New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on Friday, June 24, calling for a report on the status of air pollution in India.
It took suo motu cognisance of media coverage quoting a report published on June 14 that air pollution is the “greatest threat to human health in the country”. The report, the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), said that Indians stand to lose five years of life due to air pollution levels in the country.
If this is true, it raises “a serious issue of Right to Life”, the NHRC noted. It asked that the MoEFCC report also provide the status of the National Clean Air Programme launched in 2019 and that it be ready in four weeks. The NHRC expected state authorities to “take up the issue” in a time-bound manner as well, it said.
Report on air quality
This year’s AQLI, the report that media articles quoted and which prompted the NHRC’s response, is developed by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). It gives a snapshot of air pollution – based on levels of fine particulate matter on PM2.5, a major air pollutant – across the world.
These inhalable particles less than 2.5 micrometres (µm) wide are known to contribute to the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and lung cancer, as per the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The report links PM2.5 levels to life expectancy, translating it into how many years a person stands to gain if their countries meet air quality standards.
According to this year’s AQLI report (based on data from 2020), India is the second most polluted country in the world. Since 1998, India’s average annual particulate pollution has increased by 61.4% (currently, average PM2.5 levels in India is 55.8 μg/m3 micrograms per cubic metre). And since 2013, India has contributed to 44% of the world’s increase in pollution.
Air pollution shortens average Indian life expectancy by five years, relative to what it would be if WHO guidelines were met, the report said. In the Indo-Gangetic plains of Northern India, 510 million residents – nearly 40% of India’s population – could lose 7.6 years of life expectancy on average if current pollution levels persist.
Also read: Air Pollution Cuts Indians’ Life Expectancy By 5 Years: Air Quality Life Index
Particulate pollution, therefore, is the greatest threat to human health in India, the report, published on June 14, said.
The Wire reported on these findings on the same day. Bhargav Krishna, a fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, told The Wire that the report reinforces much of what we already know about air pollution in India.
“It is important to also examine how exposure to air pollution exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in society,” he said. “Setting up more ambitious air quality standards would be integral too.”
India needs more
Currently, the Central Pollution Control Board (the apex statutory body in India for pollution control under the MoEFCC), prescribes an annual average of 40 μg/m3 as the permissible upper limit for PM2.5 in the lower atmosphere. The international WHO standard, however, is more ambitious – 5 μg/m3.
The government has taken several steps to tackle the issue of particulate matter in India. However, they have not borne much fruit.
In 2019, for instance, the MoEFCC launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to prepare clean air action plans to reduce PM2.5 pollution by 20-30% by 2024, as compared to 2017, in 132 cities.
However, according to an NCAP report published early this year, there has been only a marginal or no improvement in air pollution levels in 132 cities since 2019. The top 10 most polluted cities from 2019 – including Ghaziabad, Delhi and Noida – continued to occupy the same list in 2021 too.
Researchers including Krishna have called for the need to develop an “airshed” approach – which will keep in mind geographies and other factors that play a role in air pollution levels – to tackle air pollution in the country.
According to a news report, the government has envisioned such an “airshed” approach as part of the “National Mission for Clean Air – Clean Air for All” under the NCAP.
The Mission will take off in 2022 and would set a new target: to reduce PM2.5 levels from 35-50% by 2025-26, as compared to 2017 levels, an official was quoted as saying.