Now there is so much pollution in the air that if it were not for our lungs there would be no place to put it all.
-Robert Orben
Pollution is in any form, whether it is the air we breathe or Noise The water around us or the water we drink or the heavy metals that seep into our bodies deplete our bodies. health span and lifespan,
Every day, newspapers bombard us with news, usually bad, about the air we breathe, the pollution in our cities, the air quality around us (many newspapers show the previous day’s AQI or it) live online in real timehealth problems due to poor air quality etc.
As a result, most newspaper readers have some understanding that the air we breathe is polluted and bad for our health. But what does all this really mean?
1. What do we mean by air pollution?
There are two ways to define air pollution. One is subjective, where we can actually see and/or smell polluted air… filthy, dark, grey, foul-smelling air that smells, air that silences us when we breathe or makes us breathe immediately through our nose and wants to cover the mouth, the fog becomes smog with varying shades of grey, the smoke from cars and trucks and from people burning rubbish on the streets or incense sticks in temples or during pujas and weddings, Or the smoke from cooking on chulhas in our homes that use coal or kerosene or cow dung.
Our body and mind instinctively know when the air we breathe is bad. When we go to mountains or beaches where there is clean air, we instinctively understand the difference. Another approach is to objectively measure and define the presence and extent of air pollution.
2. How do we measure air pollution?
Air pollution is divided into ambient air pollution and household air pollution. Ambient air pollution is defined as “exposure to fine particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 2 5 µm or less (PM2.5) in cubic meter of air (?g/m3)”. [1], PM means particulate matter.
Larger particles (PM10) can enter the lungs and cause respiratory problems, but smaller (PM2.5) particles have the ability to cross the lungs and enter the bloodstream and can cause harm to the heart, kidneys, brain and brain. as directly affecting other organs. e.t.c. The effect of particle size is better understood as a air quality index (AQI), which is a composite of several parameters such as PM2.5, PM10, ozone, etc.
The AQI scale varies from country to country. Household air pollution at the population level is determined by surveys that look at the extent of solid fuel use in households and then convert these to PM2.5 equivalents. For us personally, any smoke in the house, whether from cooking fuel or incense sticks, constitutes indoor/household air pollution.
3. What values suggest air pollution?
WHO value, Updated September 22, 2021 Quite clear and simple. PM2.5 exposure should average less than 5 micrograms per cubic metre, with a 24-hour average less than 15 micrograms per cubic metre. WHO has also published similar values for ozone, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.
According to the WHO, 99% of the world’s population lives in areas that do not meet these criteria, meaning that its current values are aspirational numbers that countries have to strive to reach over a period of time. India last revised its numbers in 2009. National Ambient Air Quality Standards 60 µg/m3 are more moderate for PM2.5, with a 24-hour mean less than 40 µg/m3. India is also planning to revise its numbers sometime this year and it will probably be closer to the WHO level but not.
The AQI is a color coded scale that gives an aggregate of the air quality in your area at a specific time point. For example, at the time of writing this, Sion (a central suburb of Mumbai) had an AQI 57 for PM2.5, which was labeled moderate air quality, which corresponded to one. PM2.5 31-60 . the level of, which is considered normal for Mumbai, but much higher than the WHO normal. In fact, if you just Google “air quality index mumbai“You get the current AQI at various stations in the city. The same is true for major cities and towns around the world.
4. What is the level of air pollution in India?
2018 paper [1] Published by the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative Air Pollution Collaborators estimates that in 2017 76.8% of India’s population in northern India (more than 125 micrograms per cubic metre) was exposed to PM2.5 > 40 micrograms per cubic metre. other states. Only Kerala has PM2.5 less than 20 micrograms per cubic metre, while Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya have PM2.5 values between 20-39.9 micrograms per cubic meter annually. Is.
There are variations within states and cities (Mazgaon is more polluted than Worli in Mumbai, for example), but AQI helps us understand what we are doing based on where we live. Basically, if you are an urban Indian, the further north of the city or state you live in, the more trouble you are in.
5. How does air pollution affect our health?
there is good data Linking air pollution to an increased incidence of stroke (brain attack), coronary and ischemic heart disease, both acute (heart attack) and chronic, high blood pressure [2]Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is also called COPD, lung cancer, pneumonia, and cataracts. There is suggestive evidence that links air pollution to poor pregnancy outcomes, diabetes, kidney diseases, other cancers, dementia and cognitive impairment. The higher the air pollution, the higher the incidence of premature death and morbidity.
6. How big is the health problem?
According to WHO, globally air pollution causes 8 million (80 million) deaths per year, 4.2 million due to ambient air pollution and 3.8 million due to household pollution. In India, 1.67 million deaths (16.8 lakh deaths) are expected in 2019 due to air pollution (0.98 million or 9.8 lakh from ambient air pollution and 0.61 million or 6.1 lakh from household air pollution). [3], Deaths due to air pollution account for 17.8 per cent of all deaths in India. As a single risk factor, it is the leading cause of death in our country.
These untimely deaths cost the country USD 28.8 billion or Rs 214330 crore. One-third of health care expenditure in this country can be attributed to air pollution, which means that on a nationwide level, reducing air pollution can significantly improve our development and resource allocation.
7. What is being done to reduce air pollution?
For ambient air pollution, legislative and non-legislative measures are constantly being updated and implemented, ranging from industrial (eg emission standards for factories) to agricultural (no crop residue burning), vehicles (low emissions, electric cars, more public transport). , All of these help to some extent [4],
For household air pollutionEducation and replacing coal with kerosene, stoves that use biomass (wood, animal dung, crop waste) and clean stoves make a big difference.
8. What can we do as individuals to reduce the impact of air pollution on our health?
These can be divided into two main categories; Reducing pollutants and minimizing exposure [5], Reducing pollutants means not using smoke-producing fuel stoves and not using incense sticks (incense sticks) in enclosed rooms. On an environmental level, this would also mean eventually moving to electric cars. Risk mitigation can be divided into measures we take based on pollution levels that day versus sustainable measures.
Permanent measures include the use of suitable air filters in our offices and homes, efficient air conditioning in our homes and in our cars with our windows open when traveling within the city. Variable measures depend on the AQI at that time. If the AQI is high, wearing a mask, reducing outdoor activities including running, walking and other physical activities, choosing a less polluted car route, even taking a little longer, can make a difference. Even if the AQI is within an acceptable range, it is a good idea to avoid high-density traffic if possible, and try to walk and run on smaller roads with less traffic and preferably in the morning.
However, whatever we do, in the end, we still breathe the same air, although what you have and where you live also makes a difference in the same city. The rich can reduce their risk far more than the poor, as a recent New York Times comparison of two Delhi children showed.
Our health period is the sum of all the factors, external and internal, which help to keep us healthy; Although we as individuals have no control over ambient air pollution and are completely dependent on the government and its agencies to improve the quality of the air we breathe, on an individual level, we can take steps to improve the quality of the home and environment. Can implement the measures in their offices. The quality of the air we breathe.
Thankfully, like noise pollution, since poor air quality affects all of us, including our politicians and politicians, there are many levels of conscious effort being made to improve our air quality as economically and politically as possible.
footnote
1. India State Level Disease Burden Initiative Air Pollution Collaborative. Lancet Planet Health. 2019 Jan;3(1):e26-e39.
2. Rajagopalan S, Landrigan PJ. Ann England J Med. 2021 Nov 11; 385(20): 1881-1892.
3. India State Level Disease Burden Initiative Air Pollution Collaborative. Lancet Planet Health. 2021 Jan;5(1):e25-e38.
4. Burns J et al. 2020 Feb about int;135:105400.
5. Karlstein C et al. Eur Respir J. 2020 June 4; 55(6):1902056
Disclaimer
The views expressed above are those of the author.
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