The pollution situation in India is becoming frightening. With this, the average age of every Indian is decreasing by 5.2 years. If pollution continues to increase at the same level, this figure will increase to 9.4 years after the average age decreases. This has been claimed in the Energy Policy Institute report of the University of Chicago.
According to the report, a large proportion of India's 1.4 billion population lives in places where the average level of particulate pollution is much higher than World Health Organization standards.
The report also said that 84 percent of the people have settled in areas where pollution levels are higher than the standards set by India. At the same time, from 1998 to 2018, India's pollution has increased by 42 percent.
The report warns that if pollution levels continue to rise in this manner, the average age of people living in North India can be reduced to eight years. According to the report, a quarter of India's population is experiencing the same level of pollution that no other country is doing.
Age will decrease to 10.3 years in Lucknow
Pollution in Lucknow is 11.2 percent higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. If this level of pollution continues, then due to pollution in Lucknow, the age of 10.3 years will be reduced.
Over 70% drop in nitrogen dioxide in Delhi
During the lockdown, nitrogen dioxide levels in Delhi have fallen by more than 70 percent. This has been claimed in the UN report. However, it has been warned that this decline could be temporary if cities are reopened without a concrete policy on air pollution.
The UN Secretary-General's policy brief on 'Kovid-19 in an urban world' states that urban areas have become the epicenter of the epidemic with 90 percent of all estimated cases of the corona. Countries have put a brake on their economies during the epidemic period, leading to a rapid reduction in pollution and green gas emissions.
In the Indian capital Delhi, nitrogen dioxide levels have come down by more than 70 percent. At the same time, this decrease is more than 40 percent in urban areas of China. 20 percent in Belgium and Germany, while nitrogen dioxide levels have dropped from 19 to 40 percent in different cities of the US.
However, some new studies suggest that poor air quality is also related to corona mortality. Due to an eight percent increase in nitrogen dioxide, corona deaths in the United States and the Netherlands have increased by 21.4 percent.