അമൃത എസ് എച്ച് എസ് എസ് പാരിപ്പള്ളി/അക്ഷരവൃക്ഷം/ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION
ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION
ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION India is home to 21 of the world's 30 most polluted cities, but recently air pollution levels have started to drop dramatically as the second-most populated nation endures the second week of a 21-day lockdown amidst coronavirus fears, according to The Weather Channel. Most forms of atmospheric pollution are harmful to human health as well as the environment at both urban and rural areas and this is because the activities that lead to pollutants being released into the air are carried out in both areas. . Therefore, a true discussion on the effects of air pollution and how to reduce them is important for the future. Educating yourself as well as the public on air pollution is one way to counter these effects and essay writing is a step in the right direction. While the complete shutdown of India's economy was designed to stop the spread of COVID-19, it is having an ancillary health benefit of clearing the air that millions of people were choking on, according to CNN.. As vehicles stay off the road, construction is put on hold, and factories stop production, the levels of microscopic particulate matter, or PM 2.5, start to drop. "It is true that pollution levels are going down and will continue to be lower as a result of lockdown," Air pollution is currently being fought. All hope is not lost as the WHO, UNICEF and government agencies are putting checks on pollutants we produce for a better tomorrow. In China, the largest air purifying tower currently purifies a million cubic feet of air in an hour. The taxation of fossil fuels in nations such as New Zealand, Great Britain and Finland is also set to reduce air pollution in these regions by approximately 60% by 2030. But now, "The air quality is likely to slip into 'good' category soon. It is due to reduced vehicular traffic and rise in temperature," said Kuldeep Srivastava, who heads the regional meteorological center at the Indian Meteorological Department, to The Weather Channel. The use of fossil fuels in vehicles is the leading cause of air pollution. Statistics from the UK’s Environment Audit Committee showed that diesel cars produce around 46% carbon monoxide and 42% nitrogen oxide. In China, 70% of air pollutants are currently being produced from the exhaust tail pipes of vehicles in use while in the US 28% of Americans believe that the use of fossil fuel is the leading cause of air pollution. But in this lockdown situation, Data from the Central Pollution Control Board of India's Environment Ministry also showed a 71 percent decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels. Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore have also recorded a drop in these air pollutants, according to CNN. In Mumbai, the financial capital, air quality levels in March 2019 averaged 153 on the Air Quality Index, which ranks as unhealthy to breathe, according to Reuters. New Delhi averaged 161 last March. The case of human’s polluting the air to our detriment is also similar in the United States. Using California as the example, human activities related to the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, factories and power plants. A majority of California’s 33 million residents are guilty of this due to the use of vehicles that burn fossil fuels. Sadly, this pollution has been attributed to 5,000 deaths yearly in the State. Asia is not left out either, the industrial growth in China and India has led to deadly consequences for its citizens. A study conducted on the level of air pollution in Beijing found that the city’s populace produced enough gas emissions to travel as high as the Central Valley in the US. The fall-out of this pollution is the approximately 250,000 deaths on a yearly basis as well as other disease such as the Beijing cough attributed to China’s polluted air. The coronavirus pandemic has caused a global reduction in economic activity and although this is major cause for concern, the ramping down of human activity appears to have had a positive impact on the environment. Industrial and transport emissions and effluents have reduced, and measurable data supports the clearing of pollutants in the atmosphere, soil and water. This effect is also in contrast to carbon emissions, which shot up by 5 percent after the global financial crash over a decade ago, as a result of stimulus spending on fossil fuel use to kickstart the global economy. The distance between the Indian state of Punjab and the Himalayan Moutain Range is just shy of 200 kilometres. And now for the first time in almost 30 years, residents in the north western state of India can actually see the world's tallest moutain range. One of the reasons for this is the decreasing air pollution levels in the country because of the coronavirus lockdowns imposed for the last month. A report released by the country’s Central Pollution Control Board late last month said the nationwide curfew implemented on March 22 and the subsequent lockdown ordered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi two days later “resulted in significant improvement in air quality in the country, as revealed by data analysis and comparison of data for time before enforcement of restrictions.” The US death toll keeps rising. More than 23,600, including around 40 Indian Americans, have died and more than 586,300 are infected with more than 10,000 deaths in New York alone. It’s as if the virus had a special desire to devastate the world’s greatest city. Environmental pollution is one of the biggest problems caused by human activities that we should overcome to see a tomorrow and guarantee our descendants a healthy life. There are many environmental concerns for communities around the world to address. We should always remember that pollution problems affect us all so each of us has to do his or her best to help restore ecological balance to this beautiful place we call home. Learn about the major polluters in your area to protect the air and water where you live. Encourage people to stop pollution, tell them everything you know about this problem, and protest local polluters together. The masses should be educated on the danger of different types of pollution. People should know everything about all consequences of the environmental pollution in order to prevent the worst from happening. Let`s protect the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the soil we use to grow our food.
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