Air pollution more dangerous than pandemic
By: Siddharth Bhargava
Tags: Climate Change, India, Electric Vehicles, Air Pollution, Solar Energy

Air pollution is rapidly increasing day by day which is impacting our health, lives and our life style. As per 2019 World Air Quality report, India is the 5th most polluted country in the world and Delhi is consecutively ranked 2nd among capital city rankings with air pollution level nearly 10 times the WHO target.[1]

The top 30 polluted cities in world are in Asia of which 21 cities are from India. 43% cities are from Haryana, 30% cities are from Uttar Pradesh and Ghaziabad is the most polluted city in the world. The pollution levels are highest in the month of November, December and January for most of the polluted cities.

This seasonal increase in air pollution can be attributed to stubble burning in Northern parts of the country. Government and local bodies have started various initiatives to overcome this challenge but we still have a long way to go.

Another alarming statistics as per Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) is that air pollution could shorten the average Indian lives by 5.2 years and people living in Delhi/NCR and Uttar Pradesh could see reduction in life expectancy by 9.4 years and 8.5 years respectively if WHO guidelines are not met.[2] Overall air pollution kills an estimated 7 million people worldwide every year.

According to WHO, worldwide air pollution accounts for :

29% of all deaths and disease from lung cancer

17% of all deaths and disease from acute lower respiratory infection

24% of all deaths from stroke

25% of all deaths and disease from ischaemic heart disease

43% of all deaths and disease from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

If we compare it to the ongoing pandemic — the number of people died in India in 2019 because of air pollution is 15 times more than due to Covid-19 (16.7 lakh deaths due to air pollution in 2019 Vs 1.3 lakh people have died due to Covid-19 till now). While Covid-19 is getting the right attention and focus, it is high time to work towards air quality.

The main cause of air pollution is open fires, vehicles, industries and dust. Specifically the road transport in India contributes 18% whereas overall transportation sector contributes 30% of the air pollution.

Government has launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 which aims to reduce 20% to 30% of the air pollution by 2024. But government alone cannot solve the problem and as citizens of India it is our duty to support the cause for better environment.

A simple transition to electric mobility has the potential to reduce oil imports, reduce air pollution & noise pollution and support India’s commitment towards climate change. One study found that electric vehicles have 43% less emissions than diesel vehicles. Delhi government has incentivised buying of electric vehicles but due to poor infrastructure it is yet to gain momentum.

Electric vehicles is the key to solve our transportation led air pollution but for that to be successful we need focused efforts to strengthen the infrastructure like charging points, low cost battery supply and affordable electric vehicles.

Simultaneously, Indian government should focus to increase its clean energy capacity exponentially by 2030 so that with the increase in electric vehicles, the electricity consumption will increase and generating electricity through hydro and solar energy could be the new oil in the coming decades.

[1] Source — World Air Quality Report 2019, IQAir

[2] https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/the-index/