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| (Image via CNN) |
Frequently,
we view countries around the world as beautiful vacation getaways, without
thinking about the local issues that are currently ongoing. Like many of those places,
India is an attraction for its culture, food, and of course, one of the seven
wonders of the world – the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately, there’s a lack of
awareness about the air pollution crisis that continues to worsen.
The
capital, New Delhi, currently has the most toxic air in the world. The air is so bad that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
has said, “Pollution has increased to an extent that (the) outdoors in Delhi
are resembling a gas chamber.” People are accustomed to wearing masks as part
of their daily routine – because the air is deadly.
How’d We Get Here?
This
is something that didn’t simply happen over night. Worldometers.com estimates
that there are currently over 1.3 billion people residing in India, and 25
million living in New Dehli alone. Not only do humans contribute to this, but
the increase in industrialization helps as well. Not to mention the burning of fossil
fuels to power daily necessities such as the millions of cars roaming the
streets, and buildings.
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| Kuni Takahashi - Bloomberg/Getty Images |
How Bad Is It?
According
to a new study published in 2016 by the State of Global Air (SoGA), it details just
how bad the air was in 2015 (see Table 1
below). The study discovered that each year, 1.1 million people die prematurely.
To
find out more, check out the links below:
What can be done?
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