According to a new global study released on 21st October, the air pollution of India contributed to the death of more than 1.16 lakh infants of the country, who were not more than a month old, in 2019. The study consisted of a comprehensive analysis regarding the effects of environmental and indoor particulate matter related to pollution on the lives and health of infants.
On a brighter note, indoor (household) related air pollution sources and effects came down, although the outdoor PM2.5 pollution exposures remained consistent.
Out of the 1,16,000 deaths, over half of them resulted due to the exposures of outdoor PM2.5 while the rest of the infants died due to causes of pollution including solid fuels like wood, animal dung utilized for cooking, charcoal, etc.
As far as the adult deaths are concerned, these outdoor and indoor pollution causes, when inhaled for a long term, contributed to the death of more than 1.67 million people. The deaths occurred in the form of heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer, chronic lung diseases, diabetes, and neonatal diseases.
To sum it up, air pollution is playing a major role, and posing as the biggest threat to mankind amongst all other health risks, read the annual report of the State of Global Air 2020.
The report was published by the Health Effects Institute (HEI) for the year 2020. HEI is an independently functioning, nonprofit research institute that receives funds collected from the US Environmental Protection Agency, foundations, industry, and development banks for timely stats regarding the environment and the risks humans are posing on themselves due to their exploitation of nature.
2020’s report majorly brings to light the challenges being faced by the South Asian countries due to the high amounts of air pollution affecting the lives of millions.
India bagged the fifth spot on the list of the world’s most polluted countries. It also included Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, and Iraq. All these countries witnessed spikes in their PM2.5 between the years 2010-2019.
The National Clean Air Programme of India has recently been taken up to keep a check on the air pollution meters and decrease the hazardous effects.
With covid-19, the disease that affects the respiratory system of a person majorly, already making its grip tighter in the world, keeping the air pollution at the bare minimum is the only hope to survive. Even though a proper connection hasn’t been established between covid-19 and air pollution, solid proof shows that there exists a link connecting heart and respiratory diseases to the deadly viral infection. The increased rates of pollution during the winter months in South and East Asian countries, is feared, will only make matters worse.
Terming an infant’s health as “critically important for the descendants of the society”, Dan Greenbaum, President of HEI said, “Although there has been a slow and steady reduction in household reliance on poor-quality fuels, the air pollution from these fuels continues to be a key factor in the deaths of these youngest infants.”
Particulate exposure during the pregnancy stage is related to the low birth weight and premature birth of a baby, according to studies associated to ICMR.
The State of Global Air 2020 further predicted that close to 21% of the total deaths of infants are due to indoor and outdoor air pollution.
