India has launched a new air quality index to help citizens understand complex pollution data and its implications for their health, the environment minister said on Friday.
A WHO study of 1,600 cities released in May found that India’s capital, New Delhi, had the world’s dirtiest air, with an annual average of 153 micrograms of particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers wide (PM2.5), per cubic meter.
Of the dirtiest 20 cities worldwide, 13 are in India, the WHO said. India rejected the report.
The new index, launched as part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Clean India Mission,” is to provide one consolidated number after tracking eight pollutants and use color coding to describe associated health impacts.
“In our cities air pollution is increasing ... we need to stop it,” Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said. “This [index] will provide the common citizen one color, one number and one description so that he can understand what is the level of air pollution.”
Currently, India’s air quality status is reported through “voluminous data,” the government said. This makes it difficult for people to understand particle names such as PM2.5 or PM10.
“People don’t know what these pollutants are and what happens when they reach a certain level. This index will help people understand air quality better,” Centre for Science and Environment air pollution department head Anumita Roychowdhury said.
The government would also start action-oriented programs in collaboration with states to improve air quality, Javadekar said, without providing details.
India needed to do more and should have emergency measures in place when pollution levels are high, Roychowdhury said.
Air pollution killed about 7 million people in 2012, making it the world’s single biggest environmental health risk, the WHO said in March.
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