https://www.heraldgoa.in/goa/gasping-in-goa-2/459401/
Already hammered towards silence and submission by their criminal government gone rogue, the people of Goa are lurching into another annus horribilis literally gasping for breath. An immense pall of construction debris and automobile emissions hangs over the landscape of India’s smallest state, choking vegetation and clogging lungs. All through the last week, air quality has been dire, with AQI (air quality index) readings stuck above “unhealthy”. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is damaging to breathe in more than 5 micrograms of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter that can pass through the lungs into your blood) per cubic metre, but we have readings of twenty times higher in Panjim. It is an existential emergency – the very air we breathe is dangerous – but it is only going to get worse, because neither state or civil society is doing anything to mitigate the crisis. Indeed, as we have seen demonstrated at every turn, this particular administration has very different priorities. It only wants more cars, more traffic, increased numbers of visitors, and as much rampant real estate construction as possible at the cost of every scrap of remaining green cover. This is the so-called “development model” being pursued here, despite everyone knowing where it leads – by 2019, an astonishing 21 of the world’s most polluted cities were already in India. There are also some signs of growing anger. When the Delhi chief minister made an appearance with the football star Lionel Messi, the crowd shouted “AQI, AQI.” And when the air quality in the national capital became particularly abysmal in November – it was more than 30 times worse than WHO recommends – hundreds of protestors took to the streets at India Gate, before being forcibly dispersed (with a number of them temporarily detained). *Bloomberg* carried an ominous report by Lou Del Bello earlier this week, saying “Uttarakhand’s capital Dehradun has been reporting an air quality index between 150 and 200 for months now. The city of Rishikesh, a spiritual destination along the Ganges’ banks, and widely considered a pristine natural retreat, has recorded unhealthy air for several days this season. Many cities in West Bengal have consistently recorded levels of “very unhealthy” to “hazardous” air quality this winter, according to the Swiss monitor IQAir, rivalling the “world’s most polluted capital” Delhi.” Del Bello writes “Delhi’s chronic air pollution crisis is by now well studied. Doctors report a spike in respiratory ailments year after year, and the cocktail of toxic sources is meticulously tracked: road transport, construction, poorly regulated industrial and agricultural emissions. Many now agree that the issue is one of governance, with lobbies pushing back against curbs. [However, the] capital’s story doesn’t seem to have been the cautionary tale many were hoping for. Instead, more cities are expanding and industrializing with similar disregard for air quality, quickly leading to an unprecedented nationwide pollution crisis.” Unlike so much else that state and society likes to avoid talking about, air quality is something that everyone experiences every day. So, we all know the situation is terrible, which makes it even more upsetting and unfortunate that the relevant Indian data is appallingly unreliable. In fact, at the ongoing winter session of Parliament in New Delhi, the Union Health Ministry even claimed there is no data directly linking air pollution to deaths and diseases, and – to considerable ridicule – the Environment Ministry said that global AQI monitors were no longer relevant in India, and this country is developing its own standards of measurement. A recent editorial in *The Telegraph* laid out the situation in stark terms: “The recent satellite-based assessment by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air debunks several myths about India’s air pollution crisis. First, the scale of exposure to this malaise far exceeds what many assume. According to the report, about 60% of India’s 749 districts — roughly 447 districts — breach the national annual PM2.5 standard of 40 micrograms per cubic metre that has been prescribed by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Second, not a single district meets the far stricter guidelines issued by the World Health Organization, which recommends 5 µg/m, which is about 8 times more stringent than India’s standards. Third, air pollution, the data suggest, is not a seasonal phenomenon: it is an annual threat.” The conclusion: “The perennial nature of poor air in the country has grave consequences for public health. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 is associated with a range of serious diseases, including stroke, lung and heart ailments. According to a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health, long-term exposure to air pollution heightened mortality by 1.5 million deaths per year in India. Despite such alarming findings, public attention and policy urgency remain disproportionately focused on metropolitan India, chiefly New Delhi. Consequently, media coverage, public advisories and regulatory crackdowns often surge with the surge in Delhi’s AQI numbers. What is needed though, as has been made evident by the data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, is year-round vigilance that is representative of cities and districts. Along with cities, Indian districts should have robust air-quality monitoring, local emission-control plans, cleaner public transport, stricter regulation of industrial and agricultural emissions, dust and waste management, and promotion of cleaner energy sources. Decentralised, localised action is an imperative when it comes to tackling the scourge of pollution.” Note: my Sunday Op/Ed this week is accompanied by a superb painting by Praveen Naik
