New scales of poison in the air
With the rapid spread of pollution sources and weak air quality management system in India, the situation is getting dire, we have to wake up.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has tightened public health safety standards even before the world community could seriously follow the existing minimum standards for clean climate. In its new air quality guidelines issued on Wednesday, the organization has redefined safe air standards. Earlier in 2005, it was amended. According to the new guidelines, 90 per cent of the global population and nearly 100 per cent of the people in India are currently breathing air that does not meet WHO standards.
However, in these guidelines, the most attention has been given to particulate matter (PM), ie fine particles. It is responsible for most of the deaths caused by air pollution worldwide. Close to 70 lakh deaths are caused by this alone. In the new guidelines, PM-2.5 (the size of fine particles of 2.5 micrometer) has been reduced from 10 micrograms per cubic meter to 5 micrograms per cubic metre. Its 24-hour average has also been reduced from 25 micrograms per cubic meter to 15 micrograms per cubic meter. There has also been a reduction of five micrograms per cubic meter in the annual and 24-hour average range for PM-10 (fine particles whose size is less than 10 micrometres).
Guidelines have also been amended for main gases. For example, the annual limit for nitrogen dioxide has been reduced four times since 2005. And it has been reduced from 40 micrograms per cubic meter to 10 micrograms per cubic meter. This time a 24-hour guideline has also been issued and a limit of 25 micrograms per cubic meter has been fixed for this. Similarly, the eight-hour norm for ozone is 100 micrograms per cubic metre, but has been raised to 60 micrograms per cubic meter setting the peak season limit. The standard of carbon monoxide has also been kept at 4 micrograms per cubic meter as before. However, it is inconceivable that the new guidelines do not mention the annual norm for sulfur dioxide, while it is directly linked to the use of sulfur containing fuel. These fuels also include coal and other industrial fuels, which are widely used in developing countries. Yes, this time the World Health Organization has approved other forms of particulate matter (eg, black carbon or elemental carbon, ultrafine particles and have also issued guidelines regarding particles generated by sand or dust storms).
It has been emphasized in these instructions that the damage caused by air pollution can now be much more than what was estimated earlier. This means that all countries should accelerate measures to reduce these risks. But the 'State of Global Air Report, 2020' states that in the year 2019 little or no work was done to improve air quality in all parts of the world. In low- and middle-income countries, the situation is as dangerous as before. As for India, the new guidelines suggest the need to reconsider India's air quality standards and revise them immediately. For example, India's annual average norm for PM-2.5 is 40 micrograms per cubic metre, eight times higher than the World Health Organisation's standard. Similarly, the 24-hour standard is also four times higher at 60 micrograms per cubic metre.
Clearly, the new WHO guidelines have created an uncomfortable situation for India, that too when the Central Pollution Control Board has started the process of reviewing Indian standards. So, the answer is not easy as to how South Asia and India in particular will be able to meet the tough target of PM-2.5 of 5 and 15 micrograms per cubic metre?
Experts agree that the weather and climate conditions here are complex, with increasing temperatures and extreme pollution in the region due to smog, skyscrapers and infrastructure increasing the challenges. The situation is that even if the polluting activities are stopped, then only natural processes produce a lot of natural carbonic aerosols, ie micro-liquid droplets, in the air. Apart from all this, emissions from various sources and pollution caused by subsistence-generating processes like cooking on chulhas also need to be curbed.
The question is, to what extent can we reduce pollution? At present, the challenge is to implement national air quality standards in all corners of the country. We saw a significant reduction in pollution during the pandemic lockdown, which was made possible by reducing local pollution and regional impacts. This shows that even the toughest goals can be achieved if strong measures are taken at the local level. A Center for Science and Environment • (CSE) study shows that the number of days meeting improved air quality standards increased significantly in 2020.
India is also affected by the ground climate, which acts to increase the level of pollution at the local level. The situation has become critical here due to the rapid spread of pollution sources and weak air quality management systems. In such a situation, to ensure air quality, we have to focus more on the regional approach. The Lancet study suggests that the health risk due to particulate pollution is more or less uniform across the country, if measured on the scale of deaths per one lakh population. Clearly, public health is a big issue here. However, this can still be overcome, provided India adopts a concrete strategy to address the impact of inequality and disproportionate impacts on vulnerable sections of society, as per the guidelines of the World Health Organization.
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