One lakh excess premature deaths linked to air pollution in 8 Indian cities: Study
New Delhi (PTI): Exposure to air pollution has been linked to 100,000 excess premature deaths in the Indian cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Surat, Pune and Ahmedabad between 2005 and 2018, according to a study.
The international team of scientists aimed to address data gaps in air quality for 46 cities in Africa, Asia and the Middle East using space-based observations from instruments onboard NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) satellites for 2005 to 2018.
The study, published last week in the journal Science Advances, shows rapid degradation in air quality and increases in urban exposure to air pollutants which are hazardous to health.
The researchers found significant annual increases in pollutants directly hazardous to health of up to 14 per cent for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and up to 8 per cent for fine particles (PM2.5).
They also found increase in the level of up to 12 per cent for ammonia and up to 11 per cent for reactive volatile organic compounds.
The team, including researchers from the Harvard University in the US, attributed this rapid degradation in air quality to emerging industries and residential sources like road traffic, waste burning, and widespread use of charcoal and fuelwood.
"Open burning of biomass for land clearance and agricultural waste disposal has in the past overwhelmingly dominated air pollution in the tropics," said study lead author Karn Vohra from University College London (UCL) in the UK.
"Our analysis suggests we are entering a new era of air pollution in these cities, with some experiencing rates of degradation in a year that other cities experience in a decade," said Vohra, who completed the study as a Ph.D. student at the University of Birmingham, UK.
The researchers also found 1.5 to four-fold increases in urban population exposure to air pollution in 40 of the 46 cities for NO2 and 33 of the 46 cities for PM2.5, caused by a combination of population growth and rapid deterioration in air quality.
The study found that the increase in the number of people dying prematurely from exposure to air pollution was highest in cities in South Asia.
Dhaka, Bangladesh, saw a total of 24,000 excess premature deaths, while the Indian cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Surat, Pune and Ahmedabad had 100,000 excess deaths.
The researchers noted that India has an extensive network of monitors operated and maintained by local and national authorities as well as research institutions.
However, the use of these for informing policies is hindered by data quality issues for the national network and restricted access to data collected by research institutions and state governments, they said.
The number of deaths in tropical cities in Africa are currently lower due to recent improvements in healthcare across the continent resulting in a decline in overall premature mortality, the researchers said.
However, the worst effects of air pollution on health will likely occur in the coming decades, they said.
"We continue to shift air pollution from one region to the next, rather than learning from errors of the past and ensuring rapid industrialisation and economic development don't harm public health," said study co-author Eloise Marais from UCL.
"We hope our results will incentivise preventative action in the tropics," Marais added.
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Kangana Ranaut shown black flags in Himachal's Lahaul and Spiti, BJP files complaint with CEO
Shimla, May 20: Actor Kangana Ranaut, BJP candidate from the Mandi parliamentary constituency, was shown black flags by local people and Congress workers at Kaza in Lahaul and Spiti on Monday.
The Himachal Pradesh BJP filed a complaint with the state chief electoral officer (CEO) demanding transfer of election officials and an investigation into the incident as both the BJP and the Congress were given permission to hold rallies adjacent to each other.
The Congress workers raised anti-Kangana slogans - "Kangana, go back, Kangana Vangana nahi chalegi". They were apparently enraged over her remarks on Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in April last year.
Ranaut had tweeted a meme featuring the Dalai Lama that said, "The Dalai Lama receives a warm welcome at the White house". The photoshopped picture in the tweet showed the Dalai Lama sticking his tongue out with US President Joe Biden with a comment - Both of them have the same illness, definitely they could be friends.
Following this, a group of Buddhists staged a dharna outside her office in Mumbai.
Later she apologised saying she didn't mean to hurt anyone, and it was a harmless joke about Biden being friends with the Dalai Lama.
Leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jai Ram Thakur, who had accompanied Ranaut to Kaza to campaign for the BJP, on Monday alleged that the Congress workers tried to disturb the meeting of the BJP and pelted stones on their carcade while they were returning.
Talking to reporters, he said, "It is unfortunate that for the first time, permission was given to hold a parallel rally at the venue to the Congress where prior permission was already granted to the BJP to hold the rally.
Efforts were made to disturb our rally and the Congress workers raised shameful slogans, stopped our carcade and pelted stones, injuring one person."
Thakur added that they go for campaigning all over the state but such things have happened for the first time, which shows "frustration" of the Congress and they would take up the issue with the Election Commission.
Later, in a complaint filed with the Himachal Pradesh CEO, BJP state office secretary Parmod Kumar Thakur said the Congress workers allegedly tried to illegally restrain the political procession and even pelted stones and demanded an investigation into the incident.
"The district administration granted permission for organising a political meeting to the Congress adjacent to the place already scheduled to hold a political meeting of the BJP at Kaza under undue influence of the state government in utter violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)", he said.
In the complaint, the BJP demanded the immediate transfer of election officials from Lahaul and Spiti and said giving permission to both the parties at the same location at the same time was a "big lapse" on the part of the Election Commission "in spite of the fact that permission to the BJP was provided first and the officers involved in this act are biased against the BJP, and free and fair elections are doubtful under the circumstances."
Lahaul and Spiti SP Mayank Chowdhary told PTI that workers of both the BJP and the ruling Congress came face to face but there was no clash and no person was injured. However, one worker sprained his leg, he added.
Bhishan Shashni, Congress election coordinator for Lahaul and Spiti claimed that the Congress workers were peacefully protesting but a large number of people, who were hurt by Ranaut's remarks about the Tibetan spiritual leader, joined the protest.
Earlier, Congress candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat Vikramaditya Singh had asked why Ranaut did not visit Spiti and returned from Reckong Peo alleging that she was afraid she would be shown black flags for her remarks against the Dalai Lama.
