According to International Energy Agency's (IEA) report, close to 1.6 million premature deaths in India are due to outdoor and indoor air pollution.
Referring to a recent report which estimated that around 1.6 million premature deaths in India are caused by air pollution, experts today asked Delhi government to initiate immediate action on issuance of "simplified" health advisories and take concrete steps on the polluting Badarpur power plant in Delhi.
Help Delhi Breathe, a coalition of organisations and experts on air pollution said that there is a need for wider discussions on the subject of air pollution in India.
"Odd and even scheme in Delhi was a good first step, however it is not sustainable and cannot be the only step to address the problem," said Sunil Dahiya, Greenpeace campaigner, during a workshop focusing on health impacts of air pollution organised by the coalition.
"Delhi government needs to take urgent steps now to ensure that this winter, less people are impacted by bad-air days. Acting on the extremely polluting Badarpur thermal power plant as well as issuing health advisories is extremely important," he said.
According to International Energy Agency's (IEA) report, close to 1.6 million premature deaths in India are due to outdoor and indoor air pollution and the same report estimates that the average life expectancy in India is reduced by 23 months because of outdoor air pollution, a Help Delhi Breathe statement said.
"We welcome the debate and discussion around shutting down of Badarpur plant. However, until it results in concrete steps being taken on ground, it amounts to mere political bickering amongst which the only casualty is the common man," Mr Dahiya said, adding that "Delhi government, which was elected with a large mandate, is uniquely placed to rise above and take the necessary steps."
Help Delhi Breathe coalition called for immediate action on issuance of health advisories as well as action on the extremely polluting Badarpur power plant.
"The complex nature of the issue limits the understanding and interpretation of a bad-air day for common man. The level of PM 2.5 matter on any given day does not enable residents of a city to take protective measures and unless simplified health advisories are issued to residents, business and schools, parents and office goers will not know what precautions to take," said Bhargav Krishna, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).
"There is still considerable uncertainty regarding the magnitude and range of health impacts attributable to air pollution in India," said Nitish Dogra, Adviser, Convenor, Green Fulbrighters Forum.
"However, the only certainty is that these impacts will only increase substantially with time unless we act now. Assuming every Indian loses even one year of his or her life to air pollution, we are speaking of the loss of over one billion years of the human experience," he added.
"This is something we really need to think of, not just from a health or economic perspective but also on an existential level" Mr Dogra said.