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Sachin Aji Bhaskar

Jonathan Lehtonen

ESL 015, Section 019

3 March, 2015

Topic Proposal – Air pollution in India

India’s economic growth has not developed much in the past years. According to Syed

Nazakat (2015), researchers at WHO found that 13 out of the 20 most polluted cities are located

in India, making it the worst country in the world for air quality. Many of India’s cities,

including the capital, have exceeded the PM2.5 levels set by WHO, by more than 10 folds which

maybe the cause. It was also found through recent joint study from the University of Chicago,

Harvard, and Yale, that PM2.5, which stands for particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5

micrometers, is the cause for decline in life expectancy in India (Nazakat, S. 2015). These points

prove to be very important to the status of India as a developing country in the year 2015 which

is why I selected this topic. After describing the problem of air pollution on health quality of

citizens, I will discuss its environmental deterioration effects, and then I will conclude with a

brief explanation of governmental issues on managing the air pollution issues.

Firstly to analyze the exigency of air quality in India, we take a look at how pollution and

health status of people correlate. A collective study by SA Rizwan, Baridalyne

Nongkynrih, and Sanjeev Kumar Gupta subdivides the health problems into two mainly

respiratory and non-respiratory problems. In their journal commentary (2013), they state that the

respiratory problems include prevalence of lower respiratory symptoms like dry cough, wheeze,

breathlessness, chest discomfort, asthma, acute coronary events and cytological changes in

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sputum. Through their studies on non-respiratory problems it was found that the attention-deficit

hyperactivity disorder aggravated as the presence of particulate matter in air become more

predominant. As the usage of vehicles increased, there was an increase in levels of lead content

in blood which is considered as “a potential risk factor for abnormal mental development in

children” (p. 38). Similar to their study, Durgesh Nandan Jha (2014) states that the professor of

oncology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. P. K. Julka warns us that the pollutants

released as a by-product from vehicles, contain chemical carcinogens, such as benzene, form-

aldehyde and polycyclic hydrocarbon, which makes the people more prone to lung cancer (Jha,

D. N. 2014). From these health issues we see that air pollution also causes decimation in the

biosphere.

India is one of the major exporters of rice which is a benefit for the global food security.

However, Azeen Ghorayshi (2014) has written about how scientists have recently found that the

yield of crops have been cut down to almost half, leading to the decline in global food

security .According to her, researchers found that that two pollutants namely black carbon and

ground level ozone are responsible for this problem. It was found that carbon black reduces

amount of sunlight absorbed by plants and ozone damages the plants leaves which are short-lived

elements of pollution with expectancy from weeks to months (Ghorayshi, A. 2014). In addition,

the walls of Taj Mahal, one the seven wonder of the world, have been acquiring a brownish tint

hiding its white marble. Scientists have revealed that the reason for this murky appearance and

discoloration is the burning of trash and cow dung for cooking fuel, vehicular emissions and coal

burning factories near the monument (Lowe, L. 2015). Some scientists also predict that the cause

may be due to the excess fog oxidizing the surface of the wall or sulfurous gas in the air.

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Finally the government of India is another problematic aspect which contributes the bad air

quality in India. For example, according to Gopinathan (2014), the Centre for Science and

Environment (CSE) has requested for taxation on diesel cars due to the pollution they cause, as a

negative incentive to stop using diesel cars. However, due to the upcoming elections, the Indian

Finance ministry called for a deduction on taxes as a positive incentive to win votes. This would

on the bad side make the problem of air quality even worse than before. (Gopinathan, N) This

example shows the duplicitous behavior of the government officials which cause a negative

externality on the environment. Syed Nazakat (2015), in his article, points out that government

did not publicize their air quality nor did they take any initiative to bring about public awareness

to this problem as they had other issues such as India’s growth to sort out. According to him,

even Obama himself couldn’t convince Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sign a deal on

greenhouse gas reduction in his recent visit in January. Another problem that the author mentions

is that the government doesn’t giving real-time value on air quality and rarely update their data,

which may have led to this aggravation in air pollution without notice of the government

(Nazakat, S. 2015).

These problems are quiet serious for the entire country as a whole in this year because the

pollutants have crossed the limit. Katie Valentine (2015) complains that even India’s

environment Minister said that the country values economic growth, and poverty reduction more

than eradication of pollution. The minister also stated that cuts are for more developed countries

unlike the developing countries like India (Valentine, K. 2015). It is because of these thoughts

that air quality has deteriorated in the past years, making the headlines today. So to make the air

quality of India unpolluted we need a variety of solutions, which will all together would enhance

and inter-connect to aggravating the cleanliness of India.

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References

Ghorayshi, A. (2014, Nov 3). India air pollution 'cutting crop yields by almost half'. Retrieved

from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/03/india-air-pollution-cutting-

crop-yields-by-almost-half

Gopinathan, N. (2014, Feb 24). INDIA’S AIR POLLUTION WOES. Retrieved from

http://berc.berkeley.edu/indias-air-pollution-woes/

Jha, D. N. (2014, Dec 5). Air pollution affecting even foetal growth. Retrieved from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/Air-pollution-affecting-even-foetal-growth/articleshow/45379136.cms

Lowe, L. (2015, Feb 23). Clearing the air. Scholastic News, 83, 6-6, 8, T2. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1658053830?accountid=13158

Nazakat, S. (2015, Mar 01). Air in Delhi is world's worst, 13 other Indian cities aren't far

behind. The Christian Science Monitor .Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1658942070?accountid=13158

Rizwan, S., Nongkynrih, B., & Gupta, S. K. (2013). Air pollution in Delhi: Its magnitude and

effects on health. Indian Journal of Community Medicine: Official Publication of Indian

Association of Preventive & Social Medicine, 38(1), 4-8.

Roy, A. (2015, Mar 16) Toxic Delhi: Earth’s most polluted city has no plan to cut emissions,

Retrieved from www.rtcc.org/2015/03/16/toxic-delhi-earths-most-polluted-city-has-no-

plan-to-cut-emissions/

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Valentine, K. (2015, Feb 23) India’s Air Pollution Is Cutting 3 Years Off The Lives Of Its

Residents. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/02/23/3625819/india-

deadly-air-pollution/