China offers help to India in countering Air Pollution in Delhi
New Delhi: Amid New Delhi’s battle with air pollution, China’s spokesperson to India Yu Jing took to X to draw parallels between the air pollution crisis of both countries and added that Beijing stands ready “to share our journey toward blue ones.”
New Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) remained ‘very poor’, ranging over 300 for the past week while other Indian cities too battled rising air pollution due to dust pollution, vehicle emissions among other factors.
According to the IQAir report, three of the top 5 spots in South Asia in the list of most polluted cities were in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“China once struggled with severe smog, too. We stand ready to share our journey toward blue ones and believe India will get there soon,” Yu wrote on X Tuesday.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s latest data, AQI levels were almost 400 with Kaithal in Haryana and Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh recording ‘Very poor’ levels of 393 and 384 Tuesday. Thootukudi in Tamil Nadu recorded the highest AQI of 486 and was placed in the ‘Severe’ category.
Air pollution accounts for over 2 million deaths per year in India, according to various studies.
China, on its part, had battled a similar crisis in 2013, infamously known as the ‘airpocalypse’. Measures then taken by the Chinese Communist Party-led government included banning new coal-run power plants, limiting car ownership and rolling out all-electric bus fleets.
The government also cut down on iron and steel production and launched an afforestation program with around 35 billion trees being planted across 12 provinces.
“With over $100 billion invested, China’s forestry spending per hectare exceeded that of the US and Europe, tripling the global average,” according to a 2021 report by Earth.Org,
China’s 2013 environment policy the Air Pollution Action Plan, led to Beijing’s PM 2.5 levels dropping down to 33 percent and a reduced concentration of particulate matter down to that of 35 percent.
A follow up to this saw China launch a Three-Year Action Plan for Winning the Blue Sky War in 2018 which covered all cities and aimed to reduce PM2.5 levels by 18 percent across cities. It also tackled ground level ozone, a pollutant produced when volatile organic compounds react with nitrogen oxides and set a reduction target of 10 percent for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 15 percent for nitrogen oxides.
To counter smog, the East Asian country also built ‘the world’s largest air purifier’, a 100 metre long tower in 2018 in Xian. According to reports, it led to a 15 percent decrease in particulate matter in the city.
However, there is a catch. An Economist article also pointed out how China, while cutting its sulphur emissions to tackle the pollution crisis, unintentionally led to an acceleration of global warming. The report states that scientists believe that East and SouthEast Asia, led by China, are now the main contributors to decrease in sulphate aerosols, which help cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight and enhancing cloud formation.
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CM Siddaramaiah labels Kumaraswamy 'Manuvadi" over Bhagavad Gita curriculum push
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday took a swipe at Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, by calling him a "Manuvadi" after his alliance with the BJP, for seeking the inclusion of Bhagavad Gita in curriculum for students.
The CM's dig came in response to Kumaraswamy's recent letter to Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan, requesting the inclusion of the Bhagavad Gita in the curriculum of students.
"After Kumaraswamy joined hands with the BJP for elections, he has become a Manuvadi," Siddaramaiah told reporters here after paying tributes to B R Ambedkar on his 69th death anniversary here.
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Remembering Ambedkar, Siddaramaiah highlighted his contribution to the Constitution and his relentless fight to provide social justice.
The CM noted said fed up with social and caste system in Hinduism, and unable to reform it, Ambedkar accepted Buddhism.
He said, "Ambedkar, towards the end of his life, quit Hinduism and joined Buddhism. He was born in Hinduism, but cannot die in Hinduism, because he could not reform Hinduism, despite several efforts, so he accepted Buddhism."
