mumbai temperatures reduced by about 14 degree centigrade as the sun rays could not reach the surface of the earth, and this only encouraged the growth of mosquitoes (which cause dreadful diseases like malaria and dengue) in damp and stagnant water bodies.
With just pollution related health issues — 1.6 million lives were prematurely cut short in 2016, a steady increase from the 1.1 million deaths in 2015. Over 3.5 million cases of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) were recorded in 2015 alone and they are expected to rise by 30% with each passing year.
What was acute is now slowly becoming chronic.
India is now home to 13 out the 20 most polluted cities in the world. It’s no wonder that India is the 3rd largest emitter in the world [ both Greenhouse Gas and LUCF (Land-Use Change and Forestry) emissions].
While a lot rides on the government to come up with an effective INDC (Intended Nationally Determined Contribution) that lives up to the expectations, in truth — it is the people who have to stand up, act and help build a better foundation for a tomorrow to be even possible.
