Deadly impact of air pollution

Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants into the air that are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole.

Air pollution in India is estimated to kill about 2 million people every year; it is the fifth largest killer in India. India has the world’s highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases and asthma, according to the WHO. Let’s read about the impact of air pollution and ways to protect from it.

Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants into the air that are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole. Some air pollutants are poisonous. Inhaling them can increase the chance you’ll have health problems. People with heart or lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from air pollution. Air pollution isn’t just outside – the air inside buildings can also be polluted and affect your health.

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The air quality in Delhi according to a WHO survey of 1,650 world cities is the worst of any major city in the world. It also affects the districts around Delhi. In Delhi, poor quality air irreversibly damages the lungs of 2.2 million or 50 percent of all children.

Air Quality Index (AQI) is a tool to showcase air quality status. It transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number and colour. AQI has six categories of air quality. These are: Good, Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor, Very Poor and Severe. Each of these categories is decided based on ambient concentration values of air pollutants and their likely health impacts. As the AQI increases, an increasingly large percentage of the population is likely to experience health effects.

 

Protection from pollution

• When you see in the newspaper a report that pollution levels are high, it may be useful to limit the time when children go outside or you go for a jog. Generally, ozone levels tend to be lower in the morning.

• When you do exercise outside, stay as far as you can from heavily trafficked roads. Then shower and wash your clothes to remove fine particles.

• If the air quality is bad, stay inside with windows closed.

• Wear sunscreen. When ultraviolet radiation comes through the weakened ozone layer, it can cause skin damage and skin cancer.

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