Despite the positive precedence that the re-rolling of the odd-even scheme in the national capital may set, it will not bring much relief to the residents of the national capital who are currently living in a gas chamber as pollution levels have risen to toxic levels in and around Delhi.?
AFP
The reason? Pollution is a hydra-headed monster and does not have one singular source. Experts attribute the rising levels of pollution in the areas surrounding India¡¯s national capital to at least 27 factors, and though vehicular pollution is one of the sources, the recent data shows that there is more than meets the eye.?
As early as 1997, an expert committee sat to assess the impacts of pollution on the residents of Delhi and the findings were quite shocking at that point of time. Impact on eyes and respiratory illnesses were recognised as major consequences of the rising pollution but the research went much deeper than that and found some astonishing trends such as children who were more exposed to pollution marked more absent days in their schools and performed lower in academics and athletics than their fellows who were lesser exposed.?
It went on to find that the migrants who came from rural or lesser polluted areas became more vulnerable to illnesses and harmful impacts of pollution than the local inhabitants of the polluted regions. The latter grew a defence mechanism over a period of time and though they continued to be impacted by pollution, the health hazards were found to be far greater in the case of the migrants.?
AFP
At that point in time, not many took these findings seriously as pollution was perhaps not considered a serious threat.?
More than two decades later, Dr. T.K. Joshi, who along with other health, environment, and pollution experts, conducted that research laments that there has not been single serious research that looks at the entirety of the problem instead of breaking it down into tiny fragments and isolated issues.? ?
And, he is less than optimistic about the odd-even scheme bringing any relief to the citizens of Delhi. His reasons are revealing.?
¡°One needs to understand what the problem is before implementing any measures,¡± says Joshi, Director, Occupational and Environmental Programme, who trained in the UK and was a Visiting Professor at School of Public Health in Philadelphia.?
He contends that combustion is the most dangerous source of pollution while maintaining that controlling pollution at the source is the only way to tackle the current crisis. By combustion, Joshi is referring to stubble burning in adjoining states as well as the burning of waste in and around Delhi.?
BCCL
¡°I describe combustion as the most dangerous because we find particulate matter in three categories -- Suspended, Course and Fine. The suspended matter cannot enter our lungs, the course matter is generally dust and is released from construction works and falls in the range of PM 2.5 to PM 10 whereas the fine matter is lesser than PM 2.5 and they can enter your lungs while you breathe."
On Monday morning, the concentration of PM2.5 -- fine particles of less than 2.5 microns that can enter the bloodstream and penetrate the lungs and heart -- was at 613, nearly 25 times the safe limit set by the World Health Organisation, according to the US embassy in Delhi. On Sunday it approached 1,000. High levels of PM2.5 are linked to chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease. Greenpeace says more than 1.2 million Indians died prematurely in 2017 due to air pollution.
¡°On the other hand, we are seeing that carbon mono oxide and nitrogen levels are not showing a significant increase and it is the same with Ozone level, whereas PM 2.5 or lesser have been rising rapidly,¡± he quipped, before pointing out that 70 to 80 per cent of this is a result of combustion, whether its from stubble burning or any other source.
¡°So I don¡¯t think odd-even will help bring down pollution levels in any way though they may help spread awareness about the issue,¡± he said.?
Joshi, who was also a visiting research fellow at School of Hygiene in London, and specialized in occupational and environmental medicine, says that Delhi is not alone to suffer because of pollution.?
He said many people aren¡¯t aware but ISRO scientists find the entire Indo-Gangetic plain shrouded in smog every winter. Satellite images reveal the sordid tale too.
AFP
These, he maintains, are an annual occurrence but for most people these remain in sight only for about three months of the winter. ¡°Then, it¡¯s out of sight and out of mind,¡± he said.?
He urged the government and concerned groups and agencies to collaborate and identify the problems and then approach a science-backed plan to control pollution at source.?
¡°Source control is the only way to tackle this menace,¡± he pronounced, while also adding that once released into the air, no mask or air purifiers are going to ensure one¡¯s safety completely.?
In the meanwhile, the Supreme Court Monday slammed authorities for failing to curb pollution in Delhi-NCR and said they have left people to die. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta took serious note of crop burning in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh and said it cannot go unabated every year. "Can we survive in this atmosphere? This is not the way we can survive," the bench said.
Environment groups have long been calling for an end to stubble burning but as evident, the various state governments, as well as the central government, are indulging in blaming each other even as the residents of India¡¯s national capital see no relief in sight.??
AFP
Until there is consensus and a shared will, the hydra-headed menace of pollution, like the mythological one, will grow two more heads for each one that we cut-off.