A Short Survey of Air Pollution in India

Pollution is deadlier than war, disaster and hunger. India has the third heaviest ecological footprint in the world and its resource use is double its biocapacity. The total ecological footprint of India is heavy because of its population of over 1 billion people, which is a seventh part of the global population.

In spite of this, as compared to other countries, India has a lighter ecological footprint. The average Indian has an ecological footprint nine times lighter than the U.S. citizen, and three times lighter than the global footprint.

The average Indian has, thus, an ecological credit, because it contributes very little to threaten global sustainability.

This being said, India still suffers from excessive pollution. Of the most polluted cities in the world, 21 out of 30 were in India in 2019. As per a study based on 2016 data, at least 140 million people in India breathe air that is 10 times or more over the WHO safe limit.

13 of the world’s 20 cities with the highest annual levels of air pollution are in India.

To combat increasing air pollution-

● Cleaner fuels should be promoted to the extent that they become a norm

● Strict limits should be set for industrial pollution

● Conventional sources of energy should be judiciously used

● Use of public transport should be encouraged