Rising Air Pollution In India: Analysis And Strategies For Reduction

COMS0001 Communication Skills

COMS0001 Communication Skills

Analysis

Air pollution is a major environmental threat that faces most countries of the world (Greenstone & Hanna, 2014). Especially in a developing country such as India, the impact from air pollution is tremendous. Environmental pollution in general is on the rise and imposes major threat for the Indian economy. The government has taken insignificant steps towards improvisation of the environment of the country. There is tremendous rise in air pollution in the country, with deteriorating quality of air inhaled. Globally environmental pollution imposes major threat, and is gradually transforming the climate. With rising sea levels, depleting atmospheric ozone layer, depletion of various species, environment pollution possesses to be a major global threat (Lakshmi et. al., 2013). Air pollution has been attributed to the leading cause for climatic change. In India the global challenge of environmental pollution is more prominent and increasing with no measures to curb the same. The scope of the current argument analyses environmental pollution against development in India.        

Environmental pollution comprises of air, water and soil pollution, in India all three are on continuous rise. The direct impact from such pollution is on the health and on the increasing burden of medical costs. With air pollution being one of the leading threats across the country, the current argument focuses on some of the leading causes and impacts, with ways to overcome the same (Shrivastava, Neeta & Geeta, 2013). Air pollution in India is primarily due to deforestation, burning of crops, burning of coal for power production and factory production, automobile industry and so on. The most significantly affected areas in India are the cities, such as Delhi where air pollution causes lack of vision. Cities within India experience as high as PM10 levels of air pollution with low visibility and having greater incidence of diseases. In cities, causes of air pollution can primarily be attributed to automobiles combustion. Incomplete combustible gasses from diesel engines causes significant amounts of air pollution. Increasing sales of vehicles in India and automobiles is the cause for increasing air pollution. Most importantly lack of public infrastructure and connectivity in transportation makes most commuters avail their own transport facilities. Infrastructure spending in transport and road connectivity is still lacking in India, where there is greater reliance on self-mode of transport (Guttikunda & Calori, 2013). Metro railway links present provides connection to a limited area, which further deters commuters from availing of public transport facilities. Most cities are surrounded by suburbs or villages where farming is practiced. India being one of the largest exporters of crops and other raw food materials, rotation of crops is practiced. In order for crop rotation, after a crop has been plucked, reaming part is burnt in the field, for saving time and costs of cleaning. This burning of crop leftovers produces immense amount of pollution which gets added to the atmosphere.

Power plants in India are mostly thermal power plants due to presence of a number of rivers in the country. Such thermal power plants make extensive use of burning of coal for the production of electricity (Fullerton, Bruce & Gordon, 2008). Manufacturing industries in the country also makes use of coal as a source of thermal energy for their production processes. Extensive coal combustion has created a brown cloud over India, which is visible from space. Coal is also used as a cooking source in villages and suburbs, where electricity and LPG is not available. Deforestation in India by burning down forests is another leading cause for air pollution. Large chunks of land are cleared in India for the purpose of supporting its ever growing population. Such land spaces are converted into living spaces. There is extensive usage of CFCs in the country for air conditioners, refrigerators, other appliances and so on (Smith, 2013). Usage of such CFCs release free radicles into the atmosphere that causes air pollution. Heavy air in winter unable to ascend and dissipate causes more implications on the atmospheric pollution, creating a thick haze. Industries, households, famers and other sources of pollution are deterrent towards undertaking any action that might reduce the incidence of harmful gasses and particulate matters from entering the atmosphere. The most integral cause for concern in air pollution in India is that it is rising and there is little awareness to curb the same. There is no prohibitions imposed form the government or any other authorities which might deter usage of sources that causes air pollution.

Conclusion

Though worldwide tremendous amount of research is conducted and sustainable measures for generating energy are included, India lacks such implementations (Mills et.al., 2009). The government of India needs to implement measures, which can promote using of sustainable sources of energy. The most important factor within the country is lack of awareness. Though the people within the country are experiencing several implications on health due to such air pollution, there is little awareness. There is significant rise of cardiac ailments, lung disorders, neonatal disorders, stillbirth cases that are being reported in areas within the country, where there is pollution. Cases of neonatal diseases from air pollution is causing rise in healthcare costs for the government at an alarming rate. Incidence of coastal flooding and decrease of glaciers in the Himalayas are some other implications that are a direct consequence of the climate change from rising air pollution (Balakrishnan et. al., 2011). Air temperature of the country has risen by 2 degrees from the rising air pollution. Moreover, the entire country is experiencing a climatic change with frequent cases of hurricanes and other storms that are creating devastating effects. If the government fails to apply measures now, then it might be too late to bring about any changes. There needs to be serious steps taken and strategies adopted for the purpose of curbing air pollution effectively. Such strategies have to include providing with alternate sources of energy and also imposing fine if necessary for those who are responsible for polluting the environment. The government can ask industries to install filters on the combustible gases that get exhausted from its factories. Increasing usage of biofuels and other modes of energy sources will help the country overcome its long term concern for rising air pollution (Kumar et. al., 2008). For immediate effects, the government can gradually ban personal diesel automobiles for curbing pollution in cities. However, this concern for air pollution has to be dealt with more seriousness.                

Conclusion

The current scenario of environmental pollution that India is facing can be overcome only through regulatory changes. The causes of pollution has been diagnosed, hence there needs to be a way devised which allows reduction in such polluting source (Cooper & Alley, 2010). A major investment into infrastructure development of transportation has to be undertaken so that less number of automobiles plies on road. An alternative to burning fossil fuel has to be diagnosed and designed. An alternate form of energy such as solar or wind energy can help the country meet its demand for power and reduce carbon footprints on the environment. In order to bring about significant reduction in air pollution, the government needs to step up measures. A curb has to be imposed industries, which makes use of coal. Research in alternate source of energy has to be undertaken and implemented to reduce incidence of air pollution. More importantly there has to be imposed stringent restrictions prohibiting deforestation and burning of crops especially during winters when the air weight is generally higher. The Government also needs to discourage automobile pollution by promoting more ecofriendly vehicles that does not make use of fossil fuel. There needs to be significant increase in usage of public transport such that overall pollution from automobiles can be less. Research and developmental activities is taking place which can significantly reduce air pollution. Indian government needs to implement sustainable forms of energy generation within the country and recycling needs to initiate so as to be able to reduce overall impacts of air pollution. Usage of energy from solar or wind power has been seen to be more sustainable in nature compared to fossil fuels, thus needs to be integrated. In absence of governmental efforts in curbing of pollution, individuals in the country will not be motivated to adopt measures. The Government’s ignorance in curbing of air pollution will further have implications and increasing the incidence of health impacts on the country. Therefore, it becomes integral to deal with this global challenge at the country level and introduce measures.

Self-reflection is a useful and critical tool which helps in self-analysis. The global issue that had been analysed in the previous essay is of environmental pollution. Globally environmental pollution is on continuous rise, especially air pollution. It has significant impacts on the environment and also on the health of individuals in the society. The essay that I had written in a critical manner included several relevant information and context. My professor praised me for analysing the topic in great detail. I had searched immense number of resources such as internet journals, websites, books for gathering information related to the topic. I had been capable to assimilate such diversified information for my topic as well in order to produce a comprehensive report within the given word count and given deadline. The report that I finally produced and submitted contained information related to my own country India and the global challenge that it faces. I had worked hard and spent almost over 15 days for the production of the final report. As I was not very accustomed with report writing capabilities and skills, I took longer than it is required to complete the report. I felt that while writing the essay, some of my strengths which were reflected included analytical capabilities, ability to comprehend and capability to write fluent English. Though the written portion received significant amounts of praise from my professor and I received passing grade, there are certain challenges in my writing.

A most integral challenge that I had diagnosed in my writing skills was use of informal language. Though I knew consciously that I had to write the report in formal language and present it well, I was unable to do so. Due to lack of practice, I was unable to write the report by using of formal language and terms; this was a major hindrance for me. Another integral factor that was presented before me for the report writing was my inability to format references in a correct manner. I had not fully made use of references for all the facts and figures that I had used for the purpose of my report. Moreover, the in-text citations were also not appropriate. It implies that I need to learn regarding referencing from the Blackboard link and apply it well in practical contexts. I did not possess full skills to formulate references and format in-text citations. Another area which I missed, which otherwise could have allowed me to score distinction is the area of grammatical checks. Though MsWord has an in-built tool and feature allowing users to check for spelling and grammatical checks for the work they have done, I missed out on it completely. Though I did proofread my work, yet I did not undertake spelling and grammar check for my work. In order to score Distinction, I need to conduct this check and proofread prior to my submission. In my work, I have made use of several abbreviations and contradictions. This will reduce my capability to write an assignment well. I will need to write my assignments carefully from next time to avoid all possible contradictions and proofread my work twice prior to submission. I will also show a draft work to my professor before submission, so that some corrections can be made and I can score high marks.    

References

Balakrishnan, K., Ramaswamy, P., Sambandam, S., Thangavel, G., Ghosh, S., Johnson, P., …. & Thanasekaraan, V., (2011). Air pollution from household solid fuel combustion in India: an overview of exposure and health related information to inform health research priorities. Global health action, 4(1), 5638. Accessed from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3402/gha.v4i0.5638

Cooper, C. D., & Alley, F. C. (2010). Air pollution control: A design approach. Waveland Press. Accessed from https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=pdpdDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=air+pollution+india&ots=JF2HM2oF6g&sig=NoIg6A3e3O1JP9B3GgqIdxE3-fw#v=onepage&q=air%20pollution%20india&f=false

Fullerton, D. G., Bruce, N., & Gordon, S. B. (2008). Indoor air pollution from biomass fuel smoke is a major health concern in the developing world. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 102(9), 843-851. Accessed from https://academic.oup.com/trstmh/article-abstract/102/9/843/1887437

Greenstone, M., & Hanna, R. (2014). Environmental regulations, air and water pollution, and infant mortality in India. American Economic Review, 104(10), 3038-72. Accessed from https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.104.10.3038

Guttikunda, S. K., & Calori, G. (2013). A GIS based emissions inventory at 1 km× 1 km spatial resolution for air pollution analysis in Delhi, India. Atmospheric Environment, 67, 101-111. Accessed from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231012010229

Kumar, R., Nagar, J. K., Raj, N., Kumar, P., Kushwah, A. S., Meena, M., & Gaur, S. N. (2008). Impact of domestic air pollution from cooking fuel on respiratory allergies in children in India. Asian Pacific Journal of Allergy and Immunology, 26(4), 213. Accessed from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shailendra_Gaur2/publication/24230453_Impact_of_Domestic_Air_Pollution_from_Cooking_Fuel_on_Respiratory_Allergies_in_Children_in_India/links/0046351499291365a8000000.pdf

Lakshmi, P. V. M., Virdi, N. K., Sharma, A., Tripathy, J. P., Smith, K. R., Bates, M. N., & Kumar, R. (2013). Household air pollution and stillbirths in India: analysis of the DLHS-II National Survey. Environmental research, 121, 17-22. Accessed from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935112003246

Mills, N.L., Donaldson, K., Hadoke, P.W., Boon, N.A., MacNee, W., Cassee, F.R., …..& Newby, D.E., (2009). Adverse cardiovascular effects of air pollution. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 6(1), 36. Accessed from https://www.nature.com/articles/ncpcardio1399

Shrivastava, R. K., Neeta, S., & Geeta, G. (2013). Air pollution due to road transportation in India: A review on assessment and reduction strategies. Review Paper (NS-2), Journal of Environmental Research and Development, 8(1). Accessed from  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321747878_AIR_POLLUTION_DUE_TO_ROAD_TRANSPORTATION_IN_INDIA_A_REVIEW_OF_ASSESSMENT_AND_REDUCTION_STRATEGIES

Smith, K. R. (2013). Biofuels, air pollution, and health: a global review. Springer Science & Business Media.  Accessed from https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OpbhBwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=air+pollution+india&ots=0Ahe1t1KxI&sig=baznKsvTVqsSTqEzIoHDku3MlDA#v=onepage&q=air%20pollution%20india&f=false