Hyderabad: Pollution costs State $1.6 Bn

Hyderabad: We have been always vocal about the rising pollution levels and its impact on environment and social life. But the environmental studies were limited to the bearings on nature, but the impact was never converted into actual financial figures. For a first, a prestigious global environment activist organisation, Greenpeace tried to put the financial impacts of pollution on the States and governments and it was staggering.

According to Greenpeace Southeast Asia analysis of IQAir data, taken from a live cost estimator and live air quality data collected by IQAir, the estimated air pollution-related economic losses in Hyderabad amount to phenomenal Rs 116,377,920,000, i.e $1.6 Billion. It puts 11,000 as the estimated avoidable deaths due to PM2.5 air pollution in city in 2020.

A press release issued by Greenpeace said a cost estimator is an online tool that tracks the real-time health impact and economic costs of air pollution in major world cities. To show the impact of air pollution-related deaths on the economy, the approach used by Greenpeace is called "willingness-to-pay", a lost life year or a year lived with disability is converted to money by the amount that people are willing to pay in order to avoid this negative outcome.

The damage is equally worrying in other Indian cities. An estimated 25,000 avoidable deaths in Mumbai in 2020 have been attributed to air pollution. Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi estimated an approximate 12000, 11,000 and 54,000 avoidable deaths respectively due to polluted air.

Despite a temporary reprieve in air quality owing to the lockdown, the latest figures from the report underscore the need to act immediately. The need of the hour is to rapidly scale up renewable energy, bring an end to fossil fuel emissions and boost sustainable and accessible transport systems.

"Despite recording relatively better air quality this year due to strict lockdown, air pollution continues to be a serious public health issue which also drastically impacts the economy. The report lists the estimated deaths/absolute estimated cost as: Delhi 54,000, 8.1 billion 58,895, Mumbai 25,000, 3.7 billion 26,912, Bengaluru 12,000, 1.7 billion, Hyderabad 11,000, 1.6 billion, Chennai 11,000, 1.5 billion, Lucknow 6,700, 1.1 billion.

Despite a temporary reprieve in air quality owing to the lockdown, the latest figures from the report underscore the need to act immediately. The need of the hour is to rapidly scale up renewable energy, bring an end to fossil fuel emissions and boost sustainable and accessible transport systems.