Gasping for clean air

Two incriminating reports in the past couple of days once again point to an annual feature of this time: the northern region is covered in a blanket of an alarmingly polluting haze. One, the emergence of Haryana’s Ballabgarh in the NCR, as per a study, as the country’s most polluted place as it records a very poor air quality index of 340 due to a high concentration of particulate matter (PM) 2.5. Two, the State of Global Air 2020 report, which has concluded that air pollution — outdoor PM2.5 — is now the largest risk factor for death among all health risks. In India, it is seen that exposure to impure air was behind a majority of the 16.7 lakh deaths from heart and lung diseases, diabetes and neonatal ailments in 2019. And, the worrisome fact that India has been witnessing increasing PM2.5 levels since 2010 highlights the mounting challenge of combating the factors that lead to air becoming loaded with noxious particles. Traffic, industries, waste, dust and stubble burning are the main culprits.

The Ballabgarh case, mirroring the smogginess that has become an annual feature of the northern region, points the finger at the unabated burning of paddy stubble in the fields of Punjab and Haryana. Compared to last year during this time, farm fire instances have risen three-fold in Punjab and just six farmers booked for lighting their stubble. Haryana has seen a rise of 70 per cent in the cases. It underscores the need for the states to tighten the screws on the offenders and also facilitate more farmers with machines geared to curbing the toxic fumes. The reluctance to take action due to fear of further agitating the peasants who are already on the boil over the Centre’s contentious farm laws cuts no ice. Any laxity towards ensuring a cleaner air means many more gasping for breath.

In this context, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s call to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to hold regular meetings with the CMs of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and UP makes sense. While it may be too late for this season, constant monitoring at the highest level is bound to help in the long run.