India number 1 in pollution-related deaths in the world says The Lancet. But government disagrees
Already the ‘Diabetes capital of the world’, India is now worthy of another sobriquet as the ‘Pollution death capital.’ According to a report published in The Lancet, India has had the most number of pollution-related deaths in the world in 2015. The country leaves behind even the sub-Saharan countries in this respect. There couldn’t have been a more inopportune moment to break this news to Indians, considering it is Diwali season and there is already a lot of buzz related to crackers and air pollution.
As per the findings of the report, 2.51 million premature deaths were recorded in the country due to pollution alone. Complications arising from contaminated air and water have been attributed as the cause of these deaths. It is stunning to note that a whopping 28 percent of the 9 million pollution-related deaths reported worldwide belongs to India alone. India also topped the list of most number of deaths due to air and water pollution.
Pollution has been a pressing issue for our planet due to the harmful effects it has on the health and environment. The Lancet Commission on pollution and health focuses on how it has been neglected by the Governments and international development agenda despite the urgency. An estimated 9 million deaths worldwide have been caused due to pollution which is three times more than from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined and 15 times more than from all wars and other forms of violence. The commission states that the most severely affected countries, the pollution-related diseases are responsible for more than one death in four. It alleges that the effects of pollution on human mortality and their contribution to the Global Burden of Disease have been severely underreported. The commission also uncovered the economic costs of pollution to low-income and middle-income countries.
23.10.2017
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