The magnitude of the threat air pollution poses to health is enormous. The danger was doubly impressed on us after Diwali weekend fireworks sent pollution levels in Delhi to a staggering 90 times over safe limits, while smoke-laden skies greeted citizens in all major urban centres. It’s hard to curb the celebratory spirit of the Festival of Lights, that revolves around huge fireworks displays and bursting of firecrackers, and no amount of awareness campaigns seem to lessen its impact. The pollution problem, however, goes way beyond what Diwali does to exacerbate it. An alarming Unicef report based on satellite data warns that two billion children worldwide are breathing toxic air, of whom 300 million are exposed to six times more than WHO’s standards, which should be a sharp wake-up call.
What sort of air is forced on our children, damaging their brains, lungs and cognitive development? Children breathe more rapidly than adults, and cell layers in their lungs is more permeable to pollutants while tiny particles easily cross the blood-brain barrier. Do we continue recklessly to wreak havoc as we fill the air with exhaust fumes from burning fossil fuel in vehicles and power plants, and do everything with our carbon footprint to make the atmosphere more unliveable in our cities? The study notes that air pollution is linked to diseases and infections that kill six lakh children under five annually. It’ll be a crying shame if we don’t wake up now and see the danger signs, and try change the world to make it a slightly better place for our children.
