The Secret Killer

Air pollution has become the biggest environmental cause of premature death, overtaking poor sanitation and a lack of clean drinking water. Air pollution now kills twice as many people as HIV/AIDS. According to the WHO, more than 3.5 million people are being killed each year by the air that they breathe in urban areas, and the number is rising every year.

Air Pollution is becoming the major environmental issue globally. Two of the most dangerous forms of air pollution are particulates and ozone. Fine particulate matter (PM) can enter the lungs and help to spread harmful substances through the body. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) react with sunlight to produce ozone and contribute to the formation of particulates. These air pollutants may have various health impacts including asthma and lung cancer. Older people are more at risk, so population ageing increases the people at risk.

Road transport is responsible for roughly half the air pollution and up to 90% of that is from diesels. Diesel is responsible for more local air pollutants such as NOx and PM than gasoline, although volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from gasoline-driven vehicles can also contribute to smog. Diesel also causes higher CO2 emissions per liter of fuel than gasoline.

In many countries, the majority of new cars coming onto the market are diesels. Which in spite of gradually stricter vehicle emission standards, result is it contribute to great local air pollution. Almost all OECD (Organization for Economic Coordination and Development) countries tax diesel less than gasoline, except the UK, US and Switzerland. There is no environmental justification for this.

In china, Pakistan, India and many other countries, a shift to diesel is compounding an upward trend in emissions as vehicle growth outpaces the adoption of tighter emission limits. Some of the worst air pollution is taking place in fast growing cities like Beijing, New Delhi and Lahore. Every year there is worst smog in Lahore and New Delhi, consequences of air pollution. China has one fifth of the world’s population but accounts for nearly two-fifth of the global death toll linked to outdoor air pollution. India and Pakistan has far fewer air pollution related mortalities, but deaths from ambient air pollution are rising quickly.

Written by: Ali Sarmad Kazmi