- By Wayne Rodrigo
- (General Dispatch) – The release of carbon dioxide in India has affected the health of its inhabitants. Last year, Greenpeace Southeast Asia reported that around 54,000 people have died from air pollution, resulting in one death for every 500 inhabitants.
- The main health consequences are cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and cancers. Exposure to PM2.5 fine particulate matter causes deaths, costing the country about 8.1 billion dollars, which is approximately 13% of the city’s annual GDP.
- New Delhi is one of the most populated and polluted cities in the world. It has about 30 million inhabitants, and its pollution level remains six times higher than the World Health Organization’s proposed standard of 10 g/m3 annual average.
- Greenpeace Southeast Asia stated “An estimated 25,000 preventable deaths in Mumbai in 2020 have been attributed to air pollution. Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Lucknow estimated an approximate 12,000, 11,000, 11,000 and 6,700 preventable death, respectively, due to polluted air.”
- The data show that the 5 most populated cities in the world had a mortality rate of 160 thousand people, causing premature deaths: Tokyo (37 million), New Delhi (30 million), Shanghai (26 million), São Paulo (22 million) and Mexico City (22 million).
- On the other hand, in India they apply a method called “stubble burning” to clean the crop fields by eliminating the residues left as a result of the harvest. Due to the increase of this activity, the smoke moves to the north of Indian cities contributing to pollution.
- Pollution rates in the country are among the highest in the world, and the situation seems to continue to advance without the government being able to reverse the situation.
- Global organizations continue to advance campaigns to promote the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions that further aggravate the planet’s climate condition.
Adittional Information:
Breitbart: Report: Air Pollution Killed 50,000+ People in New Delhi, India, in 2020
Business Standard: 24,000 pollution-related deaths in Delhi in first half of 2020: Report
