LUCKNOW: The hazardous air pollution due to high PM2.5 levels in Lucknow caused as many as 18 deaths per day in 2020, claims a joint study by a global environmental group and a Swiss air quality technology company.
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In India, the study was conducted in six metropolitan cities by Greenpeace, which after the analyses of life cost estimator and live air quality (PM2.5) data collected by IQAir, claimed that 1,19,700 deaths (13 every hour) could have been avoided in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Lucknow if the pollution level was below the prescribed World Health Organization (WHO) limits of 10 μg/m3 annual mean.
According to Greenpeace, Lucknow suffered an estimated economic loss of Rs 8,001 crore ($1.1 billion) and 6,700 deaths in 2020 due to air pollution.
Greenpeace India climate campaigner Avinash Chanchal told TOI, “The cost estimator uses real-time ground-level PM2.5 measurements collated in IQAir’s database, which includes both government and private monitoring units. The algorithm applies scientific risk models in combination with population and public health data to estimate the health and economic costs of air pollution exposure. Mortality and cost estimates represent the total impact attributable to PM2.5.”
“Air pollutant levels in Lucknow remained higher than prescribed WHO limits of 10 μg/m3 annual mean. For instance, from March 24 to April 24 — peak of Covid-19 lockdown — average PM2.5 level in Lucknow was 50 which was 55.56% less than in 2019, but still exceeded WHO standard. The damage in other cities is equally worrying, with 25,000 avoidable deaths in Mumbai, 12,000 in Bengaluru and 11,000 each in Chennai and Hyderabad attributed to air pollution,” said Chanchal.
“Despite recording relatively better air quality this year due to lockdown, air pollution continues to be a serious public health issue and also drastically impacts our economy. It is crucial for the government to ensure investments are made for green and sustainable solutions. When we choose fossil fuel over clean energy, we put our health at stake. Polluted air increases likelihood of deaths due to cancer and stroke, spike in asthma attacks and worsens Covid-19 severity,” he added.
Globally, around 1,63,000 deaths have been attributed to PM2.5 air pollution in the five most populous cities, including Tokyo (40,000), New Delhi (54,000), Shanghai (39,000), Mexico City (15,000) and Sao Paulo (15,000), said the report released on Thursday.
CEO of IQAir, Frank Hammesm said, “Breathing should not be deadly. The fact that poor air quality claimed an estimated 1,63,000 lives in five cities alone should give us pause, especially in a year when there was less air pollution due to less activity. Governments, corporations and individuals must do more to eliminate the sources of air pollution and make our cities better places to live.”