Air Pollution and Why Punekars Need to be Worried!
We all have heard our parents and grandparents speak about how they miss seeing the clear Pune sky of their childhood. Or how the air felt so fresh and pure but not anymore. Air pollution has emerged as one of the biggest silent killers. Almost every day there’s news about air quality being hazardous in Delhi, so much so that schools had to be shut down. Since we cannot always see or feel air pollution, deteriorating air quality has irreversibly affected our health and quality of life. According to World Air Quality Report 2020, India is home to 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities in the world. And air pollution has been attributed to nearly a 1.7million premature deaths in India in 2019 or 18% of all deaths. Air Quality Index measures the quality of air based on the presence of pollutants such as PM 2.5, PM 10, CO, Ozone, and NO2.
Why Punekars Need to be Worried?
Pune is one of those cities that doesn’t meet the national standard for air quality. The air we are breathing is unhealthy – impacting us not only physically, but also economically and socially. There has been staggering growth in PM2.5 and PM10 emissions from 2012-2020. And the main cause of this- vehicular emissions, in addition to road dust and waste burning.
What Can We Do?
Unless citizens and the authorities work together to find a solution to this deadly problem, we shall continue losing precious lives. So, what can an average person do?
● Use of public transport and other sustainable modes such as walking, cycling, etc
● Practising the concept of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
● Avoid garbage burning
● Building more electric crematoriums
● Incentivising employees for using bus shuttle services for office commute
● Sustained and vocal demand for authorities to create and implement relevant policies
● Creating awareness about our responsibilities among our peers, neighbours, etc.
Change doesn’t happen in a day. It requires persistent and consistent efforts. If we pledge to bring about a positive change to improve air quality, the time to act is NOW.
Pune’s very own JM Road is going to have a Lungs Billboard, a great way to communicate that air pollution exists and how it could affect our body. Please visit the billboard with your children from 27th December 2021 to 12th January 2022.
If coming in groups, please contact Shweta @ 9960732645 so someone can engage with you at the Billboard site.
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