UPSC Express

About World Environment Day

• World Environment Day is the largest celebration of environment started in 1974.
• It is celebrated on 5 June every year to spread awareness about the importance of environment and measure to be adopted to save it.
• UNEP provides leadership and encourages partnership among governments, the private sector, civil society and with other UN entities and international organizations to save the environment.

 

 

In focus: Air Pollution

Introduction

• The menace of air pollution is gaining increasing attention around the world recently.
• The 1^st ever Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health was held in October 2018.
• Air pollution was listed in the top 10 Global Health Threats identified by WHO in 2019.
• According to UNEP 9 out of 10 people in the world are breathing polluted air.

 

Sources of Air pollution

Household pollution

• Household air pollution results in an estimated 3.8 million premature deaths every year.
• Main cause is anthropogenic burning of fossil fuels, wood and biomass to cook, heat and light homes.
• About 3 billion people use solid fuels and kerosene for cooking, heating, and lighting.
• Household air pollution is also an important source of ambient air pollution contributing 12% of global PM2.5 to ambient air.

Ambient Air pollution

Sources are both anthropogenic and natural.

• In urban settings, the main sources are
• Fossil fuel combustion for energy production
• Transport
• Residential cooking
• Heating and waste incineration
• In rural communities
• Household burning of kerosene,
• Biomass and coal for cooking, heating and lighting,
• Agricultural waste incineration
• Agro-forestry activities
• Pollutants include
• Carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), lead, arsenic, mercury, sulfur dioxide (SO2), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and particulate matter (PM), tropospheric ozone

 

Sector-wise sources

1. Industry

• Energy sector driven by coal-fired power plants is the leading source of air pollution followed by chemical and mining industries, also pollute the air.

1. Transport

• 25% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions is contributed by transport sector.

1. Agriculture

• The major sources of air pollution from agriculture include livestock, which produces methane and ammonia, rice paddies, which produce methane, and the burning of agricultural waste.
• Methane emissions contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone

1. Waste

• Open waste burning in landfills release harmful dioxins, furans, methane, and fine particulate matter like black carbon into the atmosphere.

1. Other sources

• Volcanic eruptions, dust storms

 

Health Impact of air pollution

Mortality and disease burden

• Air pollution is the 5^th leading risk factor for mortality worldwide.
• According to WHO, about 7 million deaths occur due to air pollution every year.
• About 4.2 million deaths are due to ambient air pollution and 3.8 deaths are due to household air pollution.
• Air pollution accounted for 147 million years of healthy life lost (5.9% of all DALYs globally) in 2017.
• The 5 countries with the highest mortality burden include
• China (1.2 million)
• India (1.2 million)
• Pakistan (128,000)
• Indonesia (124,000)
• Bangladesh (123,000)

Life expectancy

• Air pollution collectively reduced life expectancy by 1 year, 8 months on an average.

Health effects

• Non communicable diseases
• About 82% of the diseases due to air pollution are chronic non-communicable diseases.
• Air pollution accounts for
• 41% of global deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• 20% of deaths from type 2 diabetes
• 19% of deaths from lung cancer
• 16% of deaths from isch­emic heart disease
• 11% of deaths from stroke
• Communicable diseases
  • Air pollution also contributes to communicable disease about 35% of deaths from lower-respiratory infection.
• Ambient air pollution
  • PM 2.5 exposure causes ischemic heart disease, cerebro-vascular dis­ease, lung cancer, COPD, lower-respiratory infections like pneumonia.
  • Third leading cause for type 2 diabetes
  • Asthma
  • Low birth weight and pre-term birth
  • Neurological disorders such as Alzheimers disease
• Household air pollution
  • Cardiovascular disease (ischemic heart disease and stroke), COPD, Acute lower-respiratory infections, Lung cancer, Cataract.
  • Increases the risk of ‘otitis media’
  • Defective neurodevelopment, lower cognitive abilities, and behavioural disorders such as autism etc.