Incalculable Air Pollution!! Fix the Ignorance

“Even our capital New Delhi, home to more than 20 million people, is ranks at 11th place, making it the world's most polluted capital. Air pollution steals our livelihoods and our future. We can't stop breathing, but we can do something about the quality of air that we breathe.”

We can't stop breathing, but we can do something about the quality of air that we breathe. Approximately about 4 million deaths take place due to air pollution in Asia-Pacific. As we are aware, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Bengaluru are the hotspot places for declining air pollution standards, taking a heavy toll on our health, mind and even welfare costs. Further, this World Environment Day 2019 it is urged that everybody has ‘Right to Secure Clean Air’.

June 5^th offered a unique opportunity to draw attention and to create momentum that compelled everyone to understand the importance of Air Pollution, the theme for this World Environment Day 2019 and its linkages with human health, environment and socio-economic development. This theme reminds us to fulfill our pledge towards ‘Breathing Clean Air’ that can help combat air pollution. Today is National Pollution Control Day so, the focus must be on ‘Finding alternatives that help us curb the never-ending menace of Air toxicity’.

·         There is need for low-cost sensing technologies for the developing countries because these countries can ill-afford high-cost sensing technologies. The low-cost sensing technologies can be installed at multiple places to monitor the data and this collection of multiple data can be helpful in synchronizing the related issues and in formulation of the policies accordingly.

·         Urban-specific nature of the concentration of sensing technologies defeats the very purpose of meeting the challenge of air pollution because bulk of the population in many developing countries resides in rural areas. Therefore, there is need for according equal emphasis to rural and urban areas while harnessing sensing technologies to tackle air pollution.  

·         There is need for coherent strategy with defined targets for air quality and regular monitoring to understand the impact of these measures. Many developing countries lag far behind global standards in the density and coverage of air quality monitoring networks and these countries can learn from and adapt evidence-based initiatives implemented in other parts of the world.

·         Effective governance is essential in terms of systematic collection of air quality data along with a scientific approach to air quality management. It also calls for an evidence-informed multi-sectoral approach to policy-making in synergy with ministries of environment, energy, industry, rural development, urban development and finance etc.

With these measures, it can be assured that the worsening Air crisis situation getting better and we once again secure a qualitative access to Clean & Pure Air.

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