Ranchi, 2nd Dec 2022: A health advisory was issued at a press conference organized by the SwitchON Foundation at the Ranchi Press Club earlier today. The health advisory provides numerous ways in which citizens can prevent impact from air pollution, beside preventive measures and practices that should be adopted in everyday life by citizens to better prepare from the onslaught of polluted winter days.
Doctors attending the press conference called upon all stakeholders to understand the magnitude of this problem. It’s killing millions of people, It’s causing disease, disability, and it’s causing huge economic loss to the country.
Jharkhand has seen a robust growth trajectory in the past two decades for achieving larger development goals, however rapid pace of industrialization and urbanization has led to a manifold increase in the levels of ambient air pollution. The primary causes of outdoor air pollution in Jharkhand are solid, liquid particles called aerosols & gasses from vehicle emissions, construction activities, factories, burning stubble & fossil fuels and wildfires. Amidst all the worrying facts of air pollution, the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) has been a formidable attempt to create a national framework for air quality management with a time-bound target to bring down the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 by 20-30% by the year 2024.
Jharkhand is India’s 8th most polluted state, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 61.6 µg/m³. If Jharkhand were to reduce its average PM2.5 pollution to the level prescribed by the WHO guideline as per AQLI, it would end up adding 5.6 years to the life of its average resident.
Attending the Press Conference, Dr. Nirupam Sharan, Senior Consultant and Head Respiratory Medicine, Interventional Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, Paras HEC Hospital Ranchi said, “Air pollution reduces 2.2 years of the global life expectancy for each person, hence its responsibility of each one of us to make efforts to reduce pollution.”
Dr Suprova Chakraborty, Consultant Pulmonologist, Raj Hospital Ranchi – “In India nearly 2 million deaths are attributable to air pollution directly. COPD is the second leading cause of death in India after heart problems at present and asthma cases also reached a significantly high level because of illness in young children and females. Biomass fuel exposure and household pollution being the major cause of huge cases of non-smoking cases of COPD in India”
The event held today coincides with the National Pollution Control Day, which is observed on December 2 every year in memory of those who suffered and lost their lives in the horrific 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy. This year marks the 38th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
It is observed as a reminder to all of the extent of damage environmental degradation like air pollution can have on human life. The chronic exposure to air pollution has large similarity with the fateful incident occurred due to the accidental discharge of the toxic chemical gas methyl isocyanate and other toxic gases from the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal on the night of December 2, 1984.
Dr Swati Behera Sharan, Director – The Happy Lungs, a unit of Ajay Bsharan Health Care PVT. LTD. “Ambient air pollution continues to have a significant impact on maternal respiratory health and childhood asthma, a serious issue which needs to be addressed.”
Dr.O.P Mahansaria, Consultant Pediatrician ,Ranchi PALS center – “Air pollution is the greatest man made catastrophe. It is now challenging the mere existence of all living beings, including us.It affects almost all the organs of our body with wide ranging illnesses from Lung diseases, heart problems, hypertension, cancers, depression, and learning disabilities just to name a few. Alarming thought is that it is now known to change the Epigenetics through its impact on the first 1000 days (from pre conception to first 2 years ) of our crucial lifetime.”
PM2.5 concentration on an average in Ranchi’s air is above the WHO. While the AQI-US level recorded is 114. The current PM2.5 concentration in Ranchi is 2.5 times above the recommended limit given by the WHO. This may be expected to cause respiratory illness to the people on prolonged exposure. Effect may be more pronounced in people with lung and heart diseases. Based on PM2.5 concentration for the past couple of years, the region is expected to witness – high levels of pollution in the coming months.
Vinay Jaju, Founder SwitchON Foundation later concluded the event: “Health professionals are calling the air pollution and health emergency, these advisory coming from Doctors must be taken up seriously. He further added stating – “Vehicular emissions are the largest emitters and the city needs to prioritize Cycles, Walking and Public Transport on an urgent basis.”
Media Dossier
Contact: Vinay Jaju | M: +91 9331178105 | Email: VJ@SwitchON.org.in
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