New Delhi, Dec. 9 -- The Union government on Monday informed the Rajya Sabha that no conclusive data are available in the country to establish a direct correlation between deaths or diseases and air pollution.
Responding to an unstarred question by Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien on deaths attributed to PM2.5, economic losses due to outdoor air pollution and mitigation plans, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav informed that air pollution is a triggering factor for several respiratory and related ailments, but multiple variables influence its health impacts.
While responding to another question by Nationalist Congress Party member Supriya Sule in Lok Sabha, he explained that the health effects of air pollution are a "synergistic manifestation" of a set of personal factors including dietary habits, occupational exposure, socio-economic status, medical history, immunity, and hereditary conditions of individuals.
Therefore, the State or Union Territory-wise official estimates of deaths caused exclusively due to air pollution, and its definite figures on economic losses attributed directly to it are not maintained by the government.
However, the government underlined that it has undertaken a series of measures across ministries to tackle air pollution and reduce its health impact. A major initiative in this direction is the National Programme for Climate Change and Human Health, which has been under implementation since 2019. Under this programme, a dedicated Health Adaptation Plan has been prepared with regard to health issues arising from air pollution, and State Action Plans on climate change and human health have been developed for all 36 States and Union Territories. These plans include specific chapters related to air pollution and recommend interventions to mitigate its health impact. mpost
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.