The rising population of SUVs, cars and two-wheelers in Indian cities is having a deadly impact on people. Here, a traffic inspector is seen wearing a mask while on duty at the RTC complex in Visakhapatnam. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
Greenpeace activists beam a message on the cooling tower of the National Thermal Power Corporation at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to protest against coal burning. Coal-fired power plants, small-scale manufacturers and industries have been identified as major contributors to urban air pollution. Photo: Special Arrangement
The concentration of a large number of vehicles and comparatively high motor vehicles to population ratios in metros have led to deteriorating air quality in urban centres, a March 2010 report on the “Status of Vehicular Pollution Control Programme in India” finds. Picture shows a view of the traffic on the Noida Expressway. Photo: PTI
Burning biomass and coal for cooking and heating have also contributed to urban outdoor air pollution, along with motor transport. Photo: The Hindu
Around 1.34 million premature deaths from respiratory diseases and cancers were caused due to polluted air in 2008, the World Health Organisation reports. Photo: Mohammed Yousuf
The WHO warns that Indian cities will experience the highest number of heart, lung, cancer and asthma and acute lower respiratory infections if the air quality is not improved on a war footing. Photo: S.R. Raghunathan