Why in news?

India is among seven countries that does not share air pollution data in a fully
transparent manner despite it being termed as “the greatest environmental risk to
health” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Highlights of a report
 The report highlighted that outdoor air pollution leads to an estimated 4.2 million
deaths every year worldwide; more than Ebola, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and
malaria combined.
 This information vacuum is preventing people from demanding action from their
governments to tackle the biggest environmental risk to health, and changing
their behaviour.
 The 13 most populous countries (4.2 billion) with populations exceeding 50
million, each, produce real-time air quality data in some format, but not in a fully
open manner on a national-level.
 Over half of the world’s population has no access to official government data on
air quality, despite the fact that nine out of 10 people breathe air containing high
levels of pollutants, according to WHO.

Air pollution in India

 Of the most polluted cities in the world, 21 out of 30 were in India in 2019.
 As per a study, 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.
 Over 50% of pollution is caused by industrial pollution, more than 25% by vehicles,
more than 15% by crop burning and 5% by diwali fireworks.
 Air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of 2 million Indians every year.
 India has a low per capita emissions of greenhouse gases but the country as a
whole is the third largest greenhouse gas producer after China and the United
States.
SAFAR
 The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) is a
national initiative introduced by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to
measure the air quality of a metropolitan city, by measuring the overall pollution
level and the location-specific air quality of the city.
 The ultimate objective of the project is to increase awareness among the general
public regarding the air quality in their city so that appropriate mitigation
measures and systematic action can be taken up.
 SAFAR is an integral part of India’s first Air Quality Early Warning System
operational in Delhi.

Air Quality Index (AQI)

 AQI was launched in 2014 with outline ‘One Number – One Color -One
Description’ for the common man to judge the air quality within his vicinity.
 It has been launched for monitoring the quality of air in major urban centers
across the country on a real-time basis and enhancing public awareness for
taking mitigative action.

The measurement of air quality is based on eight pollutants, namely,

1. Particulate Matter (PM10),

2. Particulate Matter (PM2.5),
3. Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2),
 4. Sulphur Dioxide (SO2),
5. Carbon Monoxide (CO),
6. Ozone (O3),
7. Ammonia (NH3), and
8. Lead (Pb).

AQI has six categories of air quality. These are: Good, Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted,
Poor, Very Poor and Severe.

State of Global Air 2020 (SOGA 2020)

t is produced annually by the Health Effects Institute and the Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease project as a source of objective, peer-reviewed air quality
data and analysis.  The report uses both data from ground monitors and satellite data to make its
assessments.

India recorded the world’s highest annual average concentration of PM 2.5 exposure in its air in
2019

Twothirds of the most polluted cities, or 21 out of 30 are in india

The report said that India had the highest burden of infant deaths due to air pollution followed by
Nigeria (67,900), Pakistan (56,500), Ethiopia (22,900), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (1,200).