Choking and dazed
In the year 2019, air pollution globally contributed to 6.7 million deaths, making it the fourth-greatest cause for human death ahead of causes like HIV and smoking. Such is the number being presented by the 'State of Global Air 2020' report. China and India account for more than half of such deaths in the set time period. In fact, air pollution is the largest risk factor for death in India, followed by high BP. Even more morbid is the number of infant deaths in India as a result of air pollution in 2019. At 120,000 deaths, India leads the world in this regard, contributing a substantial portion of the total 500,000 infant deaths caused in 2019 due to air pollution.
The report explores the relation between infant death and air pollution in some detail. As it explains, the science behind this linkage is not fully known but air pollution exposure has the potential to affect both the pregnant woman and her foetus. Air pollution also leads to infants being born premature or underweight. Furthermore, they have a greater risk down the line of developing serious respiratory conditions, brain damage, blood disorders, etc. It also noted that of the approximately 500,000 infant deaths due to air pollution in 2019, around 330,000 of those were associated with indoor pollution that is produced as a result of burning some kind of solid fuel like charcoal or animal dung.
That last fact may seem to paint a picture more descriptive of an under-developed or developing nation but, as the report points out, air pollution is very much a global problem with no nation truly being close to having it under control. As the report states, in 2019, around 90 per cent of the world population experienced levels of final particulate air pollution that exceeds the safety margin indicated by WHO. This ties into one of the larger sections of interest in the report, the co-relation of increased levels of pollution with increased risk of COVID-19 infection.
This link has been the topic of discussion for many months now as scientists early on worked to understand the differences and similarities in cases of COVID-19 observed worldwide. In regards to hard science, the actual impact of air pollution on COVID-19 vulnerability or severity of outcome is unknown. But the report unambiguously states that there is good reason to believe such a link exists. For one, many of the co-morbidities associated with increased vulnerability to COVID-19 such as cardiovascular diseases are caused in part due to long term air pollution exposure. Much like many other reports of its kind, this one also calls for a multi-faceted approach to this crisis, one that identifies the required policy changes and monitors their progress. This, unfortunately, calls for a level of political commitment that is as yet unseen across the world.
Air pollution, much like any other climate change problem, has a tendency to become politicised rather fast, something the ongoing air quality fiasco in Delhi amply demonstrates. It is simply hard to sell governments the logic of sustainable growth when our yardsticks of progress in the neoliberal economy don't really take it into account. Indeed, as examples like the burning of the Amazon show, pointing out the commonsensical view, can, in fact, make things worse sometimes as institutional climate denial becomes more common. Taking a different approach, another study carried out across Europe by environmental consultancy firm CE Delft noted that air pollution costs each person in Europe 1,250 euros a year. These costs were reported as being related to direct causes like health care expenses and indirect causes such as premature death and disease burden. The burden of this cost is not spread evenly with Londoners paying the heaviest price. Regardless of what way you choose to present the costs, the fact remains that all of it is a price that humanity as a whole must pay for our unchecked and unequal progress. Much like this pandemic, existing vulnerabilities will tax the disadvantaged sections more heavily in regards to air pollution. This heavier burden works on all levels from the ability to avoid harmful air pollution to the prohibitive cost of healthcare. But, just as is the case with this pandemic, the problem remains a problem until it is resolved for everyone. Pollution control efforts by a handful of nations can be made invalid by just one nation that does not acknowledge the effort for whatever reason. In these darkest of times, what is required is the rare miracle of humanity coming together for one cause. That is the way out and way forward.
