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After 22 years, global poverty is on the rise again

The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to be massive as the virus has triggered global starvation and nearly 265 million people worldwide may face hunger. 12 million people in India could be pushed back into poverty, according to a new annual study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). According to the report released on June 4 titled ‘State of India’s Environment in Figures 2020’, for the first time in 22 years the global poverty levels will escalate. CSE Director General Sunita Narain said “the pandemic, along with extreme weather events in the last four years and our skewed and faulty development policies, has severely impacted India's poor." The report says 19 major extreme weather events claimed 1,357 lives in India in 2019. In the past four years, extreme weather events have remained countries, including India. Says Narain: “We will need new futures, new directions for growth. But this can’t happen if our natural resources are threatened and our governance systems and practices are failing. ‘Green’ growth requires the protection and sustainable use of our natural resources. ‘Green’ growth cannot happen if our health is compromised.” Global pandemic is a hunger pandemic The next global pandemic may very well be a hunger pandemic and it is feared millions in India could face starvation, according to the United Nations agency World Food Program (WFP). According to a new report released last month by international management consulting firm Arthur D Little, COVID-19 could cost 136 million jobs in India, increase poverty and reduce per-capita income, which in turn will result in a sharp decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The report titled "India: Surmounting the economic challenges posed by COVID-19: A 10-point programme to revive and power India's post-COVID economy" said the joblessness could rise to 35% from the present 7.6% resulting in loss of 136 million jobs and leave as many as 174 million without means of sustenance. Poverty mitigation will receive a setback, notably changing the fortunes of many, putting 120 million people into poverty and 40 million into abject poverty, the report said. Migrant workers flee poverty after factories close Migrant workers in India faced numerous challenges during the pandemic. Millions of them were left without work as factories and workplaces in the cities closed due to the Covid-19 induced nationwide lockdown. On 24 March, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a countrywide lockdown for three weeks, which was extended in different phases till 31 May. With the loss of income, workers had to cope with food shortages and a number of them were rendered homeless as they were evicted by their landlords since they were unable to pay rents. Thousands of them then started walking or cycling back to their native villages and hometowns, often hundreds of miles away, as public transport stopped during the shutdown. According to media reports, over 300 workers and their family members died due to starvation, exhaustion, road and rail accidents, and denial of timely medical care during the long and hazardous journey. On 1st May, the Indian Railways launched Shramik or worker special trains to ferry the stranded migrant workers and others to their homes. However, reports said as many as 80 of them died while travelling back home on the special trains, in the one month after their launch. Utter lack of government assistance Large numbers of migrant workers have returned to states such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Providing livelihoods to them is going to be an onerous task for the states although the government has announced that returning workers would be given employment under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), which is a government scheme to provide job to people in rural areas. But the lockdown has also rendered a large number of educated youths, many of them graduates and postgraduates, jobless and they are now ready to do unskilled manual works under MNREGA at the statutory minimum wage. The lockdown has hit all sectors and while the magnitude of the impact may vary from sector to sector, aviation, tourism and hospitality, financials, retail, realty and automobiles are among the sectors that have been worst hit. With the loss of employment and lack of proper government assistance, millions of people could be hit hardest by extreme poverty or become victims of starvation. According to a recent research by the United Nations University (UNU), at least 104 million more people in India would be forced to live below the poverty line as a result of the fallout from coronavirus. The UNU made this assessment based on poverty standards set by the World Bank. COVID-19 results 400 million workers without income According to the UNU research, at present there are about 812 million people living below the poverty line in India as per the World Bank's income standards, constituting about 60% of the total population of the country. The Covid-19 epidemic and lockdown has adversely affected the economic condition of the country and this number could increase to 915 million. Thus 68% of the total population would be living below the poverty line. According to the poverty standards set by the World Bank for the poor countries, people earning less than $ 1.9 a day (about Indian Rs 145) in these countries are considered below the poverty line. According to a recent report on employment in India, released by the International Labor Organization (ILO), India's total workforce is 500 million, 90% of which is from the unorganized sector. The Covid-19 crisis will result in over 400 million workers losing their means of income. The report quoted the Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Stability Index as saying that workers would be mainly affected by measures such as lockdown being adopted to deal with the pandemic. These measures have forced most workers to return to their villages. Unemployment will increase in the unorganised sector, leading to a reduction in per capita income and consumption. On 30 May, the India’s Ministry of Home Affairs announced that the ongoing lockdown would be further extended till 30 June in zones with high number of active coronavirus cases, with services resuming in a phased manner, starting from 8 June, in other zones. It is termed as "Unlock 1" and is stated to have an economic focus. The government has announced a series of measures to deal with the economic slowdown due to the shutdown. On 12 May, Prime Minister Modi announced an economic package of US$280 billion for self reliant India. Modi said the package was for labourers, farmers, honest tax payers, micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs and cottage industries. | June 24, 2020

Alarming’ use of critical human antibiotics on crops

Farmers in parts of Asia are spraying antibiotics deemed “critical” for human medicine on rice crops, raising fears they may be fuelling antibiotic resistance, say researchers. A 32-country survey of agricultural advisers found that many are prescribing the common human antibiotics streptomycin and tetracycline for insect infestations, fungal diseases and as general protection, as well as for bacterial infections.* In some years, nearly ten per cent of the management recommendations for rice in one region contained an antibiotic, found the study, published today in the newlylaunched journal CABI Agriculture and Bioscience. “It’s difficult to understand how the global scientific community is really not focussed on this.” Amit Khurana, Centre for Science and Environment The usage is “alarmingly high” according to Phil Taylor, co-author of the research and training manager for the global plant clinic network, Plantwise. “They use it like a general tonic almost,” he says. “These data appear to indicate that the use of antibiotics in crop production is more extensive than most of the literature would suggest,” Taylor and co-author, Rob Reeder, write. Streptomycin is deemed “critically important” for human medicine by the World Health Organization (WHO); while tetracyclines are “highly important”.* Antibiotics, and resistant bacteria, may remain in the harvested crop and enter the human food chain, especially in food that is not thoroughly cooked. Additionally, after spraying, much of the antibiotic can remain unspent in the soil. There are growing concerns this creates a reservoir of resistance in the environment. The research provides rare data on the use of antibiotics in arable farming in the developing world and supports anecdotal reports of their widespread use on crops in Vietnam, Cambodia and China, as well as claims by a leading research and advocacy organisation in India, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that crop farmers are flouting national protocols and liberally using streptomycin and tetracycline. Erik Millstone, a science policy expert and specialist in food safety policy at the University of Sussex who was not involved in the study, says: “Food safety regulators nationally and internationally have been doing a sloppy job letting this slip under the radar and the very least I hope the publication of this paper achieves is triggering a wave of attention and action on the part of national and international regulatory authorities.” The research was carried out by plant pathologists from the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), an intergovernmental agricultural research and dissemination organisation. CABI, the parent organisation of SciDev.Net, trains grassroots agricultural advisers in lower-income countries, who are often employed by national agricultural ministries. Taylor and Reeder, Plantwise data manager, examined more than 430,000 consultation records these ‘plant doctors’ submitted between 2012 and October 2018. There were no records of antibiotic recommendations in any of the 12 African countries in the study, nor in most of the countries from South and Central America; and use in eastern Mediterranean countries was low. But in South-East Asia (which, using the WHO categorisation, includes India and Nepal) and the Western Pacific, plant doctors regularly recommended antibiotics – most commonly for rice, followed by tomato and citrus fruit. While 65 per cent of these recommendations were for bacterial diseases – over which experts are divided on efficacy – one in five were for insects or mites, against which antibiotics have no effect. In many cases, especially in South-East Asia, “the recommendations were identical regardless of the diagnosis,” say the researchers. “We speculate that the agricultural advisors in South-East Asia routinely combine an insecticide with a fungicide and an antibiotic in a single application so as to deal with the current issue and to prevent/control other problems not yet present or residing at a low level.” Reeder and Taylor say there was “enormous variation” between the six South-East Asian countries in the study (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand) but national figures were not included. The data supports reports of widespread use in some countries. Ricardo Oliva, an expert in plant resistance at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, says he has often seen streptomycin on sale to farmers in markets in Vietnam and Cambodia. “You see the boxes thrown in the field,” he says. And in November the Delhi-based CSE reported on its visits to 15 farmers across India chosen to represent a variety of terrains and produce. All acknowledged using streptomycin on their crops, according to Amit Khurana, director of the CSE’s food safety and toxins programme. Subsequent interviews and desk research revealed that different agricultural boards and government colleges in a variety of states recommend their use. The degree of risk is controversial. Advocates of antibiotic use argue there is “no proven evidence of resistance having spread from plant pathogenic bacteria to human or animal pathogens despite 50 years of use”, say Reeder and Taylor. But Jan Leach, an expert in plantpathogen interactions at Colorado State University says transmission in the opposite direction (resistance genes from bacteria that infect humans have been found in plant pathogens) has been demonstrated, meaning that “we know that there is movement of antimicrobial resistance between plant pathogens and human pathogens”. “We see the spread of diseases all the time and the big concern is that if you get these resistances into these pathogen groups and then they move from country to country, or in wind patterns … we don’t know how widespread these things can become,” says Leach. Experts disagree about whether it is ever justifiable to use antibiotics in crops. Common diseases such as rice bacterial blight can be devastating, says Leach. “These are resource-poor famers and they are dealing with very tiny pieces of land. And if they lose their crop they don’t have food for their families ... so these diseases are bad and they have a high impact.” But antibiotics often do not work even against bacterial diseases. Leach says it is better to adopt new varieties bred for management practices. Oliva adds: “It’s my personal opinion but I would never advise the use of antibiotics [on rice].” The researchers highlighted the lack of data on antibiotic use on crops. An investigation by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health and WHO found that only three per cent of countries did regular assessment of the types and amounts of antibiotic used on crops. Regulations also vary widely. Many countries have no legislation and some encourage the practice as a valuable tool against infection, the investigation says. The European Union and Brazil do not approve any antibiotic as an active ingredient in pesticides; some countries, such as the United States, allow their use in emergencies. Last year the US Environmental Protection Agency controversially allowed farmers to spray hundreds of tonnes of human antibiotics, including streptomycin, in orchards to combat the disease citrus greening. The FAO convened an expert meeting in 2018 to assess the risks posed by antibiotics entering the soil and the environment. Jeffrey Le Jeune, food safety and quality officer at FAO, says: “We don’t have very much data to say what is the relative contribution to the whole human exposure through crops. That’s the bottom line. “We do know that they are used on crops and then they get in the environment. We do know that you can find antimicrobial resistant organisms on foods of plant origin that are intended for animal feed or human consumption. And we do know some outbreaks of food-borne illnesses associated with vegetables have had antimicrobial resistant organisms. “But is that a red herring? How did those resistant organisms get there? Was it because they used antibiotics or antimicrobials? Or was it because there were antimicrobial resistant organisms coming in the irrigation water from a faulty wastewater treatment plant? We don’t know. “The point is it needs to be looked at and evaluated... but I think you could be safe to say that if you don’t need it you shouldn’t use it.” The Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme is drawing up a revised code of practice on antibiotic use in food production, which will include new components on plant health. Meetings and working groups are planned into 2021. Khurana, from India’s CSE, adds: “It’s difficult to understand how the global scientific community is really not focussed on this. The FAO [needs to] show a similar kind of aggression [towards crop antibiotic use] to the way they are showing it on the animal side.” | June 24, 2020

Study: Increased use of human antibiotics on rice crops may fuel antibiotic resistance

Farmers in parts of Asia are spraying antibiotics deemed "critical" for human medicine on rice crops, raising fears they may be fuelling antibiotic resistance, say researchers. A 32-country survey of agricultural advisers found that many are prescribing the common human antibiotics streptomycin and tetracycline for insect infestations, fungal diseases and as general protection, as well as for bacterial infections. In some years, nearly ten per cent of the management recommendations for rice in one region contained an antibiotic, found the study, published today in the newly-launched journal CABI Agriculture and Bioscience. The usage is "alarmingly high" according to Phil Taylor, co-author of the research and training manager for the global plant clinic network,Plantwise. "They use it like a general tonic almost," he says. "These data appear to indicate that the use of antibiotics in crop production is more extensive than most of the literature would suggest," Taylor and co-author, Rob Reeder, write. Streptomycin is deemed "critically important" for human medicine by the World Health Organization (WHO); while tetracyclines are "highly important". Antibiotics, and resistant bacteria, may remain in the harvested crop and enter the human food chain, especially in food that is not thoroughly cooked. Additionally, after spraying, much of the antibiotic can remain unspent in the soil. There are growing concerns this creates a reservoir of resistance in the environment. The research provides rare data on the use of antibiotics in arable farming in the developing world and supports anecdotal reports of their widespread use on crops in Vietnam, Cambodia and China, as well as claims by a leading research and advocacy organisation in India, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that crop farmers are flouting national protocols and liberally using streptomycin and tetracycline. Erik Millstone, a science policy expert and specialist in food safety policy at the University of Sussex who was not involved in the study, says: "Food safety regulators nationally and internationally have been doing a sloppy job letting this slip under the radar and the very least I hope the publication of this paper achieves is triggering a wave of attention and action on the part of national and international regulatory authorities." The research was carried out by plant pathologists from the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), an intergovernmental agricultural research and dissemination organisation. CABI, the parent organisation ofSciDev.Net, trains grassroots agricultural advisers in lower-income countries, who are often employed by national agricultural ministries. Taylor and Reeder, Plantwise data manager, examined more than 430,000 consultation records these 'plant doctors' submitted between 2012 and October 2018. There were no records of antibiotic recommendations in any of the 12 African countries in the study, nor in most of the countries from South and Central America; and use in eastern Mediterranean countries was low. But in South-East Asia (which, using the WHO categorisation, includes India and Nepal) and the Western Pacific, plant doctors regularly recommended antibiotics - most commonly for rice, followed by tomato and citrus fruit. While 65 per cent of these recommendations were for bacterial diseases - over which experts are divided on efficacy - one in five were for insects or mites, against which antibiotics have no effect. In many cases, especially in South-East Asia, "the recommendations were identical regardless of the diagnosis," say the researchers. "We speculate that the agricultural advisors in South-East Asia routinely combine an insecticide with a fungicide and an antibiotic in a single application so as to deal with the current issue and to prevent/control other problems not yet present or residing at a low level." Reeder and Taylor say there was "enormous variation" between the six South-East Asian countries in the study (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand) but national figures were not included. The data supports reports of widespread use in some countries. Ricardo Oliva, an expert in plant resistance at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, says he has often seen streptomycin on sale to farmers in markets in Vietnam and Cambodia. "You see the boxes thrown in the field… it's part of the culture," he says. And in November the Delhi-based CSE reported on its visits to 15 farmers across India chosen to represent a variety of terrains and produce. Related Stories Could in vitro glycoengineering help produce better SARS-CoV-2 spike candidates for vaccine research? New model could help test vaccines against the deadly Strep A bacteria SARS-CoV-1 utilizes ORF3a protein to trigger viral release All acknowledged using streptomycin on their crops, according to Amit Khurana, director of the CSE's food safety and toxins programme. Subsequent interviews and desk research revealed that different agricultural boards and government colleges in a variety of states recommend their use. The degree of risk is controversial. Advocates of antibiotic use argue there is "no proven evidence of resistance having spread from plant pathogenic bacteria to human or animal pathogens despite 50 years of use", say Reeder and Taylor. But Jan Leach, an expert in plant-pathogen interactions at Colorado State University says transmission in the opposite direction (resistance genes from bacteria that infect humans have been found in plant pathogens) has been demonstrated, meaning that "we know that there is movement of antimicrobial resistance between plant pathogens and human pathogens". "We see the spread of diseases all the time and the big concern is that if you get these resistances into these pathogen groups and then they move from country to country, or in wind patterns … we don't know how widespread these things can become," says Leach. Experts disagree about whether it is ever justifiable to use antibiotics in crops. Common diseases such as rice bacterial blight can be devastating, says Leach. "These are resource-poor famers and they are dealing with very tiny pieces of land. And if they lose their crop they don't have food for their families ... so these diseases are bad and they have a high impact." But antibiotics often do not work even against bacterial diseases. Leach says it is better to adopt new varieties bred for resistance to local diseases and use good management practices. Oliva adds: "It's my personal opinion but I would never advise the use of antibiotics [on rice]." The researchers highlighted the lack of data on antibiotic use on crops. An investigation by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health and WHO found that only three per cent of countries did regular assessment of the types and amounts of antibiotic used on crops. Regulations also vary widely. Many countries have no legislation and some encourage the practice as a valuable tool against infection, the investigation says. The European Union and Brazil do not approve any antibiotic as an active ingredient in pesticides; some countries, such as the United States, allow their use in emergencies. Last year the US Environmental Protection Agency controversially allowed farmers to spray hundreds of tonnes of human antibiotics, including streptomycin, in orchards to combat the disease citrus greening. The FAO convened an expert meeting in 2018 to assess the risks posed by antibiotics entering the soil and the environment. Jeffrey Le Jeune, food safety and quality officer at FAO, says: "We don't have very much data to say what is the relative contribution to the whole human exposure through crops. That's the bottom line. "We do know that they are used on crops and then they get in the environment. We do know that you can find antimicrobial resistant organisms on foods of plant origin that are intended for animal feed or human consumption." "And we do know some outbreaks of food-borne illnesses associated with vegetables have had antimicrobial resistant organisms. But is that a red herring? How did those resistant organisms get there? Was it because they used antibiotics or antimicrobials? Or was it because there were antimicrobial resistant organisms coming in the irrigation water from a faulty wastewater treatment plant? We don't know." Jeffrey Le Jeune, Food Safety and Quality Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization "The point is it needs to be looked at and evaluated... but I think you could be safe to say that if you don't need it you shouldn't use it." The Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme is drawing up a revised code of practice on antibiotic use in food production, which will include new components on plant health. Meetings and working groups are planned into 2021. Khurana, from India's CSE, adds: "It's difficult to understand how the global scientific community is really not focussed on this. The FAO [needs to] show a similar kind of aggression [towards crop antibiotic use] to the way they are showing it on the animal side."

Green Tech Careers: Why Climate Change Is Urgently Needed In The Indian Education System

It is often said that awareness is the first step towards action. This is even more so for the climate change crisis, with health hazards, poverty and financial repercussions of the changing planet being borne by today’s youth and their children. Yet, a study by the Yale University shows that 65% of Indians are unaware of climate change. This is despite the disproportionate impact of climate change in India, such as facing the highest risk to labour productivity due to heat stress. Climate change fails to be a mandated part of school curriculum in India after calls from governments and civil society. To date, there have been many one-off initiatives by the government, like the ‘climate change science express’ train. However, most of these initiatives have failed to get necessary traction. Moreover, they have predominantly been trial or pilot initiatives as opposed to climate mainstreaming in the educational system. There are also some non-governmental initiatives, like the ‘Green School programme‘ run by the Centre for Science and Environment, which has thousands of schools onboard. However, none of these initiatives are long-term or universal in nature. Whilst some boards like the CBSE have climate change in their curriculum, the extent to which this is taught varies from school to school. This has made many young people start petitions, demanding all boards to revisit their curriculum and include in-depth coverage of climate change at an earlier age. green curriculum in schools, colleges, green tech careers All of this requires action, particularly by young people. One such way is by signing petitions to demand change nationally or within your school or university. Students have been implementing bottom-up change too, such as giving talks and hosting seminars in their own communities. In a lot of schools and colleges, students are also educating their peers through action, such as pioneering recycling or championing other sustainability initiatives. The scene at the university level is more promising, but climate change-based courses are limited. On the whole, connection to green technologies or clean energy is not being made at a majority of science or engineering institutes, for instance. However, there are some exceptions like the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune, which is integrating climate change in taught subjects at the undergraduate level, including topics such as climate mitigation technologies. Research suffers the same ignorance, with very little research on climate change being done to date in India. This deprives academics the opportunity to investigate issues that are most pertinent to Indian context, such as climate adaptation. Given that climate change is a reality for many in developing countries, especially the poorest, local solutions are required to adapt effectively. This also stresses the importance of South-to-South collaboration , or sharing lessons and learning from other developing countries on how to address climate change and simultaneously meet Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, the announced opening of the School Of Climate Change And Sustainability in Delhi University is a step in the right direction. Finally, many university students do not consider climate change in their career planning. For instance, beyond moral or societal arguments to study or work in climate change, the issue presents a highly-impactful career opportunity, with areas like green technology, one of the fastest growing sectors globally. Most graduates are unaware of emerging and high-paying jobs in the field of clean technology, which may surprise many who view climate change as limited to social activism. According to LinkedIn, emerging jobs in 2020 in India are all centred around technology. What is less discussed is how these skills and professions are helping tackle climate change, such as the growing use of artificial intelligence to address climate change. Tech giants including Google are pioneering innovative global solutions, such as their Sustainability Tools, which are capturing city level emission data, protecting and mapping our oceans and biodiversity, and helping individuals plan their sustainability actions using big data. In short, the opportunities to tackle the climate crisis start from young people’s education and careers. Students in schools and universities can take numerous actions, from demanding universal climate education in national curricula to undertaking climate change studies and research at the university level. This awareness and knowledge can not only inspire lifestyle change, like youth-led sustainability initiatives, but also create the next generation of environmental professionals and leaders, who can use their career as a catalyst to create a sustainable future.

COVID-19: How The Pandemic May Increase Human Trafficking in India

When the coronavirus made its way into India, very often I heard about it being a great leveller. All were scared, everyone was confined to their homes, and nobody seemed to be certain about their future. Leaders came and declared one or the other version of “we are in this together.” Though my education and experience told me otherwise, it felt nice to believe it for a few seconds before reason would start pushing these fallacies out of my mind. Soon, the lockdown was announced and ever since, we have been witnessing heart wrenching scenes of migrant crisis around us. And, I am more than ever convinced that a disaster which strikes an unequal world can only create further inequities. One of which is the possible increase in human trafficking. Our country witnessed unprecedented lockdown measures which, among other things, meant severe restrictions on economic activities. For already vulnerable informal workers with poor wages and social security measures, sudden loss of livelihoods and incomes in turn meant more precarious lives and livelihoods than ever. New evidence is emerging that is reasonably predicting a rise in poverty post COVID-19. For instance, according to ‘State of India’s Environment in Figures 2020’, published by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India is expected to add 12 million more poor to its population. Increasing number of poor and resultant economic inequality is a proven pre-condition for trafficking. This means that not only are victims of trafficking becoming more vulnerable to exploitative conditions after COVID-19 but their numbers are also going to increase and traffickers may have already made their way into the hinterlands scouring for potential victims. | June 22, 2020

COVID-19 community transmission in 26 of 54 African countries: WHO

Kiran Pandey About 115 days into the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed community transmission in at least 26 of 54 countries in the continent. The continent reported over 197,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 5,300 deaths as on June 9, 2020. It confirmed its first case in Egypt on February 14, 2020. Community transmission “is evidenced by the inability to relate confirmed cases through chains of transmission for a large number of cases, or by increasing positive tests through sentinel samples (routine systematic testing of respiratory samples from established laboratories),” according to the WHO. In West Africa, 12 of 15 countries reported community transmission, with Nigeria and Ghana being the most affected. A closer look at the outbreak in these two countries showed that over 47 per cent cases were reported from Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. Accra, the capital of Ghana, accounted for over 64 per cent of confirmed cases in the country.

Greater Noida: Builders fined for not taking dust control measures

Noida: The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) on Saturday slapped a fine of ₹5 lakh on a builder developing a group housing project in Greater Noida for not taking adequate anti-pollution measures during construction. This is the second time in the past two days that the UPPCB has slapped a fine on entities over irresponsible construction activities leading to air pollution. On Thursday, another builder was imposed a penalty of ₹5 lakh over the same reason. Officials said Thursday’s fine was the first in the district after construction was allowed to restart from May 4, following weeks of lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus (Covid- 19) disease. “We had received a complaint through social media that construction activities in a Greater Noida sector were creating inconvenience and generating a lot of dust. Upon inspection, it was found construction was leading to dust. Construction materials like sand were also not covered. There were no dust controlling measures taken by the builder, that’s why an environmental compensation of ₹5 lakh was imposed,” said Archana Dwivedi, regional officer, UPPCB. “An official letter has been sent to the city magistrate to collect the fine of ₹5 lakh each from both builders,” Dwivedi added. As construction activities restarted in Gautam Budh Nagar, the district has been seeing a slight drop in air quality. The air quality index (AQI) during the national lockdown had come down to the ‘satisfactory’ category (AQI of 50 to 100). However, the current trend of air quality is under the ‘moderate’ category, which is an AQI of 100 to 200. “The air quality in the region is a cause of concern again as it’s deteriorating slowly with construction activities resuming in the region. At some places in NCR, the air quality is back to the ‘poor’ category and the volume of both PM2.5 and PM10 is increasing. Also, during summers, dust from construction activities contributes to PM2.5 levels. It is highly advised to ensure that C&D (construction and demolition) and dust mitigation guidelines are adhered to,”said Shambhavi Shukla, programme officer (air quality), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Earlier this month, it was revealed in an RTI that only 10 out of 45 major construction sites and industries have installed anti-smog guns -- a major pollution control measure. The anti-smog gun, as directed by the Supreme Court in January, should be used in the NCR at project sites dealing with excavation, material handling and other dustgenerating activities. | June 20, 2020

In memoriam of Kirk R Smith

pollution but his greatest contribution was instilling hope for positive change, write Sunita Narain & Anumita Roychowdhury It is not easy to write about Kirk. Many memories are deeply etched and putting them in any kind of order is nearly impossible. Kirk Smith, as the world knows him, visited the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) for the first time way back in the early 1980s. That was the time when CSE's flagship report 'India's State of Environment' was examining the connection between the environment and poor people's 'chulhas' (cookstoves) that burn biomass and solid fuels. Also Read - Actions rather than thoughts Those days, government policies were asking poor rural women to use improved stoves to reduce firewood usage and protect forests in the process. Sitting in our office, Kirk debunked that logic. He weighed in that it was more important to make women and others aware of the dangers of inhaling toxic indoor smoke and how it hurt human lungs, especially those of women and children. Forest protection was not central or primary to this agenda. This helped to build a powerful narrative on what has remained one of the most compelling public health challenges even today. From that time onward, Kirk became and remained one of our closest friends. He often shared with us his scientific insight and advice that was like a litmus test of what we said and did on air pollution. Also Read - For a better tomorrow Global spotlight on India's chulha trap We owe it to Kirk for catapulting the most persistent public health problem of the Global South — the link between energy poverty and household air pollution, to the global centre stage. He persuaded the world, the multilateral agencies and forums that address public health, to integrate mitigation of household air pollution and attach primacy to it. He made India conscious of chronic energy poverty — the 'chulha' trap. He frequently reminded us that though the percentage share of households using solid fuels for cooking in the growing demography had reduced over time, the absolute numbers of households still caught in the 'chulha' trap had not changed. This was unacceptable. Also Read - Fighting ignorance and apathy India remained his lab for research and place for advocacy for 40 years. He is our very own. He had started by monitoring exposure of one woman inside her home in Gujarat's Kheda district, way back in 1981; He said she was the "first person in human history" to have been monitored for exposure to 'chulha' smoke. His pleasure knew no bounds when he traced the same lady after 30 years and found the household using clean fuel. By then, he had further expanded his work to villages in Haryana to not only assess household air pollution but also monitor rural ambient air quality. Also Read - A gamble, a trade-off Challenged convention — shifted focus to exposure Over the last few years, Delhi became Kirk's home when he was not teaching at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States. But this was also the time when he got deeply involved with the air quality narrative in India and changed the way air quality management was understood and approached. As an advisor to the first-ever committee on air pollution and health of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Kirk challenged the conventional approach of focusing only on managing general ambient air quality. He made an emphatic argument that it was the total integrated exposure from all sources close to us that mattered more from a public health standpoint. The official recommendations of the ministry now include that it is more important to know how close we are to the pollution source and what are we inhaling. General ambient concentration is not a good surrogate for total air pollution risk and health outcome. Broke silos It was Kirk's persuasive argument that convinced all that we cannot keep outdoor and household air pollution in silos anymore. He showed with numbers that household air pollution was about a quarter of the outdoor air pollution. We cannot achieve clean air without stopping household air pollution. He put forth findings from research to show that if India stopped household air pollution, it would be easier to meet the national clean air standard for particulate matter nationwide. There was certainly a reason for his excitement and cheer when the new schemes came up to shift the subsidy for liquified petroleum gas from the rich to the poor of India. Helped to understand risk transition When the poor Global South was struggling hard to reduce health risks, Kirk helped the world to understand the nature of the environment risk transition with the changing economy. This also helped us with the framing of our narrative on air pollution during the early years of our campaign. Kirk said when countries are poorer, they are burdened with the traditional risk of infection. With economic growth and growing toxicity, modern risk related to metabolic diseases and cancer increases. And the post-modern risk is when the rich nations fall into the spiral of greenhouse gas emissions and transport the risk of climate change to the world. He warned that India was facing the overlap of traditional and modern risks leading to higher per capita disease burden. India's traditional and modern risks are strong at once. Towards a blue sky This is our last and deeply moving personal memory of Kirk. In recent times, when strong negativity, as well as negative imaging of dirty smoggy skies in our cities sapped hope, Kirk called us and suggested that we do a photo competition together; ask all to visualise in whichever way possible and click photos of a clear blue sky or of evidence of change on ground and share. His message was clear and strong: It is not negativity but positive visioning that empowers change. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the deadline of this photo contest. But he hurried us up and said, do not wait too long, and fixed August 15 as the new deadline. Kirk did not live to see the collective visioning of a blue sky from the people of India. He left us too early. But he has left with us this mantra and the power of imagining change and hope. Views expressed are personal | June 19, 2020

India loses champion of clean indoor air for women

Kirk R. Smith, who made India his second home, was instrumental in driving policy initiatives to combat indoor air pollution that affects women and children the most Kirk R. Smith, an internationally renowned expert on the health and climate effects of household energy use in developing nations, and whose scientific research and advocacy informed widespread policy action, including in India, died in his California home on June 15. He was 73. Smith was professor of global environmental health at University of California at Berkeley. He was awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2012 for his work on climate, health and cookstoves. He was also one of the authors of the scientific reports prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Smith had a special relationship with India, visiting the country often since the early 1980s to conduct research on indoor air pollution and provide expert advice to the government in designing many schemes that promoted the use of clean cookstoves and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) instead of more polluting biomass. He was among the first who spread awareness among women, civil society organisations and government officials on the toxic effects of burning firewood and other biomass in indoor chulhas (cookstoves) that later led to major policy interventions in India and other developing nations. Smith’s labours bore fruit when India in 2016 started a scheme — Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) — to distribute LPG to women living below the poverty line. The programme led to a 56% increase in LPG consumption in India in the five years to 2019. It initially aimed to benefit 50 million families, helping them to shift to a smoke-free kitchen environment. Tireless efforts By September 2019, some 80 million poor households had an LPG connection. Although a strong supporter of PMUY, Smith continued to push for better and wider implementation. “Connection, however, does not mean full usage and many new Ujjwala households and others continue to use significant amounts of biomass fuel, with consequent impacts on the health of village populations from the smoke,” he said in a policy brief in 2019. “While LPG subsidies are likely to be the most important factor determining usage, they will not be sufficient to push households towards abandoning solid fuels. Increasing awareness about the health impacts of smoke from chulhas should complement the other initiatives.” Author of seminal research on indoor air pollution and its effect on health, Smith never rested on his laurels. The last research article he co-authored was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal on June 8, 2020. In 1981, Smith identified the harm caused by smoke from the burning of fuels like wood or dung in homes in the developing world. For the past four decades, his research focused on measuring the damage it does to people’s health and on looking for solutions. “The impact of household air pollution is on scale with any other major health risk in developing countries, including exposure to HIV, mosquitoes or dirty water,” Smith said in 2012 while receiving the Tyler Prize. “Passionate and committed, Kirk made a huge difference through his research and teaching,” said Sunita Narain, director general of Centre for Science and Environment, an advocacy group. “He made the world aware of wicked problem of cookstoves.” “We will keep his work alive as the best tribute we can imagine,” said Maria Neira, director at World Health Organisation. | June 19, 2020

Goodbye clean air, pollution is back

Over the past two months under an unprecedented global lockdown, people with asthma and COPD experienced an unusual freedom. People with respiratory conditions reported an improvement in symptoms and reduction in consumption of anti-asthmatic drugs a... Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/panorama/goodbye-clean-air-pollution-is-back-851157.html

Exclusive: Pakistan skips Indo-Pak meet to tackle locust attacks

Officers of both countries were to meet at Munnabao-Khokraoar border post, but Pakistan yet again refused to cooperate on an issue that has already caused huge losses to farmers on both sides. Pakistan on Thursday skipped a crucial meeting with India to tackle recent locust attacks that led to extensive crop damage in both countries. Officers of both countries were to meet at Munnabao-Khokraoar border post, but Pakistan yet again refused to cooperate on an issue that has already caused huge losses to farmers on both sides. Even though a meeting was scheduled for today, sources said Pakistan did not formally communicate its response to India. Amid all this, a fresh warning was issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of more locust attacks in June along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border. India had earlier offered Pakistan and Iran help to formulate a coordinated approach to fight the desert locust swarms. While Tehran responded to India’s offer to supply pesticide and carry out desert locust control operations in Sistan- Balochistan and South Khorasan provinces, Pakistan continues to remain silent on the matter. It may be noted that India had offered to facilitate the supply of pesticide Malathion to Pakistan. The institutionalised mechanism of Locust Warning Organization (LWO) could be energised for such cooperation which will mitigate the effect of locusts attack in India. While there has been no bilateral cooperation to fight this menace, both countries have participated in meetings under a forum administered by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). India, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan are part of FAO’s Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in South-West Asia (SWAC), which is one of the oldest of the three regional commissions within the global locust early warning and prevention system. | June 19, 2020

Bicycle sales ride on safety and health concerns

With Delhi’s gyms remaining closed and people avoiding public transport (even cabs) from fear of Covid-19, cycle sales are soaring in a city that used to swear by cars. One day earlier this month, Mukesh Sharma, a freelance graphic designer got into a bus headed for Connaught Place. It was the first time in two months he was getting into a bus. The bus wasn’t crowded, and everyone in it was wearing masks but Sharma was still uncomfortable. And afraid. What if one of the passengers was an asymptomatic carrier of the coronavirus disease. He got down at the next stop. “And that evening, I went out and bought a cycle,” said Sharma. He isn’t the only one. With Delhi’s gyms remaining closed and people avoiding public transport (even cabs) from fear of Covid-19, cycle sales are soaring in a city that used to swear by cars. Some of the buyers haven’t cycled since their school days but that hasn’t stopped them from wholeheartedly taking to what is perhaps the most socialdistanced mode of transport -- and also one of the most efficient ways of exercising and getting around. A constant rush of customers has prompted Gaurav Wadhwa, who runs one of the city’s oldest cycle shops in South Delhi’s Yusuf Sarai Market, to open for business at 7 am. His sales have gone up three times. “Earlier, I used to sell 25 cycles a day and now I sell 75,” said Wadhwa. He added that many customers are also bringing in their old bicycles to be repaired. Mayak Malhotra, another prominent cycle dealer in Paschim Vihar, echoed Wadhwa. He added that people are buying not-socheap mid-range hybrid bikes, not just for fitness but also to commute. “My sales have gone up five times in the past couple of weeks. A lot of people are buying cycles because they want to avoid public transport. I sold a cycle to a person who wished to switch to a cycle to commute from his home in Paschim Vihar to office in Rohini [15 km away]. A lot of these young people would earlier take the Metro or cabs.” In some ways, the cycle is the vehicle of the lockdown. There are countless tales of stranded migrant workers cycling hundreds of kilometres back home in the absence of public transport. It’s everyone’s favourite way of getting fit. And for those who can’t afford a car or a motorcycle, it is a great way to get around a city that still doesn’t see as much traffic as it used to. Dhruv Karan Mehta, who recently formed a cycling group, said the pandemic has helped many like him rediscover the joys of cycling. “I had a cycle which remained unused for a decade, and during the [Covid-19] lockdown, I started using it to get around my neighbourhood to buy essentials. It was such a great experience cycling on empty roads and I shared my cycling stories on social media,” said Mehta, a Defence Colony resident. “Some of those who followed my posts expressed interest in buying cycles and forming a cycling group. About eight of us recently bought new cycles and I now use only my cycle for short commutes.” Anant Rishi, a businessman in Sarvodya Enclave, recently bought two cycles–one for himself and another for his wife . “Now even my wife and father have become avid bikers. My gym is closed but I cycle 60 km every alternate morning,” said Rishi. As many as 30.6% of Delhi households owned a bicycle, and about 11% of the working population cycled to work, according to the 2011 census. Many believe the sudden interest in cycling can help make Delhi a more bikefriendly city. “The government should use this growing enthusiasm for cycles during the pandemic to prioritise development of cycling infrastructure in the city, something it has been talking about for many years now,” said Rajendra Ravi, founder, Institute For Democracy And Sustainability, a non-government organisation, which advocates for the rights of cyclists. Earlier this month, the Centre sent an advisory to states and Union territories, asking them to come up with short, medium and long- term plans to promote cycling and walking, among other interventions, for safe urban transit systems post-Covid-19. The advisory said cities across the world were ramping up their cycling systems in response to the coronavirus crisis. Authorities in New York, for example, have added 64 km of new non-motorized transport (NMT) lanes. Bogota in Colombia added 76 km. Milan converted 35 km of streets into cycling lanes. In Auckland (New Zealand) on-street car parking was removed to build 17 km of temporary bike lanes. The short-term strategy outlined in the Centre’s advisory includes creating temporary pedestrian areas, footpaths, and cycle lanes through removable barricades, tape, cones, road markings/painting, and mobile signs on identified corridors/areas. It seeks to encourage closure of one or more lanes to promote walking and cycling at a specific time or on a specific day. Experts believe that such “tactical urbanism”, which uses short term, lowcost, and scalable interventions, is a good way to catalyse long-term change and integrate cycling into urban transport systems. Prof Avilash Roul, the principal scientist at Indo-German Center for Sustainability, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, said cycling can be an effective alternative to public transport in the post-Covid world. Citing Albert Einstein who once wrote “life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving,” Roul said cities too will have to perform a balancing act for a long time to come. “Cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai, with very high infection rates, must immediately create pop-up cycle lanes and work to develop a plan for creating cycling infrastructure. While many cities, including Delhi, set up PBS [Public Bike Sharing] systems, they failed to simultaneously create cycling infrastructure,” added Roul. “The city governments must use this growing passion for cycling, and work with local communities to redesign roads and give a fair share to cyclists. ” Safety is paramount, experts say. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the Centre for Science and Environment, cited the Census 2011 data and said nearly 48% of the daily trips in Delhi are within 5km range. “Across the world, cities have created pop-up bike lanes using bollards or markings on roads. People will switch to cycling or walking if we provide safe infrastructure to them. Cycling is a good option for people who have to travel short distances. It will also take the load off the public transport systems [that] will run on half or onethird capacity due to social distancing norms.” Sharma is enjoying his cycling. “It takes me about 40 minutes to reach CP,” he said. “ While it is dangerous to cycle in Delhi, at least I feel safe from the coronavirus.”

Commuting remains a challenge in a city slowly crawling back to life

As the national capital opens up from a lockdown in a phased manner amid the Covid-19 outbreak, commuting has become a hurdle for many. The Delhi Metro is yet to resume services and buses are operating only in limited numbers. After waiting for nearly 35 minutes at a Barakhamba Road bus stop, Neeraj Kumar (25), a resident of Moti Nagar, manages to get on to a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus headed towards his house. Three buses to his destination did not stop at the stand; they were full as per social distancing norms set by the Centre, he says. “This is the new normal. Commuting has become a big problem, as the Metro is not working and buses often don’t stop as they are full,” said Kumar, who works as a field agent with a chartered accountancy firm. Anita Devi (45), a resident of Sultanpuri, said it took her two-and-a-half hours to reach the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. While waiting at the bus stop outside the hospital, she said: “I came here after almost three months to get medicines, but neither could I meet the doctor nor get the medicines. I have been waiting for 45 minutes. But the buses are also not stopping at the stand.” As the national capital opens up from a lockdown in a phased manner amid the Covid-19 outbreak, commuting has become a hurdle for many. The Delhi Metro is yet to resume services and buses are operating only in limited numbers. DTC has a fleet of 3,724 buses and the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) has 2,830 cluster buses. While DIMTS officials say that all its 2,830 buses are operating, DTC has been able to press into service only about 50% of its fleet. With nearly six million passenger trips daily, the Delhi Metro is the transport lifeline of Delhi-NCR. With no word on when the Centre will allow the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to resume operations, the state-run bus system is the only cost-effective option available to people. According to a senior official in the transport department, close to 700 buses are on police and special duty. “Of the remaining 3,000, nearly 1,800 buses are plying on the roads. We have not received any complaints so far about shortage of buses,” the official said, asking not to be named. When asked why fewer DTC buses were operating, the official cited multiple reasons. “There are many reasons. Some of our drivers are not able to come as they live in neighbouring states which have strict border restrictions. Some others are 55 and above in age. Some of our staff has also tested positive for Covid-19 due to which others had to be placed in home quarantine. But we are trying to work out a way so that sufficient numbers of buses are on the roads.” Commuters say they now plan their work keeping in mind the time it takes to reach home, as there is a curfew in place after 9pm. “We now have to plan our work schedule according to the availability of buses,” said Mahinder Singh, an IT professional. Due to the restrictions imposed to check the spread of Covid-19 — curfew from 9pm, limited number of passengers in buses and e-rickshaws and inadequate public transportation — Singh said commuting was proving to be a challenge. “Earlier, I would visit 4-5 places for work. But now, I don’t take any assignments after 4pm, as I have to plan my trip back home. Now, we have to wait for a minimum of 30 minutes for buses. I can’t afford to take auto-rickshaw every day as I have to visit multiple locations,” said Singh, who lives in Rajouri Garden. Transport expert Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said that efforts should be made to ensure availability of adequate public transport system so that people don’t switch to private vehicles. “People are switching to personal vehicles due to safety reasons and also due to a shortage of public transport. The capacity of buses has further gone down due to the restrictions of 20 passengers. Like they do during the odd-even scheme in peak pollution season, the government should pool resources to meet the requirement of public transport.” A senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “So far, there is no plan to rope in private players. But we are trying to ensure that 90-95% DTC buses are out on the roads, especially during peak hours.”

Coronavirus shutdown leads to ‘alpine’ air in world’s most polluted cities

A bittersweet silver lining to the COVID-19 virus is how clear the air in among the world’s most polluted cities has develop into. New Delhi is one in all many megacities around the globe reporting a lot more energizing air for the primary time in years because the virus pressured individuals inside two weeks in the past. Members of a Delhi Whatsapp group exchanged screenshots of the every day air high quality index final week, not believing their eyes once they noticed {that a} inexperienced banner had changed the acquainted ominous purple banner, indicating the circumstances had been “good.” “It’s positively alpine,” one individual wrote, in accordance to the Guardian. Dr. Shashi Tharoor, a Delhi politician and environmentalist, referred to as the improved air high quality a wake-up name. “The blissful sight of blue skies and the enjoyment of respiratory clear air gives simply the distinction to illustrate what we’re doing to ourselves the remainder of the time,” Tharoor stated. “In the present day the standard Delhi AQI hovers round 30 and one blissful afternoon, after a spurt of rain, it dropped to seven.” Cities like Bangkok, Beijing, Sao Paulo and Bogota, which all have some kind of stayat- home order in place, are reporting unprecedented ranges of fresh air. The unhappy irony is, few can benefit from the blue skies and recent air since most everybody has to keep inside. Day laborers stand outside a construction site where work has been halted during India's 21-day coronavirus shutdown. Day laborers stand outdoors a development web site the place work has been halted throughout India’s 21-day coronavirus shutdown.Adnan Abidi/Reuters The drop in air pollution reveals how lethal a task vehicles play in India’s air pollution, stated Delhi environmentalist Sunita Narain. Narain pressured environmentalists aren’t “celebrating” the virus that has ravaged many cities. “Now we have to make certain we take this breath of recent air and take into consideration the intense efforts we want to cope with air pollution in Delhi.” | June 16, 2020

Thinking Beyond Temporary Measures: What Does India Need To Improve Its Air Defence Against Coronavirus?

Apart from the dust, air pollution also includes PM 2.5 particles and other harmful gases Indoor air quality and pollution are often overlooked in the discussions around air pollution Air Sanitisation solutions are devised that take care of all aspects of air pollution Thinking Beyond Temporary Measures: What Does India Need To Improve Its Air Defence Against Coronavirus? The State of Global Air Report 2019 suggested that 90% of the people across the world lived in cities with mild to severe air pollution. As the world builds a stronger economy with advanced technology, air pollution has become an inevitable outcome of this economic progress. Increased per capita income has improved people’s lifestyle access to products like cars and air-conditioning, but increased stress on natural resources as well. In India, air pollution has been a persistent issue in recent times. A staggering 6 of the world’s 10 most polluted cities are in India, with the capital city of New Delhi making its way to the list. The deteriorating air quality and pollution owing to the vehicle and industrial emissions have been a matter of concern for a long time for both the citizens as well as government authorities. Studies show that in the next 10 years, New Delhi’s air quality will be the deadliest in the world with Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore close behind, which is an alarming fact. Apart from the dust, air pollution also includes PM 2.5 particles and other harmful gases. These majorly impact health by creating respiratory problems such as asthma, wheezing and other complications. For children, they impact their health more adversely by causing Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder when exposed to increased air pollution continuously. Contrary to popular belief, air pollution does not only constitute pollution outdoors. Indoor air quality has been proven to be equally poor with millions of dust particles and other microbes in the air that we breathe in. In fact, indoor air can be up to 10-15 times more polluted than the air outdoors. Considering that we spend close to 90% of our time indoors, indoor air quality needs a major boost. This brings us to the subject of the coronavirus and its correlation to air pollution. The novel coronavirus or Covid-19 which has brought the world to its knees is highly contagious and researchers across the globe are gathering evidence of the virus’s airborne nature. That being said, India, which is seeing a rise in cases despite stringent lockdown measures and to add to the woes of citizens, air pollution is a matter of concern. With the nationwide lockdown owing to the pandemic slated to be relaxed over the next 1 month, businesses are gearing up to resume operations. On that note, India needs to take meaningful long-term steps to protect its people from the three primary air pollutants; dust, microbes and harmful gases. Air pollution and the lethality of airborne infections are highly correlated. Citizens exposed to air pollution constantly are much more susceptible to infections and viruses like Covid-19. While the government has taken considerable measures to bring down pollution levels and ameliorate the air quality, the future calls for more robust solutions to improve air quality that addresses the problem more holistically. The lockdown has significantly contributed to better air quality with little to no vehicle emissions and factories/manufacturing units remaining shut, pollution levels are bound to arise when these are resumed. So, what needs to be done? How can air quality levels be upgraded with more permanent solutions? The Pandemic Effect The novel coronavirus which originated in the Wuhan district of China, spread across the world like wildfire, resulting in the global economy going into a downward spiral. The virus has been proven to be transmitted from one person to another through respiratory droplets such as cough, sneeze, or saliva. The virus has infected over 4 million people across the world so far and is still continuing its onslaught. While recent reports have been debating the airborne nature of the virus, the cause for concern only increases. The only way to possibly overcome Covid-19 is through a threepronged strategy – sanitize, purify, protect. Keeping Track Of Indoor Air Pollution Indoor air quality and pollution are often overlooked in the discussions around air pollution. In 2019, the Activist Organization Centre for Science and Environment’s air pollution suggested that the hidden air pollution indoors in our homes, workplaces and other indoor environments are equally hazardous to our health. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in some cases can even be worse than the outdoor air. In larger centrally air-conditioned spaces, the outdoor air which is already contaminated is constantly being circulated inside. This incoming polluted air has further degenerated with chemical vapours emitted from furnishings, cleaners, and bonding agents. Another popular misconception is that airconditioned rooms are cleaner than nonair- conditioned ones. This is a myth. Air conditioners do not purify the air. They merely recycle the air and cool it down before releasing it back into the room. In most cases, the indoor air is not being treated through any system. The AHU rooms or filters, if not maintained properly, add to the pollution levels indoors thus increasing the risk of crosscontamination. With the lockdown imposed in several countries, people are forced to spend a majority of their time indoors aside from stepping outside their homes for essential items such as groceries and pharmaceuticals. This means that they are constantly exposed to household air pollution.