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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Mangaluru: Teacher booked for allegedly beating student in school
Vittla (Dakshina Kannada): A case has been registered at the Vittla Police Station against a school teacher on charges of seriously assaulting a student with a cane at an English-medium school in Idkidu village here near Vittla in Dakshina Kannada district.
According to the complaint, the student, who attends the school regularly, had gone to school as usual. Around 2 pm, the child’s parents received a call from the school office stating that their child had allegedly disturbed other students. The school informed them that when the teacher scolded the student over the issue, the child became frightened and urinated, and the parents were asked to come and take the child home.
The parents reportedly told the school staff that no one was at home at the time and requested that the child be sent home in an autorickshaw.
After returning home, the student told the parents that a teacher identified as Istikaar had beaten him severely on the hand with a cane. The child also said that he urinated out of fear while the assault was taking place.
When the parents contacted the teacher over the phone to question him about the incident, he allegedly responded in a dismissive manner.
Following this, the parents lodged complaints with the Vittla Police Station and the Child Development Project Office, seeking justice and strict action against the teacher for allegedly assaulting the child without any valid reason.
Police have registered a case against the teacher and have taken up further investigation.
