Dreadful Effect of Air Pollution On Children

Abstract

Through this paper, I discussed the worldwide problem of air pollution and its negative impact on the health and behaviour of children. The paper consists of Stanford University’s report which has been recently published in ‘NATURE’ journal. The report reveals the shocking truth about air pollution worldwide in previous years. This paper also covers the reason behind the same. And various researches show that the increasing quantity of PM2.5 in the air is a major factor for air pollution. And finally, the paper reveals some general conclusion related to the topic.

1. Introduction

Air plays a very vital role in the existence of all living beings on earth. But due to human activities, this life-giving air becomes lethal now. Nowadays air pollution is one of the major problems on earth which can’t be ignored. Air pollution refers to the introduction of excessive foreign particles including gasses and microbiological particles into the earth’s atmosphere. Those are harmful to live organisms as well as for land and crops. They cause various respiratory diseases, allergies, behavioral change and even death to humans.

2. Current situation of air pollution

In June 2018, Stanford University publishes his journal on ‘Air Pollution’ in ‘Nature’. Research-based on different surveys taken generally in African countries. The reports tell that only in the year 2015, about 4lakhs children below the age of 5 years are dead in sub-Saharan Africa due to the exposure to particulate matter. The researchers found that from 2011 to 2015 high particulate matter concentration was responsible for 22% of infant deaths. The dirty air has led to the premature deaths of seven lakhs and twelve thousand African's every year.  Various health-related problems are noticed in the research, it shows that air pollution can stunt brain development, trigger asthma and cause heart strokes and even cancer.  This is not the case of Africa only, air pollution is now a global threat. In Europe, the average lifespan of peoples is reducing by 2 years due to the same reason. More or less this is the present situation of all places on earth.

3. Role of PM2.5 to contribute air Pollution

PM2.5 refers to atmospheric particulate matter such as a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets that has a diameter of fewer than 2.5 micrometers. It is so small that can only be detected with an electron microscope. It travels up to very long distances as it is smaller and lighter.

Due to its very small size, it cannot be stopped in the nasal cavity it gets deep into the lungs and even enters into the bloodstream.   Due to which it thickens the arteries which are the main cause of heart failure and strokes. Children are the most affected by these particles. The area where the quantity of PM2.5 is high has a large number of children are suffering from asthma, decreased lung function, coughing or difficulty in breathing. The behavioral changes in the children are also detected in the research, in India nearly 2.5 crores children are suffering from such diseases in which Autism is very common. Remember that Autism is a very serious developmental disorder that affects the emotional, social and physical health of the affected individual. The “Harvard six cities study”, published in 1996, revealed that PM2.5 was one of the causative factors of human non-accidental death.

PM2.5 form in the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of chemicals such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are pollutants, mainly emitted from nuclear power plants, heavy industries, and automobiles companies. Apart from PM2.5 nitrogen oxide is the most poisonous and a cause of various lethal diseases in the world. This gas is emitted into the environment as a result of diesel combustion in automobiles. This gas is very harmful to a pregnant woman and even it affects her unborn child. It also reduces the mental development of a newborn.

It is clear that the major cause of air pollution is due to a huge gap between the exploitation of natural resources and repayment of those resources' value.

--Aakansha Panwar, Student

Melting of 'OK' glacier : A message of impending crisis

Abstract

Ashutosh Dubey Presenting Paper in Seminar

This paper contains a study of 'OK' glacier which recently melts down. Within last 2 to 3 decades, there are several glaciers which are on the same path as of OK glacier including The Great Himalayan Ranges, hence the information about the all is also a part of this paper. later on, the paper discussed the impact of worldwide phenomena of melting glaciers, how it is harmful to mankind as well as for nature, the scarcity of freshwater is the major problem would be faced by the world as a result of same. And finally, we discussed the cause of this disaster and try to conclude for a solution.

1. Introduction

Okjokull (ok) is one of 400 ancient glaciers of Iceland. But unfortunately, this Glacier had died in 2014. At the sight of this dead glacier, a Plaque is set up, which is titled as, A letter to the future, incarnated as "Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years, all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. this monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. only you know if we did it" August 2019.

But the question is how a very large ice body disappears only in three decades? Firstly we have to understand how the glaciers work. The sum of accumulation and the ablation is known as glacier`s mass balance, which may fluctuate naturally from year to year and over decades. But now the problem is that the ablation is much more than that of accumulation which results in rapidly disappearing of glaciers.

2. Melting Glacier: a Global Phenomena

While OK was the first sign of climate change in Iceland, but probably won`t be last. Iceland`s glaciers are losing about 10 billion tons of ice every year and it is estimated that all 400 glaciers of that region will likely to be dead up to 2200. Since the mid-1990s rapidly thinning of glaciers has been a universal trend. An overwhelming majority of Iceland`s glaciers are decreasing in volume almost every year. According to the National Snow and Ice data center (NSIDC) , "Over 90% of the measured Alpine glaciers in the world are retreating in almost every major glaciated region. The cause of this widespread retreat are varied but the underlying primary causes are a warming climate due to the increased industrial activities..."

Satellite images show that glaciers in the US and Canada are shrinking four times faster than in the previous decade. The list is very long, Mount Hunter in Denali national park, is seeing 60 times more snowmelt than it did in the last 150 years. Satellite data showed Antarctica lost as much as sea ice in four years as the Arctic lost in last 34 years.

The most catastrophic phenomena are the melting of Himalayan glaciers. Studies show that their melting rate is dramatically accelerated since the start of the 21st century.  40 years of satellite observations across India, China, Nepal, and Bhutan indicates that glaciers have been losing its ice as double as from 1975 to 200. The study indicates that climate change is eating the Himalayas` glaciers. Temperature varies from place to place, but from 2000-2016 it is averaged 1-degree centigrade higher than those from 1975 to 2000.

3. Impact of Melting Glaciers

There are several impacts of melting glaciers on the environment and on mankind. This affects both presents as well as the future generation. This is the question of survival on the planet Earth. The following effects are directly seen as a result of melting glaciers:-

a)  Glaciers are the main source of freshwater, if they are depleted by the current rate then there is a great scarcity of water will be seen in the near future. Almost 800 million people depend in part on seasonal runoff from Himalayan glaciers for irrigation, hydropower and most importantly for drinking water. A scientist said that the situation will be worst within decades. with shrinking glaciers, less water will be available for nearby river systems in the condition of low rainfall and therefore millions of people could lose their primary water supplies which rise to a problem of survival for millions of peoples. It is estimated that averagely 8 billion tons of water lost every year.

West Antarctica is lost its ice very fast. A complete loss of the West Antarctica ice sheet would be expected to increase global sea level by about 5 meters, means coastal cities around the world would be submerged.

b)  the list of projected consequences also includes isostasy, it is a process whereby reduced ice removes weight from the earth`s crust, causing the land to slowly rise. over a whole century, this rise is a meter or even several meters around Vatnajokull, a place of highest melting of glaciers. This is a great consequence for local people.

c) Melting of glaciers can also lead to increased volcanic activities as when the weight of ice is reduced, there is a change in the melting point of magma in the upper mantle, which somewhat increase in the production of magma and hence volcanic eruptions.

4. Reason Behind the Melting Glaciers

In the fifth Assessment report by NASA, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of one thousand three hundred independent scientific experts from all over the world concluded that there is a more than 95 % probability that limitless exploitation of natural resources such as the burning of fossil fuel, emission of harmful gases by giant industries, etc  over the last fifty years have warmed our planet and pace of this exploitation is increasing.

Responsible for these damages, like giant petrochemical companies, carbon dioxide, and CFCs gas emitters mislead by the wrong fact that these are solely due to the cycle process of the sun's energy output. Studies show that it played a major role in past climate changes but plenty of pieces of evidence show that the current global warming can't be explained by changes in energy from the sun. Due to the following reasons :

• Since 1750 the average amount of energy coming from the sun remains constant.

• If the warming is due to the increasing sun's energy then scientists would expect to see warmer temperatures in all layers of the atmosphere but they observed that there is a cooling in the upper atmosphere and a warming at the surface and in the lower parts of the atmosphere. That's because greenhouse gases are trapping heat in the lower atmosphere.

Apart from all these false consciousness we have to identify the real culprits with scientific reasons behind all these.

-- Ashutosh Dubey (Teacher at Golden Bell School, Meerut) and Mukul Sharma (Teacher at JPIS, Meerut)