90% breathe toxic air globally, Kanpur, Delhi among most polluted; updates

Besides Kanpur, three other cities in Uttar Pradesh - Agra, Lucknow, Varanasi also made to the list of most polluted cities in world

The World Health Organization (WHO) in its pollution report on Wednesday ranked 14 Indian cities among world’s 15 most polluted cities in the world with Kanpur being the most affected based on PM2.5 levels in 2016. While Gwalior stood second in the chart, other cities like Delhi, Varanasi Kanpur, Faridabad, Gaya, Patna, Agra, Muzaffarpur, Srinagar, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Patiala and Jodhpur also featured in the list. The study ranked 4,300 cities in 108 countries across the world.

On the basis of PM10 levels, 13 cities in India figured among the 20 most-polluted cities of the world in 2016.

The WHO data also said that nine out of 10 people or 90 per cent of people in the world breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. The estimations revealed an alarming death toll of 7 million people every year caused by ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution. 

More than 90 per cent of air pollution-related deaths occur in countries with low-and-middle income, added the report, mainly in Asia and Africa, according to media reports. 

Around three billion people — more than 40 per cent of the world's population — still do not have access to clean cooking fuels and technologies in their homes, the main source of household air pollution.

The WHO report, however, praised India's Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Scheme for providing some 37 million free liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections in the past two years that help promoting the use of clean household energy.

What is PM2.5?

PM2.5 includes pollutants, such as sulfate, nitrates and black carbon, which pose the greatest risks to human health. PM2.5 is a particulate matter in the atmosphere that has a diameter of 2.5 micrometres, which is around three per cent the diameter of a human hair. These particulate matters reduce visibility and even cause respiratory problems. Owing to its small size, it can easily pass through a person’s nose and throat and cause chronic diseases such as asthma, heart attack, bronchitis and other respiratory problems by making way the circulatory system. To detect these matters, an electron microscope is required. 

The WHO database collects annual mean concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5). WHO air quality recommendations call for countries to reduce their air pollution to annual mean values of 20 Ig/m3 (for PM10) and 10 Ig/m3 (for PM25).

Here are the top 10 highlights of air pollution in India:

1. 14 Indian cities in top 20 most polluted cities in world: Delhi and Varanasi are among the 14 Indian cities that figured in a list of 20 most polluted cities in the world in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2016, data released by the WHO showed on Wednesday.

Other Indian cities that registered very high levels of PM2.5 pollutants were Kanpur, Faridabad, Gaya, Patna, Agra, Muzaffarpur, Srinagar, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Patiala and Jodhpur followed by Ali Subah Al-Salem in Kuwait and a few cities in China and Mongolia. 
 

In terms of PM10 levels, 13 cities in India figured among the 20 most-polluted cities of the world in 2016.

Here are the top 14 most polluted Indian cities that featured in the list:

1. Kanpur

2. Faridabad

3. Varanasi

4. Gaya

5. Patna

6. Delhi

7. Lucknow

8. Agra

9. Muzaffarpur 

10. Srinagar

11. Gurgaon

12. Jaipur

13. Patiala

14. Jodhpur

Kanpur most polluted city in India: Besides Kanpur ranking on top of the pollution chart with a PM2.5 concentration of 173 micrograms per cubic metre, three other cities in Uttar Pradesh — Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi also made to the list of top polluted cities in the world. 

Bihar, Rajasthan follows Uttar Pradesh: After Uttar Bihar, three cities in Bihar, namely, Gaya, Patna and Muzaffarpur, have made it the list of most polluted cities globally. 

In Rajasthan, Jodhpur and Jaipur have made it to the list. 

2. Delhi seeks meet of NCR Environment Ministers on air pollution: Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain on Wednesday asked the Central government to call a meeting of Environment Ministers of NCR states and other stakeholder departments to find solution to the issue of air pollution in the capital.

In a letter addressed to Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Harsh Vardhan, he said that there was a need for Environment Ministers and other agencies to come together to resolve the issue of pollution from bio-mass burning, industries, vehicular emissions, construction and demolition activities, selection of landfill sites for municipal solid waste management, among others. 

He said that due to "multitude of agencies" like the Delhi Development Authority, the Municipal Corporations of Delhi and different departments of the Delhi government -- all separately involved in pollution control efforts -- problems "remain unresolved and are rather aggravating" the situation of the city's air.

3. Party poppers banned owing to health risks: Party poppers, commonly used during celebrations and events, have been banned owing to the health risks it poses, including severe eye trauma and other facial injuries, a directive of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has said.

The CPCB, in its office memorandum, said that all such party poppers have been banned, except those which are using compressed air as the charge material and soft papers as streamers.

It said that party poppers are generally charged with an explosive which is activated by pulling a string and the charge blows some small colored plast glittering pieces out and other such materials and makes a popping sound.

It is observed that the plastic glittering material and the other charge chemicals, generally low intensity explosive, often composed of red-phosphorus, potassium chlorate and potassium perchlorate, are harmful to human health, the memorandum said.

It further pointed out that they get mixed with food items and may also cause severe eye trauma other facial injuries.

4. 9 out of 10 people in the world breathe polluted air: Nine out of every 10 people on the planet breathe air that contains high levels of pollutants and kills seven million people each year, according to the WHO study.

The study is an analysis of what the WHO says is the world's most comprehensive database on ambient air pollution. The organisation collected the data from more than 4,300 cities and 108 countries, reports CNN.

According to the report, more than 90 per cent of air pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (including India), mainly in Asia and Africa, followed by low- and middle-income countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region, Europe and the Americas. Peshawar and Rawalpindi in Pakistan, have some of the highest particulate air pollution levels in the database.

The new WHO data show that US cities on the more polluted side of the list include Los Angeles, Bakersfield and Fresno, California; Indianapolis; and the Elkhart-Goshen area of Indiana.

Since 2016, over 1,000 additional cities have been added to WHO's database, which shows more countries are measuring and taking action to reduce air pollution than ever before.

5. Deaths due to air pollution: WHO's global urban air pollution database measured the levels of fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) from more than 4,300 cities in 108 countries, according to which ambient air pollution alone caused some 4.2 million deaths in 2016, while household air pollution from cooking with polluting fuels and technologies caused an estimated 3.8 million deaths in the same period.

WHO has called upon member-countries in its Southeast Asia Region to aggressively address the double burden of household and ambient (outdoor) air pollution, saying the region, which comprises India, accounts for 34 pc or 2.4 million of the seven million premature deaths caused by household and ambient air pollution together globally every year.

Of the 3.8 million deaths caused by household air pollution globally, the region accounts for 1.5 million or 40 per cent deaths, and of the 4.2 million global deaths due to ambient air pollution, 1.3 million or 30 per cent are reported from the region, it said.

6. Clean air accounted in US, Hawaii, Arizona: Cleaner air accounts for in cities like Wenden, Arizona (population 2,882), or Cheyenne, Wyoming (population 64,019).

The Eureka-Arcata-Fortuna area of California; Battlement Mesa, Colorado; Wasilla, Alaska; Gillette, Wyoming; and Kapaa, Hawaii, are all on the cleaner-air list.

One of the bigger US cities with cleaner air is Honolulu, according to the WHO data.

7. WHO praises India’s Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana: The report, however, stated countries are making efforts and taking measures and in this context, referred to India's Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which it said, in just two years, has provided 37 million women living below the poverty line with free LPG connections to support them to switch to clean household energy use.

India targets to reach 80 million households by 2020.

All countries in the region are making efforts to expand the availability of clean fuels and technologies, however, over 60 per cent population do not have clean fuel. The combined effects of household air pollution and ambient air pollution become increasingly hard to address if not tackled early, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO Southeast Asia, said, according to news agency PTI.

Likewise, Mexico City has committed to cleaner vehicle standards, including a move to soot-free buses and a ban on private diesel cars by 2025.

8. Pollution poses risk to human health: The PM2.5 includes pollutants like sulfate, nitrate and black carbon, which pose the greatest risk to human health.

It said the WHO recognises air pollution as a critical risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), causing an estimated 24 per cent of all adult deaths from heart disease, 25 per cent from stroke, 43 per cent from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 29 per cent from lung cancer.

"Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalised people bear the brunt of the burden. It is unacceptable that over 3 billion people most of them women and children are still breathing deadly smoke every day from using polluting stoves and fuels in their homes," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO.

Major sources of air pollution from particulate matter include inefficient use of energy by households, industry, agriculture and transport sectors, and coal-fired power plants. In some regions, sand and desert dust, waste burning and deforestation are additional sources of air pollution.

9. How does PM affect us? Particle pollution, a mix of solid and liquid droplets in the air, can get sucked into and embedded deep in your lungs when you breathe. That can lead to health conditions including asthma, lung cancer, heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), according to the study.

These outdoor particulates -- including sulphate, nitrates and black carbon -- are largely created by car and truck traffic, manufacturing, power plants and farming. In total, air pollution caused about 4.2 million deaths in 2016, it added.

"Many of the world's megacities exceed WHO's guideline levels for air quality by more than five times, representing a major risk to people's health," Neira said. This is "a very dramatic problem that we are facing now".

10. Traffic-related pollution may increase asthma risk in kids: Long-term exposure to traffic-related pollution may significantly increase the risk of asthma in early childhood, a study has warned.

The findings, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, showed that living close to a major road was linked to childhood asthma at all ages examined.

"Children living less than 100 metres from a major road had nearly three times the odds of current asthma - children who either experience asthma symptoms or use asthma medications daily - by ages seven to 10, compared with children living more than 400 metres away from a major road," said the study co-author Mary Rice from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, US.

For the study, the researchers analysed data from 1,522 Boston-area children born between 1999 and 2002.

The researchers used mapping technologies to determine the distance between each child's home address and the nearest major roadway.

With Agency inputs