Air Pollution » Air Quality and Public Health

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CSE welcomes new National Ambient Air Quality Standards

New Delhi, November 18, 2009: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has welcomed the newly notified Revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which were announced here today by Jairam Ramesh, the minister of state (independent charge) for environment and forests.

Air Quality and Public Health, CSE Press Note, CSE Press Release, CSE Study, Press Release

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The challenge of the chulha

About 24 years ago, I was in a house in a small village some distance from Udaipur town in Rajasthan. A government functionary was explaining how an improved chulha (cookstove) worked— they had installed it in the kitchen. At that time, India was waking up to forests being devastated. It was believed then (wrongly, as it turned out) the key reason was poor people cutting trees to cook food. It was also being understood smoke from chulhas was carcinogenic and that women were worst hit by this pollution.
Air Quality and Public Health, Story, Sunita Narain
Planning in the air

India has added two more swanky symbols to bolster its first-world ambitions: the Rajiv Gandhi international airport in Hyderabad and the gleaming Bengaluru international airport in our software capital. But look beneath this glitzy façade and you will find another instance of development on the cheap. We refuse to admit that our dream of world-class infrastructure is not grounded on the hard reality that we are a rich and poor country at the same time. As a result, we do not think differently and plan for solutions that suit our needs.

Air Quality and Public Health, Story, Sunita Narain
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Factsheets

  • State of air pollution in Indian cities

        Air quality data generated by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for 2007 under the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) presents deadly facts about air pollution levels in Indian cities.

  • Learning from Lahore

    Sometimes beginning late can be an opportunity – more advantageous then even the beginners’ advantage. If a city has done nothing so far to clean up, and begins now, it is easier to steer clear of the gaffes and the clangers of the early birds.

Campaign Outreach

Is Delhi losing the pollution battle?

CSE warns Delhi: time to breathe easy over, air pollution reaching critical levels again in city. We need to act fast to recover our right to clean air.

Air Pollution Control, Air quality, Air Quality and Public Health, Campaign Outreach

Work Overview

The rate at which urban air pollution has grown across India is alarming. A vast majority of cities are caught in the toxic web as air quality fails to meet health-based standards. Almost all cities are reeling under severe particulate pollution while newer pollutants like oxides of nitrogen and air toxics have begun to add to the public health challenge.

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Latest Clippings

Typhoid, gastric problems on the rise, doctors say contaminated water to blame
Chandigarh With the dry and hot weather spell gripping the region, cases of gastric problems, typhoid and other related illnesses are pouring in at city hospitals and civil dispensaries. Doctors say more than 10 to 15 such cases are being reported daily at OPDs and most patients are from peripheral areas where the quality of drinking water is under scanner. read more

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Publication: Slow Murder

Documents the deadly story of air pollution caused by vehicles. Vehicular pollution is no longer just an intangible threat in India - it contributes to a shocking 64 per cent of the total pollution in Delhi, 52 per cent in Mumbai and 30 per cent in Kolkata.

Down To Earth Articles

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Clean city’s air, breathe easy

Keeping the car windows rolled up while driving is a good idea in china, taxi drivers are perhaps the most exposed to air pollution. Cleaning the air of a city might make their hearts healthy, a study reported. Eleven healthy non-smoking taxi drivers of Beijing who worked 12-hours a day were monitored before, during and after the 2008 Olympics.

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On the shelf?

Centre’s intent on ambient air quality standards unclear

India’s national ambient air quality standards have hit a roadblock. Revised after 14 years and finalized in May, the standards await the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests’ (moef) clearance.

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The dawn of pollution

A walk in pre-sunrise hours may increase chances of asthma

Health enthusiasts living near freeways should minimize their outdoor exercise timings during the early morning hours; they should also keep their windows closed through the night.

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