Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with state environment ministers in New Delhi on Monday. He blamed rising air pollution levels on changing lifestyles brought about with India’s economic development.
“Until we focus on our lifestyle and get the world to focus on it, we will not succeed despite all other measures being taken, Modi told the ministers. It is difficult to convince the developed nations about this,” he said, as reported in Phys.org. Modi adding that India should set an example for other nations to follow.
With many cities having some of the dirtiest air in the world, the rollout of a new air quality index, proposed last year for 10 of India’s cities, is supposed to be a step in the right direction in raising public awareness to the dangers of air pollution. But according to the World Health Organization, which listed 13 of India’s cities in the top 20 most polluted cities worldwide, what India is doing falls short of what is needed.
Air pollution in India is being blamed on the increase in the number of people driving diesel-fueled vehicles. But this is not the only culprit in the high levels of health-endangering air pollution in the country. Fuel-wood and biomass burning is still the major contributor to air pollution.
The major contributors to India’s air pollution
Cook stoves, called chullahs are still used by over 100 million households in India, on average, two to three times a day. Dried cow dung, agricultural waste, and firewood are still the traditional fuels of choice. In 2009 the Times of India wrote that WHO reported that “300,000 to 400,000 people die of indoor air pollution and carbon monoxide poisoning in India because of biomass burning and use of chullahs.”
Indian farmers also engage in crop residue burning of their fields during the autumn and winter months. The resultant smoke casts a brown haze over large parts of the country, and is said to cause the “Asian brown cloud” that sometimes delays the start of the monsoon season.
But is India doing enough to educate the public on air pollution?
Environmental activists are saying that putting out air quality index reports on a daily basis will not address the issue of reducing air pollution. Right now, the government is saying the index levels will provide “composite and comprehensive” data on air quality in one of the 10 cities getting the new index. According to officials, people will then be able to decide whether or not to go outdoors, and can adjust the level of their activity.
The problem that arises from the announcements that are supposed to be available publicly and on the Internet is that they say nothing about indoor air pollution. Nor is there any attempt being made to educate the public as to how they might help in reducing air pollution, or what to do if they are having problems breathing.
What Modi is doing is indeed a step in the right direction, but it is just the beginning of a long battle to combat air pollution. Much more needs to be done before the citizens of India can breathe clean air.
