It is alarming that the World Health Organisation has ranked 14 Indian cities to be among the 20 most polluted ones globally (Editorial – “Call to action”, May 3). This is a serious issue as it does affect countless lives even if it may appear to be invisible. In most of our cities, many of us have come to terms with the need to buy drinking water. In future we may confront a situation where we may need to pay for and use booths dispensing pure air. Policies to fast track the use of electric vehicles should become a priority.
A.G. Rajmohan,
Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh
It is no surprise that air pollution is widespread in urban India. The state of our public transport such as buses is a separate story. Many of them have poorly maintained engines which result in thick trails of diesel fumes and smoke. The impact of this on other road users and the quality of air is unfathomable, which makes one wonder whether there are any emission control tests at all. Autorickshaws and two-wheelers are equally harmful. A study in Nature Communication (2014) by researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland showed that “low-powered vehicles (autos and two-wheelers), which form a chunk of vehicles in many towns in Asia, emit more air contaminants than cars and trucks. Emissions from the exhaust of two-stroke vehicles were found to be of several thousand micrograms per cubic metre”.As the paper suggests, India needs to set a separate target for hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxides.
Govardhan Reddy,
Bengaluru
