Over 1 lakh under five children died due to exposure to toxic air in India in 2016, says WHO

According to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) study, in 2016, in India, over one lakh children under five years of age died due to exposure to toxic air.

The new study, titled 'Air Pollution and Child Health: Prescribing Clean Air', also noted that about 98 per cent of children in the same age group in low- and middle-income countries were exposed to air pollution.

The report further says that due to the joint effects of ambient and household air pollution, in 2016, 600,000 children under 15 years of age died.

The WHO study released Monday said, "Globally, 93 per cent of the world's children under 18 years of age are exposed to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels above WHO air quality guidelines, which include the 630 million of children under 5 years of age, and 1.8 billion of children under 15 years."

Another report by Greenpeace presented a grim picture of India's pollution level.

It said that three of the world's largest nitrogen oxide air pollution emission hotspots, that contribute to formation of PM2.5 and ozone, are in India with one in the Delhi-NCR.

Delhi-NCR, Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh, Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh and Talcher-Angul in Odisha are the hotspots identified. Sonbhadra and Singrauli combined have one hotspot.

The study said a total of 101,788 deaths under the age of five -- 54,893 were girls and 46,895 were boys -- were reported due to joint effects of exposure of children to ambient and household PM 2.5 and burden of disease by the country in 2016.

Out of the over 1 lakh deaths in the country in 2016, 60,987 were due to ambient air pollution (32,889 were girls and 28,097 boys), it said.

Industries, households, cars and trucks emit complex mixtures of air pollutants and form ambient air pollution.

Due to household air pollution in 2016, about 66,890 deaths of children below five years were reported out of which 36,073 were girls and 30,817 were boys, the WHO report said.

It said about 98 per cent of children under the age of five years in low- and middle-income countries, which include nations like India, were exposed to air pollution caused by finer particulate matters in 2016.

Household air pollution from cooking and ambient air pollution caused more than 50 per cent of acute lower respiratory infections in children under five years of age in low- and middle-income countries, it said.

Air quality in Delhi and neighbouring areas deteriorated on Sunday, with most parts recording a "severe or severe-plus" level of pollution while the air in Faridabad in Haryana was 21 times more polluted than safety standards.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) monitoring station, the major effluent PM2.5 or particles with diameter less than 2.5mm was 1,515 microgrammes per cubic metres at 10 a.m., which dropped to 1,295 units by 3 p.m. and 1,290 units by 6 p.m. in Faridabad.

While the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was 366 on a scale of 0 to 500, considered "very-poor", the same was 415 in Ghaziabad and 403 in Gurugram -- both signifying "severe". 

Recently, air quality in Delhi and neighbouring areas deteriorated, with most parts recording a "severe or severe-plus" level of pollution while the air in Faridabad in Haryana was 21 times more polluted than safety standards.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) monitoring station, the major effluent PM2.5 or particles with diameter less than 2.5mm was 1,515 microgrammes per cubic metres at 10 a.m., which dropped to 1,295 units by 3 p.m. and 1,290 units by 6 p.m. in Faridabad.

While the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was 366 on a scale of 0 to 500, considered "very-poor", the same was 415 in Ghaziabad and 403 in Gurugram -- both signifying "severe". 

(With inputs from agencies)