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Trevor Maple
Mr. Phillips
English 3 (H)
8 May, 2017
India is killing their People

For years pollution has been a growing problem in India by killing

millions of citizens and halting agriculture. India has recently surpassed

Chinas horrible air pollution as world's deadliest, and few attempts

have been made to stop its production. Citizens often wear masks to

try and protect themselves from the pollution as it permanently

damages the internal organs like the lungs, and only 1 day of living

there is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes. India needs to limit its

vehicular traffic and stop the production of their nasty coal to improve

life of citizens and growth of agriculture.

India now clarified to having the worst air pollution that contains

the dangerous particles called PM2.5 which have risen dramatically

killing 1.1 million alone in India annually (Anand). The pollution in India

is considered to be 28 times the concentration the world health

organization calls safe, and this has caused schools to shut down

periodically (Barry). Health effects from the air pollution consist of

respiratory symptoms such as dry cough, wheezing, breathlessness,

and chest discomfort which can lead to asthma. The pollution in India
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has gotten so bad that people have realized that numerous amounts of

people are dying from it every day. It has become known that the air

pollution in India is responsible for 10-30 thousand deaths annually in

Delhi meaning losing 80 lives a day (Earth). Children of all citizens in

India suffer from it the worst. Exposed children have the highest risk of

death from the polluted water and air. Almost 2 million children (1.7m)

up to age 5 have died globally from just pollution alone (Earth).

India is also known for being the 3rd largest emitter in emissions from

the production of coal. Coal in India isnt as clean as the coal produced

elsewhere such as the United States, and India's coal has a high ash

content, and it spews toxins and metals into the air when burned. Yet

the Prime Minister pledged to double coal production by 2020 (Riley).

Even by 2030 coal emissions could triple even further increasing

deaths by pollution in India with approximately 20 thousand people

that die each year alone from coal emissions, and this will increase to

70 thousand a year by 2030 (Perry).

The air pollution contained in India is made up of multiple substances.

These substances all cause harm to the citizens breathing these fumes

making air pollution to be the 5th leading cause of death. The

substances are a complex mixture of emissions (vehicle and

construction), burning (waste and crop), and road dust (Earth). The
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production of crops such as corn and rice are decreasing as air

pollution in India is on the rise. Its said that air pollution is so heavy

crop harvest is down about half as black carbon blocks the sunlight

and ozone destroying plant leaves (Ghorayshi).

India now having the worst air pollution in the world needs to

clean its air as not only is all of their citizens affected but, so are the

people living in nearby countries. India first did this by K.K. Sharma,

Chief Secretary of Delhi who made a system to in an effort to control

pollution. He did this by limiting the number of vehicles on the road

since driving is unorganized by no road lanes, and diesel emissions

causing more harm to the environment over regular gas. Days when a

private car would be allowed on the streets would depend on its

license plate ending in an even or odd number (Najar). The production

of coal plays a heavy factor in the air pollution created in India.

Stopping the production of coal would result in the black carbon levels

reducing allowing the crop production to rise and feed the 1.1 billion

people living in the country. By cleaning the air the death rate will

decrease from children and adults, and improve the overall life of the

people living in and around India.

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Works Cited

Anand, Geeta. "India's Air Pollution Rivals China's as World's Deadliest,

shows Study."

The Hindu, 15 Feb, 2017, pp. n/a, SIRS Issues

Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

Azeen Ghorayshi - India air pollution 'cutting crop yields by almost half

Https://www.theguardian.com/environment

Barry, Ellen. "Two Children, One Poor, One Rich, Gasping for Air in

Delhi." New York Times,

25 Nov, 2016, pp. A.1, SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com..

"Delhi air pollution: identifying perpetrators and fixing responsibility."

Down To Earth, 4 Nov. 2016.

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Environmental Studies and Policy, go.galegroup.com

"Delhi loses 80 lives to air pollution every day, says study." Down To

Earth, 18 June 2015.

Environmental Studies and Policy,

go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?

p=GPS&sw=w&u=rale84535&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA4199655

09&it=r&asid=87f7b6de34cd04e7de842f735164f435.

"Dirty air and water increase cradle deaths in India." Down To Earth, 7

Mar. 2017. Environmental

Studies and Policy,

go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?

p=GPS&sw=w&u=rale84535&v=2.1&id=GALE

%7CA485515960&it=r&asid=fd9020ad0ea7ef5fb0bc93f850a56737.

Perry, Juliet. "Southeast Asia Air Pollution Deaths could Triple, Report

Says." CNN Wire Service,

12 Jan, 2017, pp. n/a, SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

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Riley, Charles. "Death by Pollution: Delhi's Fight for Clean Air." CNN

Wire Service, 16 Feb, 2016,

pp. n/a, SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

Nida Najar - Delhi to Limit Use of Cars in an Effort to Control Pollution

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/05/world/asia/delhi-announces-

pollution-control-measures.html?_r=0