Air pollution makes people lead shorter lives (representational)
New Delhi:
Experts from various South Asian countries on Thursday stressed the need for regional collaboration to tackle air pollution and agreed that people in the region could live longer if guidelines from the World Organization health and air quality were respected.
Average life expectancy in India could increase by 5.2 years and Delhi by 9.4 years if WHO air quality standards are met, they said.
Discussion took place during a webinar on “Air Quality in South Asia: Opportunities and Challenges”, organized by Lung Care Foundation, where experts from India, United States, Sri Lanka and Pakistan came together to find a collective solution to tackle air pollution in South Asia.
During the discussion, Michael Greenstone, director of the University of Chicago’s Institute for Energy Policy (EPIC), said air pollution is reducing life expectancy in several countries.
“Air pollution causes people to have shorter lives. Particulate pollution comes from the consumption of energy. Particulate air pollution is the greatest threat to human health in the world.”
“1.9 years of life expectancy is lost every year worldwide due to particulate pollution, followed by smoking, alcohol and other problems. India’s life expectancy can increase by 5.2 years if (WHO) standards are met, “said Greenstone, sharing the EPIC report on Air Quality and Living Index.
According to the report, if Delhi met the WHO air quality standard, people could live about 9.4 years longer, Greenstone said.
Likewise, the average life expectancy in countries like Pakistan and Nepal could increase by 2.8 years and 4.6 years if WHO guidelines are followed, he said.
Other speakers included David Kennedy, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy New Delhi, who said improving health and air quality is the top priority for the U.S. government. .
“Air pollution does not respect borders. To be controlled, it requires constant long-term attention from all walks of life, frontline workers, the media, students, everyone. The development relationship between the United States and India dates back many years.
“The US government has partnered with India to improve health systems. The engagement between India and the US is focused on better monitoring of air pollution data,” he said. declared.
Other panelists for the discussion were Christopher Commins, Economic Officer, US Embassy; Ranil Dhammapala, Air Quality Officer, US Embassy, Colombo Sri Lank; and Abid Omar, Founder, Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI).
They suggested that expanding knowledge through low-cost air quality monitors should be the priority to engage more public in the fight against this problem.
“The more data we provide, the more awareness there will be. Improve understanding of the distribution of sources. If you understand what the sources of pollution are, policies can be developed accordingly, involving polluters in the solution,” he said. said Commins.
His point of view was shared by Omar, who said installing low-cost air quality monitoring systems in Pakistan has helped better engage with the community.
He said raising people’s awareness through data sharing and regional collaboration is the way forward to reduce pollution in South Asia.
Likewise, Greenstone made suggestions to reduce air pollution and also highlighted the actions taken by EPIC in collaboration with India.
“EPIC is taking steps to address the pollution problem such as providing regulators with real-time emissions data. CEMS (Continuous Emissions Monitoring System) is used to calculate the pollution emitted by the plant over a period of time.
“Information about pollution should be publicly disclosed. If the public does not know who is breaking the standards, it is difficult to create pressure. Information should be shared in the public domain on factories emitting pollution. industries to classify them, ”he told me.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
