Article contributed by Dr. Almas Tazein, BPIR.com Limited

Somewhere in the middle of a city suburb, she lay dispassionately, watching the hazy sky from her sanatorium window, inhaling oxygen from a metallic chamber piped next to her. She desperately needed immaculate fresh air. It would be a concurrent treatment for salvaging her progressing lung disease. But the cityscape couldn’t care less to give it to her. It was a luxury that she could not afford.

How many of us cringe before leaving for work every morning? No, not because of an impending meeting with the bosses. But because in a few moments we’ll be meeting the black angel of misery, wrapped in smoke, dust and poisonous gases. And, we surrender to it.

Were we humans created to bear all of this every day? No. We weren’t. Not even for a single day.

And if we’re sitting inside our cars and homes, there is a high probability that after knowing the facts here, we won’t be as comfortable.

• Here, we will uncover how this hovering perennial challenge called air pollution detrimentally influences our health, environment, and ultimately human productivity.
  
• Also, the international gold standards against which we can gauge our pollution status.
  
• THE SOLUTION TRIAD – educate oneself with the best international performers in air pollution crisis management.
  

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the 19^th century
American essayist and lecturer once said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”

In the 21^st century, we call it, benchmarking.

Satellite measurements by Nasa researchers show that the Earth’s surface has been warming globally with 17 of the 18 warmest years on record occurring since 2000.

How Are Air Pollution and Climate Change Linked?

United Nations recalls that ‘cities and pollution contribute to climate change. According to UN Habitat, cities consume 78 per cent of the world’s energy and produce more than 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions’.

Black carbon (soot) is a component of air pollutants, generally comes from vehicle emissions, especially diesel, burning wood for cooking, or coal for home heating.

Because of its dark colour, black carbon is very good at absorbing sunlight, leading to an overall effect of warming the climate. It is estimated that it is second only to carbon dioxide (CO2) in its contribution to global temperature increases (Bond et al, 2013).

Based on a study by Marshall Burke, an economist at Stanford, it is estimated that the gap in per capita income in the richest and poorest countries is 25 percentage points larger than it would have been without climate change. That is because poor countries are disproportionately concentrated around the equator where even a slight increase in temperature can be devastating to crop production, human health and labour productivity.

India, the world’s second most populous country, would have been 30% richer without climate change, the study concluded. (Based on data from 1961-2000). (Marshall Burke and Noah Diffenbaugh.).

As for the countries away from the equator, we have yet other threatening reasons to worry about courtesy of climate change.

Of all air pollution measures, PM2.5 is believed to pose the greatest health threat.

Insights into PM2.5

• PM pollutant group affects the most people globally.
  
• Particulate Matter (PM), is a term used for particles found in the air, including dust, soot, dirt, smoke, and liquid droplets.
  
• 2.5 annotation designates the size 2.5 micrometres (µm) or less.
  
• Often described as fine particles, they are up to 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
  
• PM2.5 is reported as a mass per volume of air – µg/m3.
• PM2.5 is too small to be filtered by our nose and lungs.
  
• Sources: PM derives from a wide range of both anthropogenic and natural sources.
  
• Common direct (primary) sources include combustion of fuels
  (such as petrol, wood, diesel, coal), materials such as rubber and plastic.
  
• Motor vehicle engines, power plant emissions, industrial processes, dust from construction and demolition sites,
  bushfires agriculture, and firecrackers all cumulatively result in ambient or outdoor air pollution.
  
• Sources of household or indoor pollution – burning of solid fuels in open fire cooking stoves. PM2.5 also develops through other pollutants reacting in the atmosphere (secondary).
  
• Black carbon (soot) is a component of PM2.5.
  

A study published in 2019 proves that there is a statistically significant negative relationship between PM2.5 concentration and people’s happiness and productivity levels.

Other Considerations

• Research suggests the most damaging along with PM is carbon monoxide (CO), mainly associated with petrol vehicles. It leads to worsening of heart disease, drowsiness, also linked with learning difficulties.
  
• In some air monitoring stations, pollutants are also measured in terms of visibility reduction.
  
• In large parts of Europe and the U.S., the main air pollutants of concern are nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone, so looking at PM2.5 only does not give a representative picture of air quality and health risks in some regions.
  

Lack of visible smog is no indication that the air is healthy.

As a much-needed reality check, we need to know (more than ever) that the World Health Organisation estimates that 91% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality exceeds WHO guideline limits.

WHO: In 2016, household air pollution from cooking with solid fuels was responsible for 3.8 million deaths, and 7.7% of global mortality

It can easily be argued that air pollution is no more a local issue, but a global public health concern – WHO Interactive global ambient air pollution map.

To see whether the air is safe in your region or country there are a number of websites that display data from air quality monitoring stations such as IQAir’s real-time AirVisual Earth view,

World’s Air Pollution: Real-time Air Quality Index and

Plume Labs Worldwide Air Pollution Maps

Figure 1. United States Air Quality Index

WHO recommends an annual mean exposure threshold of PM2.5 at 10 ?g/m³ to minimize the health risk whilst advising that no level of exposure has been shown to be free of health impact.

(Fig 1, Fig 2, Fig 3, Fig 4 – Images taken from +IQ Air AirVisual 2018 World Air Quality Report – Region & City PM2.5 Ranking)

Figure 2. Global map of estimated PM2.5 exposure by country/region in 2018

This global map provides an overview of the average, estimated PM2.5 exposure by country/region in 2018. The estimation is calculated from available city data as a regional sample and then weighted by population. Countries and regions that remain grey had no or limited PM2.5 data available for 2018.

Let’s see how some of the capital cities in the world rank.

Figure 3. World’s top 10 most polluted capital cities.

(Vertical line indicates World Health Organisation PM2.5 Target at 10 ?g/m³).

Figure 4. World’s top 10 cleanest capital cities

Countries from Asia and the Middle East occupy most of the top of this regional capital city ranking, with Delhi and Dhaka’s values both 50% higher than the 3rd ranking capital, Kabul. Only 9 out of 62 regional capitals included here have an annual mean PM2.5 level within the WHO air quality guideline of 10µg/m³.

PM2.5 Heath Adversities

PM’s relatively microscopic size enables it to both remain suspended in the air for long periods, and be absorbed deep into the bloodstream upon inhalation, causing a wide range of short-and long-term health effects like:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ammonia in Air and Respiratory Concerns

(Source: TIMES NEWS NETWORK, TOI, April 2019).

A study conducted by Mumbai-based researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IIT-B), National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), and the Sustainable Approach for Green Environment
(SAGE) found that it isn’t just particulate matter in the city’s air that is a cause of concern. Concentration of ammonia (NH3) in the air is a cause of some of the respiratory illnesses.

The sources of ammonia were the fertilizer units in certain areas, and solid waste, according to the founder of SAGE. The study found that 45% of population inhabiting in the area around the fertilizer plant was exposed to illnesses. In a particular location, the fertilizer plant was 10km away, yet the concentration was high due to high population density.

Sewage drains and solid waste lead to high levels of ammonia in isolated places. Ammonia disperses faster, and has short-term impacts, according to the director, NEERI.

Climate Change: The Clock is Ticking!

Read an IPCC special report on the impact of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, 2018. Global warming of 1.5% could be reached by 2030 if we stay on the same trajectory with devasting consequences to wildlife & many communities. To prevent irreversible damage from Climate Change we need to ACT NOW!

“I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address those problems. But I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy … and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural transformation … and we scientists don’t know how to do that” – James Gus Speth, American environmental lawyer and advocate.

Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist and now a global hero speaks at the UN Climate Change COP24 Conference and at a follow-up interview speaking far more sense than the various Governments and policy makers that have led us to this mess.

The green warrior, Greta Thunberg, at the European Parliament, 16 April, 2019.

More than 9,000 Londoners are estimated to die prematurely each year from long-term exposure to pollution. Recently, in April 2019, environmental protesters in central London highlighted demands for the British government to declare a climate emergency. The Parliament declared a climate emergency, following in the steps of Scotland and Wales and major British cities.

Air Pollution and Human Intelligence. Could There Be a Connection?

In 2017, Xi Chen, a public health researcher at Yale University conducted a study on over 25,000 people in China. People who had been exposed to air pollution the longest were seeing the steepest drop in their cognitive test scores (maths and language skills), roughly equivalent to a loss of one year of schooling.

The study found that the cognitive impact may be more pronounced in cities where dense traffic, narrow streets and high-rise buildings often trap pollutants at street level. For instance, in London, 95 per cent of the population live in areas that exceed the WHO guidelines for PM2.5.
The mayor of London made air pollution a priority, carrying out audits on air quality around primary schools, introducing Ultra Low Emission Zones, and re-fitting diesel buses.

Fecht, a medical researcher at Imperial College London explains that polluted air leads to oxygen deficiency, impacting brain functions.

Researchers from Imperial College London and King’s College London
found a probable association between air pollution and dementia. That study published in September 2018, followed 131,000 patients over an average of seven years.

Severe Air Pollution Affects the Productivity of Workers

Economists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) completed an extensive study, published in January 2019, and it reveals that exposure to air pollution over several weeks is not just unhealthy, it can also reduce employee productivity. An increase in PM2.5, by 10 micrograms per cubic metre sustained over 25 days, reduces daily output by 1 per cent, harming firms and workers.

Polluted Air May Pollute Our Morality

Exposure to air pollution, even imagining exposure to air pollution, may lead to unethical behavior, crime and cheating, according to new findings.

THE SOLUTION TRIAD – Governments, Communities, and Individuals

For the highly toxic PM, most governments have created regulations – both for their emissions and for the ambient concentration of particles. Technology is being used for reducing air pollution in smart and sustainable future cities.

Top leadership level:

1. Governments, international bodies and industrial regulatory authorities need to converge holistically.
   
2. Public and private forces need to construct collaborative policies (according to the who, health benefits far outweigh the costs of meeting climate change goals).
   
3. A centrally monitored network of clean air zones for near or beyond dangerous limits,
   
4. Rigorous enforcement, and regulatory compliance audits will help both – the policy makers and breakers.
   
5. Urban and agricultural waste management systems need to be within safety borders.
   
6. Think tanks need to execute urban planning policies at a benchmarking level.
   
7. Motivating citizens to be pro-active towards a truly civil society by encouraging connected and clean mobility solutions:
   

• Prioritizing shared and public modes of travel as the preferred mode.
  
• Marketing of electric cars at a large scale with easy payment options and credit points, a relaxed tax system, ban on highly polluting vehicles,
  

1. Replacing wood fired cooking with low-emissions sources such as solar cookers, petroleum-based stoves or other modern technology would would save millions of lives.
   (Courtesy of Guardian News & Media Ltd).
   
2. Air quality forecasts and actionable health recommendations that allow individuals and organizations to reduce their exposure to air pollutants will help.
   
3. Some European countries promote cycling for everyone as daily transport mode (PRESTO), reducing air pollution and encouraging healthy lifestyle.
   

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is calling on all leaders to New York on 23 September 2019 with concrete, realistic plans to enhance their nationally determined contributions by 2020, in line with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent over the next decade, and to net zero emissions by 2050.

Community level
best practices include resilient measures that can bring solidarity, like:

1. installation of plants for composting of waste,
   
2. deploying an air quality monitor in the neighbourhood to accelerate access to real-time information and align it with national air and fuel quality standards,
   
3. public education campaigns and health awareness initiatives
   

At an individual level, we are the beneficent and beneficiary, both.

Climate action is not a one model solution, but do commit to altering your personal choices that can have a significant impact:

1. Checking daily air pollution levels
   
2. Indoor air purifiers, outdoor masks and scarves.
   
3. Not driving during rush hour
   
4. Choosing clean modes of transport (walking to work, cycling, driving an electric vehicle
   
5. Use public transport, where available
   
6. If you have a young child with you, try and lift them up above the level of vehicle exhausts
   
7. Limit car use on highly polluted days.
   
8. Not burning waste
   
9. Use of clean energy to cook
   
10. Supporting local air quality initiatives
    

There is hope if governments commit to strategic planning to deal with the air pollution exigency and utilize technology for its intended use – to make our lives healthier.

Political commitment and cross-sector partnerships are the unequivocal key factors to reduce pollution.

Let’s start with NEW ZEALAND, nurturing the cleanest capital city, Wellington, in the world (2018).

 

CHINA

 

Of the 10 most polluted cities in the world in 2018, India had 7 cities represented. Delhi is the most polluted capital city in the world. Some of the changes being implemented include:

 

FRANCE

France is addressing pollution in a multitude of ways.

 

SOUTH KOREA

South Korea is battling pollution through the following approaches: