Indian Health Authorities must Declare All-Out War On Air Pollution

India: The founder and CEO of Blueair, Mr. Bengt Rittri, has expressed his ‘horror’ at the news that India now suffers worse air pollution than China. The head of the world’s largest mobile indoor air cleaning technology’s company said he was ‘horrified by the conclusions of Greenpeace report following analysis of NASA satellite data that said while China was now improving its air pollution levels, the reverse is true in India where contamination has steadily increased to record high levels’.

India overtook China's air pollution levels in 2015 and the average particulate matter exposure was higher for the first time in the 21st century, a Greenpeace analysis of NASA satellite data has shown.The report had also revealed that 23 of the 32 stations across India are showing more than 70 per cent exceedance of the national standards, putting public health at risk. Greenpeace said that India's NAQI (National Air Quality Index) network with 39 operating stations also compares poorly with the 1,500 stations in China.The report also revealed that, in 2015, India particulate pollution stands higher than that of China, after increasing at an average rate of 2 per cent over the past decade.

Mr. Rittri, who last week concluded a two week tour of India to present Blueair’s newest IoT-based polluted-air battling solutions, called on the Indian government to declare all-out war on air pollution to help protect public health today and the wellbeing of future generations.

“People need to be empowered with knowledge that allows them to take action themselves to protect their health and that of their families,” Mr. Rittri said. He noted that air pollution has been widely linked by scientific research in numerous countries not only to a host of immediate and long-term respiratory problems, but also to rising rates of dementia, learning problems and illnesses among new born infants.

A new study by the WHO Global Burden of Disease Project said 5.5 million premature deaths are caused globally every year by polluted air with over 50 percent of those mortalities occurring in India and China. But, the Blueair founder added, people can do a lot themselves to protect against the dangers of polluted air, at least indoors.

“As home to 13 of the world’s 20 most air polluted cities, Indian society as a whole needs to declare war on air pollution. Government and health authorities must strive to ensure India’s citizens understand that they can create indoor air defense systems at home or work, where they spend most of their time each day, by simply using high-performance indoor air purifiers to clean their air of contaminants,” said Mr. Rittri.