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Cse In News

COVID-19 added over $290 billion to the global cost of TB deaths: study

South Asia incurred the highest losses due to TB deaths in 2020 Disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic added $290.3 billion (Rs 21.4 lakh crore) to the global cost of tuberculosis (TB) deaths, found a new study. The economic loss due to these deaths was $17·5 trillion in 2020, with south Asia incurring the highest share ($7.1 trillion), according to the report published in the Lancet journal. Most of the overall cost of TB is borne by south Asia and east Asia and Pacific regions, the researchers claimed. The researchers calculated the full-income losses and mean life expectancy losses per person, at birth and at age 35 years, from 2020 to 2050 in 120 countries. The United Nations has set a target of 90 per cent reduction in TB deaths from 2015 levels by 2030. As many as 23.8 million tuberculosis deaths and $13·1 trillion in economic losses can be avoided if this Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is met, found the study. As many as 18·1 million tuberculosis deaths and $10.2 trillion economic losses can be avoided if the SDG is achieved by 2045, the report showed. Mean life expectancy losses per person, both at birth and at age 35 are the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the study. In 2018, the 1.4 million deaths due to all forms of tuberculosis in 120 countries resulted in $580.1 billion in full-income losses. The highest losses ($200.8 billion) were concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2019, about 10 million people developed TB and 1.4 million died, according to the World Health Organization’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2020. Inaction will result in an annual cost of $3 trillion and 5.7 million tuberculosis deaths, the study found. The cost of inaction is the highest in South Asia, including or excluding people living with HIV. The cost of inaction for people living with HIV ($427 billion) is the highest in sub-Saharan Africa and nearly six times that of the next highest region, East Asia and Pacific ($74.2 billion). The analysis was done keeping in mind three scenarios: First, a steady 2 per cent annual decrease in deaths, referred to as the business-as-usual scenario, if the SDG is met by 2030 and by 2045, continuing in the same trajectory till 2050. In the business-as-usual scenario, if tuberculosis deaths continue to decline at 2 per cent annually until 2050, 31.8 million deaths can occur from 2020–2050, the researchers estimated. This is the first study to estimate full-income losses due to tuberculosis mortality in 120 countries and to extend these estimates to assess the economic consequences of not meeting the SDG tuberculosis mortality target by 2030, the researchers claimed.

Panellists: Forge a bond with rivers, curb overexploitation of groundwater

Lucknow: If we want to save and rejuvenate rivers, it is important that we develop a sense of ownership of rivers and stop overexploitation of groundwater. We will have to come out of the notion of ‘jal aseemit hai’ (water is unlimited) if we want potable water in future. These views were expressed by scientists, hydrologists and stakeholders at the ‘Make UP A Water Positive State’ initiative. Experts said that conservation of wetlands and real-time monitoring of water supply in the state is the need of the hour. “It’s important to build a sense of ownership and pride for rivers among the people. Namami Gange campaign is based on four pillars – ‘nirmal Ganga’ (unpolluted Ganga) wherein the focus is on solid waste management and rural sanitization, ‘aviral Ganga’ where work is carried out on ecology and flow, ‘jan Ganga’ under which people’s connection is established with the river, and ‘gyan Ganga’ which works towards research, policy and knowledge management,” said executive director (projects), National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Ashok Kumar Singh. “Under Namami Gange, we have achieved success in rejuvenating the river by working on these four pillars. The common perception that we have unlimited availability of water needs to be changed. People must understand that we have limited water resources and that too are polluted,” said director, UP State Groundwater Board, VK Upadhyay. He said every three years, the UP groundwater department conducts an assessment of groundwater in 10 cities which have a population of more than 10 lakh. The assessment of Aligarh, Moradabad, Bareilly, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Ghaziabad, Agra, Meerut, Lucknow and Kanpur revealed that groundwater situation in these cities is alarming. Director, Rivers, Wetlands & Water Policy, WWF India, Suresh Babu, emphasized on the importance of wetland conservation. “We have roped in Wetland Mitras, student volunteers who have done a wonderful job by conducting surveys and making a checklist. Water budgeting (measuring the quantity of water entering and leaving a system) and minimizing the loss of wetlands can make us water sufficient,” he said. Programme officer, Centre for Science & Environment (CSE), Dhruv Pasricha said urbanization was inevitable and urban built-up area had increased drastically in UP leading to an increase in water demand across sectors. “This has resulted in stretches of rivers with non-existent flow, overexploited aquifers, urban lakes and ponds which are being encroached upon. This has left an alarming impact on both quantity and quality of water. There is a need to protect local water bodies for supplementary resources, and stormwater management in public places should be promoted,” he added. Team leader, WASH, Tata Trust, Pankaj Papnoi said monitoring of water consumption could help in improving the water management system. “Real time monitoring can be effectively done by using advanced technologies like the Internet of Things (IOTs),” he added.

Delhi’s air most polluted from November 1 to 15: 5-year study

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air is most polluted from November 1 to 15, according to an analysis of the PM 2.5 levels of the past five years by the capital’s environment department. Track the pollution level in your city The average PM 2.5 value is 285 micrograms per cubic metre during this period. Officials said this is the only period that has been put in the ‘severe’ range (when the PM 2.5 concentration is more than 250 micrograms per cubic metre). “The period witnesses severe pollution mainly due to a rise in stubble burning and Diwali celebrations,” according to an official of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). Dec 16 to 31 is second most polluted fortnight in winter The second most polluted fortnight of this season is December 16 to 31 with an average PM 2.5 level of 218 micrograms per cubic metre, according to this report. “Meteorological conditions are one of the most important factors through the entire winter season but the average PM2.5 crosses the 200-mark in the second half of December because of farm fires, festivals and marriage season,” said the official. Delhi’s air quality remains in the ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ categories during the beginning (October 1-15) and end (February 16-28) of the winter season. However, it remains in the ‘very poor’ category in the other fortnights. The air quality is considered ‘moderate’ to ‘very poor’ when PM 2.5 is between 61 and 120 micrograms per cubic metre. It is considered to be ‘very poor’ when the PM 2.5 level is between 121 and 250 micrograms per cubic metres. “Based on this analysis, all the agencies will intensify their actions to control pollution. We have come up with the Delhi Winter Action Plan, listing 10 points to tackle this,” said a senior official of the environment department. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment, said, “Smog episodes intensify in two distinct phases during winter — early November and end December— January. Low temperature, inversion, calm wind and atmospheric changes trap air and pollution. The pollution concentration starts to build up from mid-October. Farm fires, Diwali firecrackers and an increase in traffic intensity around festivals contribute to the November smog. In subsequent phases, more intense winter conditions create opportunities for more severe smog episodes.” She said the winter conditions cannot change but the authorities can bring down the pollution levels. “If the authorities take round-the-year action with a systemic approach, develop infrastructure and implement strategies, overall pollution can be reduced and the levels sustained. However, during extreme pollution episodes, immediate emergency measures are needed to ensure that pollution levels do not worsen,” she said.

Punjab, Haryana farmers have begun burning crop stubble, show NASA satellite images

Stubble burning is a major contributor to air pollution in northern India, many cities in which are ranked among the world’s most polluted Air pollution concerns have resurfaced in northern India, which typically is smothered by a blanket of smog that throws life out of gear in the winter, as farmers resume burning crop residue after harvesting the crop in Punjab and Haryana. Satellite images from the US space agency Nasa show that farmers have already begun burning crop stubble in parts of the two northern states that’s blamed for the winter-time phenomenon that holds up flights and trains and reduces road traffic to a crawl. Data from the agency's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), a key instrument on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite, shows a gradual jump in detection of fires in farmlands in recent weeks. “Most of the fires are in and around Amritsar in Punjab as of now. This year due to consistent cloud/rain the overall fire season is delayed,” Pawan Gupta, senior scientist, Earth Sciences at the USRA Science and Technology Institute (STI) told Moneycontrol by email. STI/USRA works closely with the Nasa Marshall Space Flight Center and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, USA. From 1 September 1 to October 3, Punjab recorded about 268 fire events and Haryana about 47. As many as 65 fires were spotted in Punjab on 29 September while 12 fire incidents were recorded in Haryana on the same day. This is the highest number for a day in September in both states. “The consistent cloud cover also limits satellite capabilities to detect small fires and thus, we may not be detecting all the fires in the region,” Gupta said. The numbers may appear small, but experts said satellite-derived fire event data over the last few years indicates a recurring pattern of early burning of crop residue. In September 2020, for example, Punjab reported 1,370 fires and Haryana 245, according to Nasa. “The fires we spotted in the last few days follow the trend observed in corresponding periods over the last five years,” said LS Kurinji, programme associate at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a New Delhi-based policy research institute. Smothering Delhi-NCR In October-November every year, farmers in Punjab and Haryana, together the breadbasket of India, clear thee stubble from their fields by burning the stubble because it is the cheapest method for them to make the soil fit for replanting. It is a major contributor to air pollution in northern India, many cities in which are ranked among the world’s most polluted. On an average peak day, the number of fires touches 4,000. “We cannot compare this year’s numbers with last year when COVID-19 had led to labour scarcity,” she said. In November last year, the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution rose by 42 percent in a day, the maximum so far that season. In 2019, stubble burning accounted for at least 44 percent of air pollution in The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) said fires in Punjab rose to 76,590 in 2020 from 52,991 a year ago. It said that in Haryana fires reduced by 25 percent to 5,000 from 6,652 over the same period. On 4 October, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal released a 10-point winter action plan said that he said will help combat air pollution in Delhi. He said Delhi's air quality will start deteriorating in a few days because of stubble burning for which his government has prepared a decomposer with the help of Pusa Institute of Technology which, once sprayed on crop residue, will eliminate the need to burn it. Funds galore, plans afoot The stubble burning in northern India has long been a major cause of air pollution in the region. The Union government has spent over Rs 2,245 crore to address this issue in the last four years. In 2020, stubble burning in Punjab increased by 44.5 percent despite getting 46 percent of the total funds from the central government for checking crop farm fires, the Centre told the Supreme Court in February this year. Union agriculture secretary Sanjay Agarwal said on September 13 that funds to the tune of Rs 491 crore have been released to Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh ahead of harvesting of kharif crops for tackling the stubble burning in the 2021-22 financial year. Of this, Rs 235 crore had been released to Punjab, Rs 141 crore to Haryana and Rs 115 crore to Uttar Pradesh. In the last four years, a total of Rs 1,050.68 crore has been released to Punjab, Rs 640.9 crore to Haryana, Rs 489.08 crore to Uttar Pradesh and Rs 4.52 crore to Delhi as part of a central scheme on promotion of agri-mechanisation for the management of crop residue in these states. Last week, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said that Punjab, Delhi and NCR states have prepared detailed action plans for the prevention and control of stubble burning, according to a report in Indian Express The governments will adopt a management plan for crop residue management under which 1,43,801 machines are already available, and another 56,513 are being procured. Politics and Pollution The solutions have not stuck, so far, and the court orders like bans and heavy fines often remain unenforced. In November 2019, Supreme Court Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta while calling Delhi “worse than hell” and said toxic fumes over the city from stubble in the two neighbouring states were “reminiscent of an internal war”. What complicates matters is that farmers are a crucial vote bank. The authorities this year are unlikely to punish the farmers who burn the crop residue in the election season. On 25 August, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government announced it would drop legal proceedings against farmers accused of burning crop waste. A similar demand of withdrawing cases against farmers involved in stubble burning has emerged in Punjab from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), one of the Opposition parties in Punjab, the state going to polls in a few months. Both states go to polls early next year. Paddy-Wheat Cycle Farmers in Punjab and Haryana burn stubble as there is a short window between harvesting of summer-sown paddy and sowing of wheat. Growers cite the high cost of manual or mechanical management of straw as a reason behind their preference to burn stubble. Experts said more systemic solutions should be implemented at a scale including steps to ensure that all farmers have affordable access to equipment that help to mix the stubble with soil. “We have to change the cropping pattern to reduce acreage under paddy besides scaling up options of recycling stubble for producing other products so that farmers can earn from stubble sale,” Anumita Roy Chowdhury, of the Centre of Science and Environment, told Money Control. Union environment minister Bhupendra Yadav, however, said winters this year would be better in terms of air quality because steps have been taken in advance. “From July to September, six advisories and 40 directions have been issued on air quality. We are taking active steps to reduce stubble burning through strict monitoring, using alternate methods etc,” Yadav said recently in a report in Business Standard. Many experts link the pollution in Delhi-NCR to the paddy-wheat cropping system which they suggest should change for a long time change. And till that happens, North India is likely to continue the struggle to breathe in winters

उम्र घटाता वायु प्रदूषण

नियाभर में वायु प्रदूषण के खतरे तेजी से बढ़ रहे हैं। वायु प्रदूषण लोगों के स्वास्थ्य को बुरी तरह से प्रभावित कर रहा है, यहां तक कि लोगों की आयु घटने का भी एक बड़ा कारण बनकर उभर रहा है। हाल ही में बेल्जियम में हुए एक अध्ययन में शोधकर्ता इस निष्कर्ष पर पहुंचे हैं कि सामान्य वायु प्रदूषकों से भी हृदय रोगों का खतरा बढ़ जाता है। प्रमुख शोधकर्ता सैन मैटेओ फाउंडेशन के डॉ. फ्रांसेस्का आर जेंटाइल के अनुसार सात सामान्य प्रदूषकों का अध्ययन करने पर पाया गया कि इनके कारण हृदय गति रुकने का खतरा बढ़ा। इस अध्ययन में रोजमर्रा के प्रदूषकों की सांद्रता तथा अस्पताल के बाहर देखे गए कार्डियाक अरेस्ट के मामलों के बीच संबंधों की पहचान की गई। दरअसल वायु प्रदूषण का प्रभाव मानव शरीर पर निरंतर घातक होता जा रहा है। वर्ष 1990 तक जहां 60 फीसदी बीमारियों की हिस्सेदारी संक्रामक रोग, मातृ तथा नवजात रोग या पोषण की कमी से होने वाले रोगों की होती थी, वहीं अब हृदय तथा सांस की गंभीर बीमारियों के अलावा भी बहुत सी बीमारियां वायु प्रदूषण के कारण ही पनपती हैं। सिर के बालों से लेकर पैरों के नाखून तक अब वायु प्रदूषण की जद में होते हैं। भारत में वायु प्रदूषण की स्थिति लगातार भयावह हो रही है। नेशनल हैल्थ प्रोफाइल 2018 की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार देश में होने वाली संक्रामक बीमारियों में सांस संबंधी बीमारियों का प्रतिशत करीब 69 फीसदी है और देशभर में 23 फीसदी से भी ज्यादा मौतें अब वायु प्रदूषण के कारण ही होती हैं। विभिन्न रिपोर्टों में यह तथ्य भी सामने आया है कि भारत में लोगों पर पीएम 2.5 का औसत प्रकोप 90 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति क्यूबिक मीटर है। पिछले दो दशकों में देशभर में वायु में प्रदूषक कणों की मात्रा में करीब 69 फीसदी तक की वृद्धि हुई है और जीवन प्रत्याशा सूचकांक, जो 1998 में 2.2 वर्ष कम था, उसके मुकाबले अब एक्यूएलआई की ताजा रिपोर्ट के अनुसार 5.6 वर्ष तक कमी आई है। अमेरिका की शिकागो यूनिवर्सिटी के ‘द एनर्जी पॉलिसी इंस्टीट्यूट’ के शोधकर्ता एक अध्ययन के बाद खुलासा कर चुके हैं कि वायु प्रदूषण के ही कारण भारत में लोगों की औसत आयु कम हो रही है। कुछ अध्ययनों के अनुसार भारत की कुल 1.4 अरब आबादी का बड़ा हिस्सा ऐसी जगहों पर रहता है, जहां पार्टिकुलेट प्रदूषण का औसत स्तर डब्ल्यूएचओ के मानकों से ज्यादा है। 84 फीसदी व्यक्ति ऐसी जगहों पर रहते हैं, जहां प्रदूषण का स्तर भारत द्वारा तय मानकों से अधिक है। भारत की एक चौथाई आबादी बेहद प्रदूषित वायु में जीने को मजबूर है और यदि प्रदूषण का स्तर बरकरार रहता है तो उत्तर भारत में करीब 25 करोड़ लोगों की आयु में आठ साल से ज्यादा की कमी आ सकती है। उत्तर भारत दक्षिण एशिया में सर्वाधिक प्रदूषित हिस्से के रूप में उभर रहा है, जहां पार्टिकुलेट प्रदूषण पिछले 20 वर्षों में 42 फीसदी बढ़ा है और जीवन प्रत्याशा घटकर 8 वर्ष हो गई है। हालांकि भारत ‘नेशनल क्लीन एयर’ कार्यक्रम के तहत वर्ष 2024 तक पार्टिकुलेट प्रदूषण को 20-30 फीसदी तक घटाने के लिए प्रयासरत है लेकिन शोधकर्ताओं का कहना है कि यदि भारत अपने उद्देश्य में सफल नहीं हुआ तो इसके गंभीर दुष्परिणाम देखने को मिल सकते हैं। यदि भारत अगले कुछ वर्षों में प्रदूषण का स्तर 25 फीसदी भी घटा लेता है तो राष्ट्रीय जीवन प्रत्याशा 1.6 वर्ष और दिल्लीवालों की 3.1 वर्ष बढ़ जाएगी। कुछ ही दिनों पहले ‘वायु गुणवत्ता जीवन सूचकांक’ (एक्यूएलआई) की नवीनतम रिपोर्ट में बताया गया है कि वायु प्रदूषण तरह-तरह की बीमारियां पैदा करने के अलावा लोगों की आयु भी घटा रहा है अर्थात् इसका सीधा प्रभाव जीवन प्रत्याशा पर पड़ रहा है। भारत के संदर्भ में रिपोर्ट में कई सनसनीखेज तथ्य उजागर किए गए हैं। एक्यूएलआई ऐसा सूचकांक है, जो जीवन प्रत्याशा पर वायु प्रदूषण के प्रभाव की गणना करता है। रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि वायु प्रदूषण के अनुमानित प्रभावों की तीव्रता सम्पूर्ण उत्तर भारत में बहुत ज्यादा है, जहां वायु प्रदूषण का स्तर दुनियाभर में सबसे ज्यादा खतरनाक है। एक्यूएलआई रिपोर्ट के अनुसार यदि वर्ष 2019 जैसा वायु प्रदूषण संघनन जारी रहा तो दिल्ली, मुम्बई और कोलकाता जैसे सर्वाधिक प्रदूषित महानगरों में रहने वाले लोग अपनी जिंदगी के नौ से ज्यादा वर्ष खो देंगे। रिपोर्ट के अनुसार भारत में करीब 48 करोड़ लोग गंगा के मैदानी क्षेत्र में रहते हैं, जहां प्रदूषण का स्तर बहुत ज्यादा है और यह प्रदूषण अब गंगा के मैदानों से आगे मध्य प्रदेश तथा महाराष्ट्र जैसे राज्यों तक फैल गया है, जहां खराब वायु गुणवत्ता के कारण लोग 2.5 से 2.9 वर्ष की जीवन प्रत्याशा खो सकते हैं। हालांकि इस रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक केन्द्र द्वारा संचालित राष्ट्रीय स्वच्छ वायु कार्यक्रम के लक्ष्य राष्ट्रीय जीवन प्रत्याशा को 1.7 वर्ष तक बढ़ाने में सहायक हो सकते हैं लेकिन इन लक्ष्यों की प्राप्ति के लिए प्रत्येक मोर्चे पर ठोस नीतियों की आवश्यकता है। कुछ समय पूर्व बोस्टन के ‘हैल्थ इफैक्ट इंस्टीच्यूट’ तथा ‘हैल्थ मैट्रिक्स एंड एवल्यूशन’ की प्रदूषण के मनुष्यों की आयु पर पड़ने वाले अच्छे-बुरे प्रभावों को लेकर किए गए अध्ययन की रिपोर्ट भी सामने आई थी, जिसमें कहा गया था कि भारत सहित सभी एशियाई देशों में वायु में घुलनशील प्रदूषणकारी तत्वों पीएम 2.5 की मात्रा निरन्तर बढ़ रही है। अध्ययनकर्ताओं का कहना था कि पीएम 2.5 का स्तर भारत, पाकिस्तान, बांग्लादेश तथा अफ्रीकी देशों में डब्ल्यूएचओ के मानकों से बहुत ज्यादा है, जिस कारण दुनियाभर के प्रत्येक क्षेत्र में जीवन प्रत्याशा में कमी आ रही है। आईसीएमआर की एक रिपोर्ट में भी कहा जा चुका है कि वायु प्रदूषण के कारण भारत में औसत आयु घट रही है। पिछले साल ‘सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट’ द्वारा भी कहा गया था कि वायु प्रदूषण से होने वाली घातक बीमारियों के कारण देश में जीवन प्रत्याशा औसतन 2.6 वर्ष घट गई है। सीएसई की उस रिपोर्ट के अनुसार बाहरी पीएम 2.5, ओजोन तथा घर के अंदर का वायु प्रदूषण इस स्थिति के लिए सामूहिक रूप से जिम्मेदार साबित हो रहे हैं। रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक दुनियाभर में आज जन्म लेने वाला कोई भी बच्चा वायु प्रदूषण नहीं होने की तुलना में औसतन 20 माह पहले ही जबकि भारत में जन्मा बच्चा अपेक्षा से 2.6 साल पहले ही दुनिया से चला जाएगा। सीएसई का कहना था कि घर से बाहर का और घर के भीतर दोनों ही जगहों पर वायु प्रदूषण जानलेवा बीमारियों को न्यौता दे रहा है, जो भारत में स्वास्थ्य संबंधी सभी खतरों में मौत का तीसरा सबसे बड़ा कारण हो गया है। बहरहाल, शोधकर्ताओं का कहना है कि वायु की गुणवत्ता में सुधार करके इस स्थिति को और बिगड़ने से बचाया जा सकता है। एक्यूएलआई के निदेशक केन ली कहते हैं कि जीवाश्म ईंधन संचालित वायु प्रदूषण आज एक वैश्विक समस्या है और वायु प्रदूषण से मुक्ति पूरी दुनिया को औसत आयु में दो वर्ष जबकि सर्वाधिक प्रदूषित देशों को पांच साल बढ़त दिला सकती है। ली के मुताबिक अगर भारत, पाकिस्तान, बांग्लादेश और नेपाल वायु गुणवत्ता को विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन के मानकों के अनुरूप बनाने में सफल हो जाएं तो यहां के लोगों की औसत आयु 5.6 वर्ष बढ़ जाएगी अन्यथा उम्र इतनी ही घट जाएगी। शिकागो विश्वविद्यालय के एनर्जी पॉलिसी इंस्टीट्यूट के निदेशक और अर्थशास्त्र के प्रोफेसर माइकल ग्रीनस्टोन के मुताबिक वायु प्रदूषण पर अब गंभीरता से ध्यान देने की जरूरत है ताकि करोड़ों-अरबों लोगों को अधिक समय तक स्वस्थ जीवन जीने का हक मिल सके।

India registers high water storage losses

New Delhi, Oct 7 (Prensa Latina) India experiences one of the largest water storage losses worldwide in the last 20 years, it was reported today in this capital. Terrestrial water storage (TWS) decreased on the planet at the rate of 1.0 centimeter per year between 2002 and 2021, according to a report published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The TWS includes all the water in the land surface and the subsurface, that is, superficial, the soil moisture, snow and ice and underground, Down To Earth portal pointed out. The greatest losses of this vital resource in the world correspond to Antarctica and Greenland, but many highly populated places in lower latitudes also show high TWS falls, such as India, which shows a loss of at least 3.0 cm per year, according to the investigation. Water is a key requirement for human development but only 0.5 percent of the total on Earth is available as fresh. Water resources around the globe are under enormous pressure due to human and natural stress generators like population growth, urbanization and declining fresh water availability. Furthermore, extreme weather events are also responsible for the pressure on water resources in all sectors and regions, WMO noted. In India, per capita water availability decreased from 1,816 cubic meters in 2001 to 1,545 cubic meters in 2011 and the parameter is expected to drop to 1,367 cubic meters in 2031, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Meanwhile, five of India's 21 river basins suffer from 'absolute water scarcity' (per capita water availability of less than 500 cubic meters). Some other five have 'water shortages' (per capita less than 1,000 cubic meters) and three have 'water stress' (per capita less than 1,700 cubic meters).

Monsoon withdrawal delayed in most parts of the country: IMD

A delayed monsoon withdrawal may push the crop stubble burning in neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab to the latter half of the month, according to the experts. NEW DELHI: After a long haul, parts of the national capital saw light rain on Tuesday evening, October 5, 2021. This might be one of the last few showers of the season even though monsoon withdrawal is expected to be delayed this year for most parts of the country, said officials in the India Meteorological Department (IMD). A delayed monsoon withdrawal may push the crop stubble burning in neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab to the latter half of the month, according to the experts. As per IMD data, the Safdarjung Observatory received 0.5 mm rainfall between 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm. Lodhi Road station received 0.3 mm rain during the same time. “Usually monsoon would withdraw by September end or first week of October. But this year, with continuous low-pressure areas forming over the Bay of Bengal, it is likely to withdraw by the second week of October. So far because of good winds, air quality and intermittent showers has been fine,” said the IMD official. So far air quality has been in check, but if stubble burning incidents coincide with the onset of winter, it may add to the already high pollution levels during that time. Centre for Science and Environment executive director Anumita Roychowdhury, said: “Unlike last year when September was mostly dry with little rain, stubble fires had intensified from mid-September itself, the number of instances this season may pick up only in the latter half of the month.” “While the impact of stubble burning to Delhi’s pollution will depend on the wind direction at that time, it is likely that coinciding with stubble fires with the festive season and the onset of winter may result in a toxic combination leading to a spike in pollution levels,” she said.

Experts discuss climate policy and economic inequity in the ninth Yale Development Dialogue

Yale Economic Growth Center, Department of History and Jackson Institute of Global Affairs co-host seminar focusing on climate priorities in preparation for upcoming United Nations conference. Yale economics professors and famed environmentalists gathered on Tuesday to discuss the commitments of high and low-income countries to addressing climate change while correcting economic inequity. This event was the ninth in the Yale Development Dialogue series — a set of events intended to bring together economists, historians, policymakers, journalists and other experts to discuss issues that affect countries of varying economic statuses through an interdisciplinary lens. The Yale Economic Growth Center, Department of History and Jackson Institute of Global Affairs co-hosted the webinar. Tuesday’s panelists focused on climate policy in the context of the United Nations’ upcoming Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP26, which is scheduled to take place in Glasgow between Oct. 31 and Nov. 12. Specifically, the panelists discussed relationships between global economic injustice and climate activism. “Unless you have a collaborative agreement [between the rich and poor] … you will not have an agreement that is effective,” panelist Sunita Narain, a famed Indian environmentalist, said of the upcoming COP26 proceedings. “If it is not affordable growth, if it is not inclusive growth, it is not sustainable.” In addition to Narain, who is the director general of the India-based research institute Centre for Science and Environment, panelists included John Haldon, professor emeritus of history at Princeton; Nicholas Ryan, assistant professor of economics at Yale; and Rohini Pande, professor of economics and director of Yale’s Economic Growth Center. The session was moderated by Catherine Cheney ’10, a senior reporter who covers for Devex the role of technology, innovation and philanthropy in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. A central topic of the panel was the effect of COVID-19 on international climate policy and attitudes. Pande, Narain and Ryan all described a sense of pessimism about the likelihood of a global climate response based on individual “nationalistic responses” to the pandemic, as Pande said. “This is the worst time in the world. The leadership in the world literally sucks,” Narain told attendees. “Yet you have vaccine racism happening today. Yet you have a divided world. What does that tell us about the future of climate change?” Ryan, whose research includes the examination of energy policy in India, quantified the discrepancy. He explained that it would have required about $70 billion to vaccinate every person against COVID-19. The scale of investment needed for climate change, however, is about 1,500 times greater. “That is how much larger the problem is, just in money terms, and the reason to be a little bit pessimistic,” Ryan said. “If the U.S. or China are not willing to unilaterally step up … and eliminate COVID from the world … then what does that say about climate change?” Ryan, however, noted some potential room for hope, pointing to progress in renewable energy investment in developing countries. However, not all panelists agreed that renewable energy is the right solution to address climate change, particularly for low-income countries. “In my part of the world, solar is still expensive for the poorest in the country,” Narain said, adding that some Indians cannot afford electricity, even when it comes from “dirt-cheap coal.” While Ryan responded that the most recent prices on solar in India were about 2.5 rupees — roughly 3.4 United States cents — per kilowatt-hour, as compared to 3.5 or 4.0 rupees for coal, Narain pointed out that the upfront cost of renewable energy can be prohibitive to people and to communities in poverty. A January report from Oxfam found that the richest one percent of the global population have used twice as much carbon as the poorest 50 percent over the last 25 years. However, as Cheney pointed out during the panel, the global poor are hit hardest by the effects of the climate crisis, from droughts to housing instability to food shortages. This disparity also affects some of COP26’s goals, which include identifying the necessary 2030 emissions reduction targets for each country to reach net-zero emissions by the middle of the century. Pande raised a question to fellow panelists concerning their thoughts on the efficacy of net-zero strategies and whether they are sufficient. In Narain’s view, they are not. Narain pointed to two flaws with net-zero initiatives: equity concerns and insufficient technology. Per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world should reach a state of net-zero emissions by 2050. However, “there’s no way the U.S. and India can have the same timeline,” Narain said, speaking to general issues with prescribing the same directive across countries of varied income statuses. “That discussion today is so over that we shouldn’t even waste our time,” she added. Instead, Ryan said global superpowers like the United States and European nations need to step in. As John put it, a fundamental problem in the field now is how to build geopolitical changes, such as China’s growing influence on many African countries, into climate policy framework, especially as these changes affect lower-income communities. The next Yale Development Dialogue is scheduled for Oct. 28 and will focus on global health equity.

The Heroin Stain

The Adani group has come under fire after the special court directed the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to probe if any benefits were gained by the group because of the huge consignment of contraband landing at its port in Mundra. Is the Adani-owned port responsible for narcotics arriving from other countries? Last fortnight, while extending the custody of a Chennai couple held in connection with the Rs 21,000-crore heroin haul from Mundra port, the Special Court for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) in Bhuj, Kutch (Gujarat), on September 30, sought to know if the Mundra Adani Port had acquired any interest from the import of narcotics. The Special Court of Additional District Judge CM Pawar also wanted to know why the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) did not probe the source of the heroin in Afghanistan. A couple, Machavaram Sudhakar and his wife Govindaraju Durga Purna Vaisali, were arrested on September 17. The Bhuj court granted DRI their custody till September 20. The DRI also arrested Coimbatore resident Rajkumar P and recovered narcotics from other places in raids held after the Mundra seizure. Four Afghan nationals and one Uzbek national have also been arrested. After getting credible information that the consignment contained drugs from Afghanistan, DRI officers seized two containers and sent samples for examination. A forensic analysis of the seized substance confirmed the presence of heroin. The consignment was imported by a trading company registered in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. It was declared as semi-processed talc stones originating from Afghanistan and shipped from Bandar Abbas Port in Iran to Mundra Port in Gujarat. The importer was identified as Sarvim Exports, which is located at Derawal Nagar in Delhi. The cargo was declared as an Ayurvedic product, mulethi (licorice), and the drugs were hidden in plastic pipes painted to resemble bamboo. On September 26, while hearing the remand application of Rajkumar P, the Court had directed the DRI to probe if any benefit was gained by the Adani Group by virtue of the consignment of banned contraband landing at its port in Mundra. According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan is one of the biggest exporters of narcotic drugs, and as per estimates, it accounts for nearly 85% of global heroin supplies. Following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on August 15, there have already been multiple meetings among central agencies to discuss the impact in terms of drugs smuggling, infiltration of foreign terrorists and terror activities in India. Making it a political issue, Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh on October 1 demanded a judicial inquiry into the seizure of heroin at the Mundra Port in Gujarat, saying that he had no faith in the National Investigation Agency. Mundra Port is the largest private port of India located on the north shores of the Gulf of Kutch near Mundra in the Kutch district of Gujarat. It is a private port and also a special economic zone. Incorporated in 1998 as Gujarat Adani Port Limited (GAPL), the company began operating it in 2001. The combined company was renamed Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Limited. The development of Adani Port & Special Economic Zone Limited was conceptualised by entrepreneur Gautam Adani. The Adani Group has issued a clarification stating that it is only the port operator and does not have the authority to check shipments arriving at the port. The Narcotics Control Bureau has found that while Mumbai is the cocaine capital of India, the country is also used as a route for trafficking cocaine to other parts of the world. India has become a favourite destination of cocaine, the supply of which is controlled by the powerful drug group of South American countries. The major drug laws of India are the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) (1985) and the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1988). Under one of the provisions of the Act, the Narcotics Control Bureau was set up with effect from March 1986. The Act is designed to fulfill India’s treaty obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The Act has been amended three times—in 1988, 2001, and most recently, in 2014. The Act allows the court to grant immunity to an addict if he/she is found involved in a case dealing with tracing the amount of drugs. The immunity, however, is granted only after the accused agrees to undergo medical treatment for de-addiction under Section 64A. Someone who has only consumed banned drugs or narcotics but is not involved in trading, can get bail. Section 31A of the Act states that the maximum punishment in cases under the NDPS Act is death penalty. The death penalty can be given to a person found guilty of being involved with commercial quantities of drugs. Section 8(c) of the NDPS Act prohibits the production, manufacturing, possession, selling, purchase, transport, warehouse, use, consumption, inter-state import and export, import to and from India or tranship of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance, except for medical or scientific purposes, and requires a licence or permit by the concerned authorities. Under Section 27, the consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance is a punishable offence. In Section 35 of the Act, it is presumed that the accused knew what they were doing. Hence, the accused will be guilty unless proven innocent. Consumption of cocaine carries up to one year of imprisonment, whereas consumption of charas or cannabis carries up to 6 months’ imprisonment. Under the Union Finance Ministry, the Department of Revenue had in 2015 passed an order to all state governments stating that seized drugs must be destroyed as earliest as possible in order to avoid its misuse or theft. In 2015, the government added Mephedrone or meth, as a psychotropic substance. The amendment was made after the drug grew popular among the youth. In April this year the apex court, while holding that a private vehicle is not a “public place” under the NDPS Act, acquitted three men accused of possessing poppy, saying they were charged under the wrong section. The judgment came from a bench headed by Justice UU Lalit which said that recovery of a banned substance from a private vehicle parked on a public road wouldn’t be covered under Section 43 of the NDPS Act—the provision used for recovery of the banned substance. The bench, however, said that such cases can be covered under Section 42 of the Act. While Section 43 of NDPS Act deals with the power of seizure and arrest in a public place, Section 42 gives a designated officer powers of “entry, search, seizure or arrest” in a suspected narcotics case. A committee, headed by Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment, was set up by the Union ministry of Environment and Forests to inspect the ship-breaking facility of M/s Adani Port and SEZ Limited near Mundra West Port in Gujarat’s Kutch district. The committee which submitted its report on April 18, 2013, found incontrovertible evidence of destruction of mangroves, blocking of creeks and non-compliance of other clearance conditions. Subsequently, on July 29, 2013, a public hearing was held where people from four affected villages posed questions about the project and its impact on the environment. The latest seizure from the Mundra port and the quantity involved suggests that it is ideally located for such consignments to make its way to Mumbai. Adani is India’s second richest individual and unlikely to be involved in smuggling contraband but if any of the officials hired to run the port are found to be involved, it could put a dent in his reputation.

North India’s air pollution concerns return as stubble burning resumes in Punjab and Haryana

Satellite images from the US space agency Nasa show that farmers have already begun burning crop stubble in parts of the two northern states that’s blamed for the winter-time phenomenon that holds up flights and trains and reduces road traffic to a crawl. Air pollution concerns have resurfaced in northern India, which typically is smothered by a blanket of smog that throws life out of gear in the winter, as farmers resume burning crop residue after harvesting the crop in Punjab and Haryana. Satellite images from the US space agency Nasa show that farmers have already begun burning crop stubble in parts of the two northern states that’s blamed for the winter-time phenomenon that holds up flights and trains and reduces road traffic to a crawl. Data from the agency's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), a key instrument on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite, shows a gradual jump in detection of fires in farmlands in recent weeks. From September 1 to October 3, Punjab recorded about 268 fire events while Haryana reported about 47. (Source: VIIRS SNPP) From September 1 to October 3, Punjab recorded about 268 fire events while Haryana reported about 47. (Source: VIIRS SNPP-NASA) “Most of the fires are in and around Amritsar in Punjab as of now. This year due to consistent cloud/rain the overall fire season is delayed,” Pawan Gupta, senior scientist, Earth Sciences at the USRA Science and Technology Institute (STI) told Moneycontrol by email. STI/USRA works closely with the Nasa Marshall Space Flight Center and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, USA. From September 1 to October 3, Punjab recorded about 268 fire events and Haryana about 47. As many as 65 fires were spotted in Punjab on September 29 while 12 fire incidents were recorded in Haryana on the same day. This is the highest number for a day in September in both states. “The consistent cloud cover also limits satellite capabilities to detect small fires and thus, we may not be detecting all the fires in the region,” Gupta said. The numbers may appear small, but experts said satellite-derived fire event data over the last few years indicates a recurring pattern of early burning of crop residue. In September 2020, for example, Punjab reported 1,370 fires and Haryana 245, according to Nasa. “The fires we spotted in the last few days follow the trend observed in corresponding periods over the last five years,” said LS Kurinji, programme associate at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a New Delhi-based policy research institute. Smothering Delhi-NCR In October-November every year, farmers in Punjab and Haryana, together the breadbasket of India, clear thee stubble from their fields by burning the stubble because it is the cheapest method for them to make the soil fit for replanting. It is a major contributor to air pollution in northern India, many cities in which are ranked among the world’s most polluted. On an average peak day, the number of fires touches 4,000. “We cannot compare this year’s numbers with last year when COVID-19 had led to labour scarcity,” she said. Also, read: Air pollution shortens Indian life expectancy by nearly 6 years: Study In November last year, the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution rose by 42 percent in a day, the maximum so far that season. In 2019, stubble burning accounted for at least 44 percent of air pollution in The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) said fires in Punjab rose to 76,590 in 2020 from 52,991 a year ago. It said that in Haryana fires reduced by 25 percent to 5,000 from 6,652 over the same period. On October 4, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal released a 10-point winter action plan said that he said will help combat air pollution in Delhi. He said Delhi's air quality will start deteriorating in a few days because of stubble burning for which his government has prepared a decomposer with the help of Pusa Institute of Technology which, once sprayed on crop residue, will eliminate the need to burn it. Funds galore, plans afoot The stubble burning in northern India has long been a major cause of air pollution in the region. The Union government has spent over Rs 2,245 crore to address this issue in the last four years. In 2020, stubble burning in Punjab increased by 44.5 percent despite getting 46 percent of the total funds from the central government for checking crop farm fires, the Centre told the Supreme Court in February this year. Union agriculture secretary Sanjay Agarwal said on September 13 that funds to the tune of Rs 491 crore have been released to Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh ahead of harvesting of kharif crops for tackling the stubble burning in the 2021-22 financial year. Of this, Rs 235 crore had been released to Punjab, Rs 141 crore to Haryana and Rs 115 crore to Uttar Pradesh. In the last four years, a total of Rs 1,050.68 crore has been released to Punjab, Rs 640.9 crore to Haryana, Rs 489.08 crore to Uttar Pradesh and Rs 4.52 crore to Delhi as part of a central scheme on promotion of agri-mechanisation for the management of crop residue in these states. Last week, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said that Punjab, Delhi and NCR states have prepared detailed action plans for the prevention and control of stubble burning, according to a report in Indian Express The governments will adopt a management plan for crop residue management under which 1,43,801 machines are already available, and another 56,513 are being procured. Politics and Pollution The solutions have not stuck, so far, and the court orders like bans and heavy fines often remain unenforced. In November 2019, Supreme Court Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta while calling Delhi “worse than hell” and said toxic fumes over the city from stubble in the two neighbouring states were “reminiscent of an internal war”. Also, read: No respite from toxic air in sight as poll-bound states won’t penalise farm fires What complicates matters is that farmers are a crucial vote bank. The authorities this year are unlikely to punish the farmers who burn the crop residue in the election season. On August 25, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government announced it would drop legal proceedings against farmers accused of burning crop waste. A similar demand of withdrawing cases against farmers involved in stubble burning has emerged in Punjab from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), one of the Opposition parties in Punjab, the state going to polls in a few months. Both states go to polls early next year. Paddy-Wheat Cycle Farmers in Punjab and Haryana burn stubble as there is a short window between harvesting of summer-sown paddy and sowing of wheat. Growers cite the high cost of manual or mechanical management of straw as a reason behind their preference to burn stubble. Experts said more systemic solutions should be implemented at a scale including steps to ensure that all farmers have affordable access to equipment that help to mix the stubble with soil. Also, read: Explained | Hiding behind a smog tower “We have to change the cropping pattern to reduce acreage under paddy besides scaling up options of recycling stubble for producing other products so that farmers can earn from stubble sale,” Anumita Roy Chowdhury, of the Centre of Science and Environment, told MoneyControl. Union environment minister Bhupendra Yadav, however, said winters this year would be better in terms of air quality because steps have been taken in advance. “From July to September, six advisories and 40 directions have been issued on air quality. We are taking active steps to reduce stubble burning through strict monitoring, using alternate methods etc,” Yadav said recently in a report in Business Standard. Many experts link the pollution in Delhi-NCR to the paddy-wheat cropping system which they suggest should change for a long time change. And till that happens, North India is likely to continue the struggle to breathe in winters.

More measures needed to control vehicular pollution, say experts

New Delhi: Experts say the winter action plan announced by the government is not enough to combat air pollution this year and more steps are needed to control vehicular pollution, waste accumulation, landfill fires and strengthening the monitoring network. Priyavrat Bhati, sector head, climate, environment and sustainability at Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, said while efforts were being taken to reduce air pollution, one of the keys polluting sectors, transportation, was being largely ignored with more focus on monitoring than controlling emissions. “Dust and vehicular pollution are key sectors in terms of their overall contribution to Delhi’s air. However, the action plan has nothing on making the public transportation system more robust, promoting its usage and curtailing the use of vehicles. While many teams are being formed, the focus is more on levying penalties and monitoring each site or hotspot. Instead, the focus should be on controlling emissions at these places in the long term,” added Bhati. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment, said successful implementation of the winter action plan would depend on the ground-level preparedness and robustness of infrastructure for waste management to prevent garbage accumulation and landfill fires, stopping dirty fuels in all industrial units, stringent surveillance of dust control measures at construction sites, intensification of public transport services with restraint measures on traffic, among others. “However, several measures are not included in the action plan and information on system preparedness for effective intervention is not available. We need that planning right away for effective management of winter pollution,” said Roy Chowdhury. Sachchida N Tripathi from the civil engineering department at IIT-Kanpur and a member of the steering committee for National Clean Air Programme said the plan lacked long-term efforts, especially in terms of capacity building and using technology-based approach to tackle air pollution. “Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been understaffed for a while now and in an audit done by us a few years ago, it was functioning at one-third of its capacity. If environmental engineers are being added to the green war room, it would be better to add air pollution experts first to tackle the problem. There is also a need to strengthen the overall monitoring network and use the data generated to tackle each source,” said Tripathi, adding that formation of teams in each head appeared a more short-term solution. A few experts welcomed some steps in the plan, but felt that the government should look into more areas. Anju Goel, fellow, earth science and climate change, The Energy and Resources Institute, said the winter action plan had some good steps, like upgrading the Green Delhi app and strengthening the green war room, but more needed to be done. “To control vehicular pollution, the PUC system needs to be revamped and fleet modernisation of heavy-duty vehicles should be done. Besides, there is no scientific evidence on the effectiveness of smog towers. It’s a costly solution instead of focusing on the root cause of the problem,” added Goel. Tanushree Ganguly, programme lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, said, “In addition to the sources that the winter action plan tackles, the government should also ensure that Delhi’s urban poor have access to alternatives to using biomass for their heating requirements.” Prof Sagnik Dey, coordinator at Centre of Excellence for Research on Clean Air, IIT-Delhi, said the key was implementation and identifying midway what was working and what was not for course correction. He added that stubble burning without interstate coordination couldn’t be controlled.

Make Your Fruits Chemical Free At Home with These Simple Methods

Have you washed your apple before consuming it? Or, at least, did you rub it off your shirt? But it wouldn't make a difference. Washing/rubbing would not fulfill the aim of cleaning because washing alone would not remove the pesticides and chemicals from your fruits. Wash your fruits and vegetables before eating them: According to the Centre for Science and Environment, washing fruits with 2% saltwater removes the majority of contact pesticide residues that ordinarily develop on the surface of vegetables and fruits. Coldwater washing removes around 75 to 80% of pesticide residue. Wash with saltwater: This is possibly the most basic. All you need is a large mixing basin, salt, and water. Soak the fruits in two tablespoons of salt in four cups of warm water for 30-60 minutes. After that, give it a good rinse with cold water. However, this method is not suitable for berries, which can be harmed by the soak and wind up tasting salty. Use of Baking Soda: According to some studies, soaking fruits in baking soda can lower contamination levels by up to 96%. All you have to do is fill a large bowl halfway with water. Add a teaspoon of baking soda to this. Mix well and add the fruits you want to clean. Allow it to soak for a few moments. Consider giving the fruit a good clean with a brush. If the fruit's outer skin is thin, skip this step. Enjoy the fruit after wiping it with a dry towel. Wash with vinegar: This is an alternative to soaking the fruits in saltwater. In a large mixing basin, combine four parts of water and one part of vinegar. Soak all of your fruits in this mixture for 30-60 minutes. After that, give it a good rinse with cold water. This will help to eliminate contaminants and keep your fruit fresh for a longer period of time without spoiling it. These are some easy methods through which you can enjoy your favorite fruits without any fear of chemicals and other contaminations.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal unveils plan to combat winter pollution

The national capital has drawn up an action plan to tackle the severe air pollution in the winter months, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday, announcing alternatives to stubble burning, measures to control road dust and vehicular emissions, and urging governments of neighbouring National Capital Region (NCR) states to adopt similar steps. As part of its 10-point plan, the Delhi government will help spraying a bio-decomposer -- developed by Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR -- also known as Pusa Institute) -- which converts paddy stubble into manure without burning, in rural areas in the Capital. The burning of farm residue in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh ahead of sowing the winter crop releases large amounts of smoke, leading to an annual air emergency in the NCR. Kejriwal said these states must use the bio-decomposer as well. Except November, December and January, Delhi’s air quality is usually under control, Kejriwal said. “But this will change in a few days because the Centre and the neighbouring state governments have not done anything to prevent stubble burning in the region,” he added. “This will lead to Delhi’s air quality deteriorating in the coming days.” Besides steps to prevent stubble burning, authorities in Delhi will ensure dust from construction sites is kept to a minimum. There will be increased vigilance to keep vehicular emissions in check, the CM said. The action plan details steps such as forming pollution-monitoring teams and increased checks at hot spots. The government has formed 75 teams to ensure dust control at construction sites, 250 teams to prevent open burning of waste and leaves, and nearly 500 teams to ensure all vehicles comply with pollution under control rules. No diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years will be allowed to ply. The action plan has also identified 64 congestion-prone stretches in the Capital, where long traffic snarls resulted in a spike in pollution levels. Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai early last month promised the city will have a detailed winter action plan. To formulate it, multiple agencies such as the municipal corporations, the public works department, and Delhi traffic police, were asked to submit their proposals to manage air pollution. The winter action plan will be implemented in tandem with the Supreme Court-mandated Graded Response Action Plan (Grap). “The Grap measures will be enforced strictly this season across Delhi NCR. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) will be the overarching body that will monitor the situation and will call in the measures listed under the Grap,” Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said. Delhi is on the right track in its strategy to control air pollution, but it needs concerted efforts to show results, an expert said. “In addition to the sources that the winter action plan tackles, the government should also ensure that Delhi’s urban poor have access to alternatives to using biomass for their space heating requirements,” said Tanushree Ganguly, programme lead at Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a think tank. “One way could be through the creation of clean and warm night shelters.” “Given that Delhi now has a functional decision support system to pinpoint sources of pollution, the government should ensure that insights provided by it are used to plan and roll out actions in advance to prevent severe air quality levels in the city,” Ganguly said. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), said that such focus on pollution will help Delhi bring down winter season emissions but there needs to be year-long action for noteworthy results. “The focus areas that the government has laid out are on-point, but we have discussed this before that Delhi needs action. We will have to ensure that not only do agencies in Delhi work but even other states in the region work together to find a lasting solution for the pollution problems,” Roychowdhury said. Air pollution has been a stubborn crisis for the Capital and adjoining areas. Meteorological parameters typical for pre-winter months, when wind speed slows down and colder, heavier air drifts settles closer to ground-level, stops tailpipe emissions, road and construction dust, and industrial gases from dispersing. To add to it, smoke from farm fires in Punjab and Haryana catches the north-westerly winds to reach Delhi and other NCR towns, where they push the air quality index into dangerous levels.

उम्र घटाता वायु प्रदूषण

दुनियाभर में वायु प्रदूषण के खतरे तेजी से बढ़ रहे हैं। वायु प्रदूषण लोगों के स्वास्थ्य को बुरी तरह से प्रभावित कर रहा है, यहां तक कि लोगों की आयु घटने का भी एक बड़ा कारण बनकर उभर रहा है। हाल ही में बेल्जियम में हुए एक अध्ययन में शोधकर्ता इस निष्कर्ष पर पहुंचे हैं कि सामान्य वायु प्रदूषकों से भी हृदय रोगों का खतरा बढ़ जाता है। प्रमुख शोधकर्ता सैन मैटेओ फाउंडेशन के डॉ. फ्रांसेस्का आर जेंटाइल के अनुसार सात सामान्य प्रदूषकों का अध्ययन करने पर पाया गया कि इनके कारण हृदय गति रुकने का खतरा बढ़ा। इस अध्ययन में रोजमर्रा के प्रदूषकों की सांद्रता तथा अस्पताल के बाहर देखे गए कार्डियाक अरेस्ट के मामलों के बीच संबंधों की पहचान की गई।</p> <p>दरअसल वायु प्रदूषण का प्रभाव मानव शरीर पर निरंतर घातक होता जा रहा है। वर्ष 1990 तक जहां 60 फीसदी बीमारियों की हिस्सेदारी संक्रामक रोग, मातृ तथा नवजात रोग या पोषण की कमी से होने वाले रोगों की होती थी, वहीं अब हृदय तथा सांस की गंभीर बीमारियों के अलावा भी बहुत सी बीमारियां वायु प्रदूषण के कारण ही पनपती हैं। सिर के बालों से लेकर पैरों के नाखून तक अब वायु प्रदूषण की जद में होते हैं।</p> <p>भारत में वायु प्रदूषण की स्थिति लगातार भयावह हो रही है। नेशनल हैल्थ प्रोफाइल 2018 की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार देश में होने वाली संक्रामक बीमारियों में सांस संबंधी बीमारियों का प्रतिशत करीब 69 फीसदी है और देशभर में 23 फीसदी से भी ज्यादा मौतें अब वायु प्रदूषण के कारण ही होती हैं। विभिन्न रिपोर्टों में यह तथ्य भी सामने आया है कि भारत में लोगों पर पीएम 2.5 का औसत प्रकोप 90 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति क्यूबिक मीटर है। पिछले दो दशकों में देशभर में वायु में प्रदूषक कणों की मात्रा में करीब 69 फीसदी तक की वृद्धि हुई है और जीवन प्रत्याशा सूचकांक, जो 1998 में 2.2 वर्ष कम था, उसके मुकाबले अब एक्यूएलआई की ताजा रिपोर्ट के अनुसार 5.6 वर्ष तक कमी आई है। अमेरिका की शिकागो यूनिवर्सिटी के ‘द एनर्जी पॉलिसी इंस्टीट्यूट’ के शोधकर्ता एक अध्ययन के बाद खुलासा कर चुके हैं कि वायु प्रदूषण के ही कारण भारत में लोगों की औसत आयु कम हो रही है।</p> <p>कुछ अध्ययनों के अनुसार भारत की कुल 1.4 अरब आबादी का बड़ा हिस्सा ऐसी जगहों पर रहता है, जहां पार्टिकुलेट प्रदूषण का औसत स्तर डब्ल्यूएचओ के मानकों से ज्यादा है। 84 फीसदी व्यक्ति ऐसी जगहों पर रहते हैं, जहां प्रदूषण का स्तर भारत द्वारा तय मानकों से अधिक है। भारत की एक चौथाई आबादी बेहद प्रदूषित वायु में जीने को मजबूर है और यदि प्रदूषण का स्तर बरकरार रहता है तो उत्तर भारत में करीब 25 करोड़ लोगों की आयु में आठ साल से ज्यादा की कमी आ सकती है। उत्तर भारत दक्षिण एशिया में सर्वाधिक प्रदूषित हिस्से के रूप में उभर रहा है, जहां पार्टिकुलेट प्रदूषण पिछले 20 वर्षों में 42 फीसदी बढ़ा है और जीवन प्रत्याशा घटकर 8 वर्ष हो गई है। हालांकि भारत ‘नेशनल क्लीन एयर’ कार्यक्रम के तहत वर्ष 2024 तक पार्टिकुलेट प्रदूषण को 20-30 फीसदी तक घटाने के लिए प्रयासरत है लेकिन शोधकर्ताओं का कहना है कि यदि भारत अपने उद्देश्य में सफल नहीं हुआ तो इसके गंभीर दुष्परिणाम देखने को मिल सकते हैं। यदि भारत अगले कुछ वर्षों में प्रदूषण का स्तर 25 फीसदी भी घटा लेता है तो राष्ट्रीय जीवन प्रत्याशा 1.6 वर्ष और दिल्लीवालों की 3.1 वर्ष बढ़ जाएगी।</p> <p>कुछ ही दिनों पहले ‘वायु गुणवत्ता जीवन सूचकांक’ (एक्यूएलआई) की नवीनतम रिपोर्ट में बताया गया है कि वायु प्रदूषण तरह-तरह की बीमारियां पैदा करने के अलावा लोगों की आयु भी घटा रहा है अर्थात् इसका सीधा प्रभाव जीवन प्रत्याशा पर पड़ रहा है। भारत के संदर्भ में रिपोर्ट में कई सनसनीखेज तथ्य उजागर किए गए हैं। एक्यूएलआई ऐसा सूचकांक है, जो जीवन प्रत्याशा पर वायु प्रदूषण के प्रभाव की गणना करता है। रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि वायु प्रदूषण के अनुमानित प्रभावों की तीव्रता सम्पूर्ण उत्तर भारत में बहुत ज्यादा है, जहां वायु प्रदूषण का स्तर दुनियाभर में सबसे ज्यादा खतरनाक है। एक्यूएलआई रिपोर्ट के अनुसार यदि वर्ष 2019 जैसा वायु प्रदूषण संघनन जारी रहा तो दिल्ली, मुम्बई और कोलकाता जैसे सर्वाधिक प्रदूषित महानगरों में रहने वाले लोग अपनी जिंदगी के नौ से ज्यादा वर्ष खो देंगे। रिपोर्ट के अनुसार भारत में करीब 48 करोड़ लोग गंगा के मैदानी क्षेत्र में रहते हैं, जहां प्रदूषण का स्तर बहुत ज्यादा है और यह प्रदूषण अब गंगा के मैदानों से आगे मध्य प्रदेश तथा महाराष्ट्र जैसे राज्यों तक फैल गया है, जहां खराब वायु गुणवत्ता के कारण लोग 2.5 से 2.9 वर्ष की जीवन प्रत्याशा खो सकते हैं। हालांकि इस रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक केन्द्र द्वारा संचालित राष्ट्रीय स्वच्छ वायु कार्यक्रम के लक्ष्य राष्ट्रीय जीवन प्रत्याशा को 1.7 वर्ष तक बढ़ाने में सहायक हो सकते हैं लेकिन इन लक्ष्यों की प्राप्ति के लिए प्रत्येक मोर्चे पर ठोस नीतियों की आवश्यकता है।</p> <p>कुछ समय पूर्व बोस्टन के ‘हैल्थ इफैक्ट इंस्टीच्यूट’ तथा ‘हैल्थ मैट्रिक्स एंड एवल्यूशन’ की प्रदूषण के मनुष्यों की आयु पर पड़ने वाले अच्छे-बुरे प्रभावों को लेकर किए गए अध्ययन की रिपोर्ट भी सामने आई थी, जिसमें कहा गया था कि भारत सहित सभी एशियाई देशों में वायु में घुलनशील प्रदूषणकारी तत्वों पीएम 2.5 की मात्रा निरन्तर बढ़ रही है। अध्ययनकर्ताओं का कहना था कि पीएम 2.5 का स्तर भारत, पाकिस्तान, बांग्लादेश तथा अफ्रीकी देशों में डब्ल्यूएचओ के मानकों से बहुत ज्यादा है, जिस कारण दुनियाभर के प्रत्येक क्षेत्र में जीवन प्रत्याशा में कमी आ रही है। आईसीएमआर की एक रिपोर्ट में भी कहा जा चुका है कि वायु प्रदूषण के कारण भारत में औसत आयु घट रही है।</p> <p>पिछले साल ‘सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट’ द्वारा भी कहा गया था कि वायु प्रदूषण से होने वाली घातक बीमारियों के कारण देश में जीवन प्रत्याशा औसतन 2.6 वर्ष घट गई है। सीएसई की उस रिपोर्ट के अनुसार बाहरी पीएम 2.5, ओजोन तथा घर के अंदर का वायु प्रदूषण इस स्थिति के लिए सामूहिक रूप से जिम्मेदार साबित हो रहे हैं। रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक दुनियाभर में आज जन्म लेने वाला कोई भी बच्चा वायु प्रदूषण नहीं होने की तुलना में औसतन 20 माह पहले ही जबकि भारत में जन्मा बच्चा अपेक्षा से 2.6 साल पहले ही दुनिया से चला जाएगा। सीएसई का कहना था कि घर से बाहर का और घर के भीतर दोनों ही जगहों पर वायु प्रदूषण जानलेवा बीमारियों को न्यौता दे रहा है, जो भारत में स्वास्थ्य संबंधी सभी खतरों में मौत का तीसरा सबसे बड़ा कारण हो गया है।</p> <p>बहरहाल, शोधकर्ताओं का कहना है कि वायु की गुणवत्ता में सुधार करके इस स्थिति को और बिगड़ने से बचाया जा सकता है। एक्यूएलआई के निदेशक केन ली कहते हैं कि जीवाश्म ईंधन संचालित वायु प्रदूषण आज एक वैश्विक समस्या है और वायु प्रदूषण से मुक्ति पूरी दुनिया को औसत आयु में दो वर्ष जबकि सर्वाधिक प्रदूषित देशों को पांच साल बढ़त दिला सकती है। ली के मुताबिक अगर भारत, पाकिस्तान, बांग्लादेश और नेपाल वायु गुणवत्ता को विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन के मानकों के अनुरूप बनाने में सफल हो जाएं तो यहां के लोगों की औसत आयु 5.6 वर्ष बढ़ जाएगी अन्यथा उम्र इतनी ही घट जाएगी। शिकागो विश्वविद्यालय के एनर्जी पॉलिसी इंस्टीट्यूट के निदेशक और अर्थशास्त्र के प्रोफेसर माइकल ग्रीनस्टोन के मुताबिक वायु प्रदूषण पर अब गंभीरता से ध्यान देने की जरूरत है ताकि करोड़ों-अरबों लोगों को अधिक समय तक स्वस्थ जीवन जीने का हक मिल सके।</p> <p>(लेखक वरिष्ठ पत्रकार तथा पर्यावरण विषयों के जानकार हैं।)

World Insights: India moves to protect biodiversity, needs to do more

Home to nearly 8 percent of the world's recorded plants and animals as well as four of the over 30 globally identified biodiversity hotspots, India is one of the richest countries in terms of biodiversity. With a series of measures in species and environmental protection over the past several decades, the South Asian country still has a long way to go to make the region more bio-diversified and beautiful. According to the Zoological Survey of India, an organization founded by the Indian government, the country has more than 100,000 species. During recent years, the country has been paying close attention to biodiversity conservation, said Sandeep Tripathi, former principal chief conservator of forests in India's eastern state of Odisha. Authorities have taken care to protect and conserve the environment and the overall biodiversity, he said, adding that those efforts "have borne fruits in increasing the headcount of various flagship animals, like tigers, elephants, rhinos etc." Thanks to strict protection and management, the population of lions in India has made a comeback in recent years, from 520 in the year of 2015 to 674 in 2020. Meanwhile, India is now home to about 2,967 wild tigers, which is around two-thirds of the world's population, as well as 3,700 one-horned rhinos, which were on the brink of extinction during the early 20th century. A government official has said that the country intends to grow the wild tiger population by over 30 percent to as many as 4,000 in the next decade, a move to protect forests while also boosting economic gains from conservation. In January, the federal government released the Management Effectiveness Evaluation of its nearly 150 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to assess the efficacy of its protected wildlife areas. It is considered as an important tool to improve wildlife protection, and is increasingly being used by governments and international bodies to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the protected area management systems. However, with over 17 percent of the world's population crammed into only 2.4 percent of the global landmass, the Indian government has more work to do. For example, the country also has a long list of wildlife species in the critically-endangered, endangered and threatened categories, and the list has been increasing over the years, according to the sixth national report submitted to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. "The increase in the red list species indicates severe stress on biodiversity and wild habitats," the report said. As of March 2020, India had a total of 688 animal species and 428 plants in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable categories, as compared to 646 species in 2014, and 413 in 2009. In addition, the increasing number of forest fires and rising temperatures are also putting pressure on the country's biodiversity protection. The report "State of India's Environment in Figures 2021" released in June has found that the country has lost 90 percent of the area under its four biodiversity hotspots. "India has seen a drastic rise in forest fires since the start of 2021," the report said. "Forest fires are influenced by temperature and rainfall in the preceding monsoon," it added. Enditem

Despite their pivotal role in Delhi, waste workers 'excluded' from waste management

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has a major objective of achieving 100% Scientific Solid Waste Management (SWM) across all the statutory towns in India. The revised rules (Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016) continue to emphasise upon the need to ensure source segregation as the most important prerequisite for the scientific and environmentally sound disposal of solid waste. We have seen an extensive deployment of collection, transportation and waste disposal technologies across Indian cities in the recent past. In most cases, adoption of the technological choices (Waste-to-Energy – WtE) appears to be reinforcing a centralised system of SWM. Waste management practices such as decentralised composting of wet waste and promotion of recycling through source segregation have become secondary to the deployment of WtE driven waste collection and transportation infrastructure across several Indian cities. It is also observed that compliance to environmental norms has also not been followed by the existing WtE plants. People residing in the vicinity of these plants are constantly complaining of health risks associated with the operation of these plants near residential areas. It is widely reported that existing WtE plants continue to burn mixed waste despite a number of judicial interventions in favour of compliance to the environmental norms. Despite these odds, waste pickers continue to play a key role in the primary collection and segregation of the solid waste informally. In most cases, the formal system of waste management does not recognise the contribution of waste pickers. These informal waste collectors provide their services to the residents and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) without any recognition of their immense contribution in environmentally sound ways of managing the solid waste. Their services are utilised by the resident either at very low cost or in many cases free of cost. Due to constant ignorance of ULBs, informal waste pickers are often subjected to exploitation by the contractors in the waste management system at multiple levels. Their livelihood entirely depends upon the sale of recyclables that they recover from the segregation of the solid waste. The quality of their lives and livelihood opportunities remain unchanged despite recognition of their immense contribution in the policy documents. However, waste pickers continue to get excluded from the waste management system. In several cases, waste pickers are thrown out of the city. A community roundtable on October 2, 2021 at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Baraat Ghar, Nizammuddin Basti, New Delhi from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm was organised by Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM); National Alliance of People’s Movement (NAPM); Delhi Solidarity Group (DSG); Institute for Democracy and Sustainability (IDS); Ambedkarvadi Lekhak Sangh (ALS); National Domestic Workers Union; Magadh Foundation; Shehri Mahila Kaamgar Union; and All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh (AIKMM). The roundtable was attended by more than 100 waste pickers which included both men and women. The panelist included Rahul Karnamadakala Sharma of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR); Md Mansoor Raza of Janpahal; Bhawani Shankar of the Citizens for Clean Air, Gurugram; and Baley Bhai, independent activist. Most of the workers migrate from rural to urban India in search of better livelihood but end up picking up waste due to no livelihood sources The roundtable began with Shashi B Pandit from DASAM speaking about how the waste workers have not progressed since decades despite changes in laws or the administration. They were living in misery and continue to do so. He raised a question as to why the waste workers are still kept away from the waste management system. Mansoor Raza spoke about need for recognition for the unorganised sector. An identity card for the unorganised sector was deemed necessary for which a long battle was fought. The Supreme Court passed an order to the Central in government which it has to form an inventory of the unorganised sector. He elaborated about the E-Shram portal and card and anyone from the unorganised sector aged between 16 yrs and59 yrs can register for it. Phone number and aadhaar card need to be linked with the bank to receive its benefits. Bhawani Shankar showed a plastic Bisleri bottle and said that we are from the category of people who produce waste. He shared a personal experience of his interaction with three siblings who were picking up waste. In his interaction, he asked the kids why they don’t go to school. The kids informed that they were beaten by the teachers as they used to pick up waste. He despaired at their condition and said that at the age where the kids should study and play, they were picking up waste for a decent livelihood and were scolded by the teacher. He mentioned the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and minimum employment guarantee in the rural areas which is not applicable throughout the country. Most of the workers migrate from rural to urban India in search of better livelihood and end up picking up waste due to no livelihood sources. He asked workers to shift from unorganised to organised as their quality and quantity of work deserves dignity and respect. Baley Bhai spoke about the exploitations that the waste workers face from the MCD and police officials where the workers have to pay them a small bounty to pick up waste. He said that the waste pickers are the real agents of ‘Swacch Bharat’ yet they are at the receiving end of exploitation and brutality. Rahul Karnamadakala Sharma spoke about technology and Waste to Energy (WtE) plants. He the WtE plants operate in several countries in places where most of the waste is dry. In India, however, most of the waste generated is wet and burning it is not a viable solution. He insisted on waste mining and suggested alternatives through which waste can be managed instead of burning it in incinerators. He laid stress on decentralised waste management and its implication for the waste pickers. Participating in the discussion, Sidharth Singh from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) spoke about the SWM Rules 2016 which speak about bringing the informal sector into the mainstream and involving waste workers in the waste management system. He said, the knowledge about how plastics can be recycled is missing from the masses, though waste workers do know about it. He concluded by saying that the workers when united can bring about changes and make their demands heard, but if they remain unorganised, their work will continue to be looked down upon and deprive of earnings commensurate with the work they do and respect they deserve. Sanjeev Kumar from DASAM spoke about SBM, its second phase and how the workers who keep the city clean, live in hazardous and dirty environment. Despite living in Central Delhi, their neighbourhood is neglected. He concluded the roundtable by thanking the waste workers for their contribution towards the society and environment. The roundtable ended with the waste pickers sharing their grievances and daily day to day struggle.