Today is World Environment Day and the theme for this year is “Air pollution”, a pressing environmental issue today.

Nine out of 10 people now breathe polluted air, which kills 7 million people every year, according to the WHO. And it’s just not outdoor air pollution; household (indoor) air pollution also causes 4 million deaths annually. Air pollution has rightly been listed as one amongst the top 10 health concerns of 2019 by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Latest data show that India has seven of the world’s worst 10 polluted cities and 22 of the worst 30 polluted cities. The World Bank estimates that air pollution costs India the equivalent of 8.5% of GDP. This is indeed worrying (World Economic Forum, March 5, 2019).

Particulate matter (PM 2.5/10), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are pollutants with the strongest evidence for public health concern. It not only contributes to chronic illnesses but also acute cardiovascular and respiratory events such as stroke, heart attack, acute asthma attack and acute exacerbation of COPD. Evidence of the harmful effects of air pollution on public health is only accumulating further and it should now be labelled as a “potentially modifiable” risk factor.

The WHO says, “The health effects of air pollution are serious – one third of deaths from stroke, lung cancer and heart disease are due to air pollution. This is having an equivalent effect to that of smoking tobacco, and much higher than, say, the effects of eating too much salt.”

Such high levels of pollution are not only harmful to people with existing disease, but also for healthy individuals.

Therefore, controlling the dangerously high levels of air pollution is an urgent global concern now.

Most of existing pollution is man-made; hence, it is not just upon the government to prevent and control air pollution. It is also our responsibility as citizens to make individual efforts to control pollution. These steps may seem small but they will have a collective impact.

There are several steps each one of us can take towards this end. Here are a few:

• I will opt for public transportation as much as possible.
• I will regularly get my vehicle/s checked for pollution standards and serviced.
• I will walk or cycle for short distance commutes.
• I will check air purifiers at my home and workplace for choked filters and replace them if necessary.
• I will not burn leaves/garbage/ paper waste.
• I will not burn incense sticks/dhoopbatti at my home or workplace.
• I will not burn flame producing candles.
• I will not use kerosene oil for any purpose.
• I will avoid using polythene bags, or plastic.
• I will use recycled products, as much as possible.
• I will not use wood and coal for any purpose, be it cooking or heating.
• If any unfortunate death occurs in my family, I will bravely opt for electric cremation.
• I will not smoke cigarettes/beedis nor allow anyone else to.
• I will resort to wet mopping the floors in my house and workplace.
• Wherever possible, I will practice carpooling.
• I will make sure that the ACs at my home/vehicle/workplace are checked and serviced as scheduled.
• I will not allow construction material to linger on roads after the work is finished.
• I will insist that the roads in my vicinity are cleaned only mechanically between 12 pm to 5 am.
• I will talk to my RWA to plant more trees and make sure that pavements have no exposed soil.
• I will sell my diesel car and buy a CNG one.
• I will support heavy taxes on crackers and tobacco.
• I will educate people about air pollution.
• I will raise my voice against air pollution.

Every little step taken at the individual level will only work towards the goodwill of the society as a whole.

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee

President Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania   (CMAAO)

Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications

President Heart Care Foundation of India

Past National President IMA