Air pollution and its adverse effects
According to studies, releasing various gases, finely divided particles, or finely dispersed liquid aerosols into the atmosphere at rates that exceed the environment’s natural capacity to absorb them is known as Air pollution.
Particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), among other pollutants, are still being emitted into the atmosphere due to industrialization and urbanization, making this an ongoing global concern.
Especially in poor and middle-income nations, it is critical to monitor and tackle air pollution and improve air quality due to the many adverse health effects linked to exposure to air pollutants, such as lung cancer and stroke.
Air pollution – indoor and outdoor
Different studies show that Indoor air pollution has worried people for ages. It dates back to when humans relocated to different climates and had to make fires for heating and cooking. Biomass fuels, mostly wood, crop refuse, and animal dung, were burned indoors, releasing smoke that harmed inhabitants.
There has been a switch away from the utilization of biomass fuels and toward the utilization of fossil fuels and electricity in many developed countries. However, biomass mass fuels are still frequently used in developing nations, particularly among the poor, since more efficient fuel types tend to be more expensive.
In addition to the combustion of fuels, other contributors to polluted indoor air include the use of tobacco products, the composition of building and furniture materials, and various consumer goods such as cosmetics, fragrances, and so on.
The term “ambient air” is commonly used to describe the air outside. Emissions from the combustion of fuels in automobiles, homes, and factories are the most common causes of outdoor air pollution. Additionally, wildfire smoke, windblown dust, and bioactive emissions from vegetation can contribute to air pollution.
Apart from all these, one of the main causes of the persistent decline in air quality has been linked to stubble burning. The smoke it emits causes air pollution to a large percentage.
Air pollution isn’t simply a nuisance now and then; it could end our lives without us even knowing it. Hence, the people and government must take immediate action to reduce the AQI, below 100.
Let’s look into the fact of how air pollution is affecting our lives.
The effects of air pollution on our lives
Air pollution has its effects on the health of all living things, not only humans and animals. A person’s well-being and that of the environment, including animal life, are all impacted by factors such as location, global climate change, and environmental variation. The various effects are as follows-
The increasing rate of heart attack and dementia- Increasing pollution in urban areas has been related to an increase in heart diseases and heart attacks among young Indians due to the clogging of arteries. Insufficient blood supply to organs has been linked by doctors to air pollution because of arterial and vein obstruction. This could lead to high blood pressure. Breathing an excessive amount of pollution can also result in blood clots.
According to recent research, an increase in the amount of fine particulate matter by one microgram per cubic meter (ug/m3) is associated with a 3% increase in the chance of developing dementia.
Life span is decreasing due to pollution- New studies suggest that people are living shorter lives now because of air pollution.
Doctors state that few people are aware of the damage that is caused by pollution in the air, it is also sometimes referred to as a “silent killer.” Every year, premature fatalities caused by air pollution occur on a global scale in the vicinity of 3 million people. It is linked to the worsening of lung illnesses such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)). Additionally, this can result in lung cancer.
Effect on the fetus of a pregnant woman- According to recent research by scientists, soot, a kind of small black carbon particle, can enter the fetus’s liver, lungs, and brain as early as the first trimester of pregnancy.
Devastating Effects on the Environment- When it comes to the environment, air pollution can pose significant problems for the groundwater, the soil, and the air. In addition to this, it poses a significant risk to the variety of life on Earth. The adverse effects of environmental toxins on the extinction of animal and plant species are made abundantly obvious by research that examines the connection between air pollution and the decrease in the variety of species.
Conclusion
There are now regulations in place to cut down air pollution. But, there is still a lack of implementation taking place on the ground. According to the opinions of several experts, the adoption of such regulations, particularly those designed to reduce the amount of pollution caused by transportation and industrial processes, is an urgent necessity at the present time.
Strict fuel and vehicle standards, a switch to rail and waterways, a modernization of the public transportation network, and an emphasis on the use of electric vehicles, and clean fuels, are all steps that need to be implemented on the ground in the transport sector.
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