World Air Quality Report 2021 – UPSC GS3

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World Air Quality Report 2021:
  • Report presented an overview of the state of global air quality in 2021.
  • Report prepared by IQAir, a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5.
Need of World Air Quality Report:
  • Air pollution is now considered to be the world’s largest environmental health threat, accounting for seven million deaths around the world every year.
  • Air pollution causes and aggravates many diseases, ranging from asthma to cancer, lung illnesses and heart disease.
  • The estimated daily economic cost of air pollution has been figured at USD 8 billion, or 3 to 4% of the Gross World Product (GWP)
  • Air pollution affects those that are most vulnerable.
  • It is estimated that in 2021, the deaths of 40,000 children under the age of five were directly linked to PM2.5 air pollution.
Report findings on India:
  • India’s annual average PM2.5 levels reached 58.1 µg/m³ in 2021, ending a three-year trend of improving air quality. India’s annual PM2.5 averages have now returned to pre-quarantine concentrations measured in 2019.
  • India was home to 11 of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021.
  • In 2021, Mumbai had recorded Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 annual average of 46.4 microgram/cubic metre – nearly nine times above the World Health Organisation (WHO) limit.
Initiatives taken by India for Controlling Air Pollution:
  • System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) Portal
  • Air Quality Index: AQI has been developed for eight pollutants viz. PM2.5, PM10, Ammonia, Lead, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, ozone, and carbon monoxide.
  • Graded Response Action Plan
  • For Reducing Vehicular Pollution:
    • BS-VI Vehicles,
    • Push for Electric Vehicles (EVs),
    • Odd-Even Policy as an emergency measure
  • New Commission for Air Quality Management
  • Subsidy to farmers for buying Turbo Happy Seeder (THS) Machine
Way Forward:
  • Adhering to WHO’s 4 Pillar Strategy: WHO adopted a resolution (2015) to address the adverse health effects of air pollution. There is a need to adhere to a roadmap highlighted under this.
  • This 4-pillar strategy calls for an enhanced global response to the adverse health effects of air pollution. Those four pillars are:
    • Expanding the knowledge base
    • Monitoring and reporting
    • Global leadership and coordination
    • Institutional capacity strengthening
  • Addressing Injustice: There are huge injustices at the heart of the air pollution problem as the Poorer people are also most exposed to air pollution.
  • Thereby, the need to enforce Polluter Pay principle and an environment tax must be levied from industries of polluting in nature.
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