Air pollution kills one lakh kids every year: World Environment Day

More than one lakh children die every year because of air pollution in Indian cities according to a study done for World Environment Day. The State of India’s Environment (SoE) Report found air pollution being responsible for 12.5 percent of all deaths in the country. The record of governments have been dismal, particularly over the last few years when air pollution in cities has reached levels almost impossible to cope with. The study carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), also found 86 percent of Indian water bodies were “critically polluted”.

As of April, the country had 2.80 lakh electric vehicles, a fraction of the target of 1.5 to 21.6 crore by 2020. Greenhouse gas emissions rose more than 20 percent between 2010 and 2014, while natural gas and hydroelectric plants were in a “shambles”.

The report found gas-based power plants are running at 24 percent of their capacity, and hydropower projects are running at just 19 percent. In short, it is a dismal picture and something must be done about it. And there is no better time to start afresh on our clean and green actions than on World Environment Day (June 5) to raise awareness about what we are facing.