NASA Images Show Soaring Levels of Air Pollution in Delhi
NASA Images Show Soaring Levels of Air Pollution in Delhi
While New Delhi continues to be the most polluted national capital in the world, a staggering number of deaths are taking place due to pollution in the city.
By RMN News Service
New images released by NASA Earth Observatory on November 18 show rising air pollution levels in India’s capital New Delhi. As in years past, according to NASA, sensors in Delhi and elsewhere in northern India have recorded soaring levels of air pollution.
Sensors in the capital area—including one at the U.S. Embassy—recorded concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and coarse particulate matter (PM10) well above 400 micrograms per cubic meter on several occasions in November.
Since particulate matter is linked to a range of respiratory, cardiovascular, and other health problems, World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines recommend that 24-hour mean PM2.5 concentrations be kept below 15 micrograms per cubic meter. NASA reports that the high pollution levels led to partial lockdowns, school closures, and halts in construction in Delhi and other cities.
According to NASA, smoke from crop fires is not the only contributor to the hazy skies. Influxes of dust sometimes arrive from the Thar Desert to the west—as they did on November 12, 2021. An array of other human-caused sources of air pollution in cities, including motor vehicle fumes, industrial and construction activity, fireworks, and fires for heating and cooking also produces particulate matter and other pollutants.
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[ Spineless Supreme Court Fails to Tackle Pollution Problem in Delhi ]
[ Lethal Pollution Killing 150 People Everyday in Delhi ]
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Since the Indian Government, Delhi Government, and pollution-control agencies such as Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), and National Green Tribunal (NGT) are full of corrupt and ignorant officials, they are not taking proper steps to save people’s lives from increasing pollution in Delhi.
While New Delhi continues to be the most polluted national capital in the world, a staggering number of deaths are taking place due to pollution in the city.
A global environment research organization Greenpeace Southeast Asia reveals that pollution killed 54,000 people in just one year (2020) in Delhi while the city is at the top of a list of world’s five most polluted cities. In other words, pollution is killing nearly 150 people everyday in Delhi while hundreds of Delhi residents are falling sick.
Although the Supreme Court of India is hearing the case of Delhi air pollution, most court judges lack domain knowledge and courage to deal with the scourge of pollution in the city. Result: Pollution kills people everyday, every year in Delhi without any break.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) has recognized for the first time that having a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right.
While more than 80 percent of UN Member States already recognize the right to a healthy environment through national law, court decisions, or regional treaties, the new Resolution still marks a watershed moment in the fight against the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
