Delhi Air Pollution Related Deaths Up 100% Since 1991

The health of Delhiites has been hit hard by air pollution, with the number of deaths and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases linked to the menace shooting up in recent years. A World Health Organisation (WHO) study ranked New Delhi as the world's worst city for air pollution, with an annual average of 153 micrograms of small particulates, known as PM 2.5 per cubic metre. Released on Wednesday, the study conducted in 1,600 cities found that air pollution has worsened since a smaller survey in 2011, putting Delhi residents at higher risk of cancer and heart disease. Read the full article @ India Today

A similar study done by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Roorkee in association with the University of Minnesota and University of Colorado at Denver has revealed a marked rise in deaths due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and hospital admissions for "chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases" (COPD) linked to pollution.

"As many as 8,945 cases of total mortality, 3,413 cases of cardiovascular mortality, 1,302 cases of respiratory mortality and over 12,809 hospital admission of COPD were recorded in Delhi in 1991. With 100 per cent growth, figures in 2010 became 18,229 cases of total mortality, 6,374 cases of cardiovascular mortality, 2,701 cases of respiratory mortality and 26,525 hospital admission," the study done by Professor Bhola Ram Gurjar of IIT-Roorkee said. In 2000, about "11,394 cases of total mortality, 3,912 cases of cardiovascular mortality, 1,697 cases of respiratory mortality and 16,253 cases of hospital admission of COPD" were recorded for Delhi, reported the study titled 'Human health risks in national capital territory of Delhi due to air pollution'.

The study, recently published in Atmospheric Pollution Research journal, adopted WHO guideline concentrations for assessing air pollutants like sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and total suspended particles (TSP). The study also assessed the risk to people from these pollutants. It found that higher ambient concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are responsible for excess number of deaths and illnesses in Delhi. The study covered the areas of North-West, South, West, North-East, South-West, East, North Central and New Delhi districts during 1991-2010.

Link to the journal article

They calculated the health risks using ambient air pollution concentration data of nine districts. Concentration data of monitoring stations in each district was used for calculating district-wise health risk estimates. The results found dissimilar trends in terms of deaths, diseases and hospital admissions. From 2002, the North-West district was at the top for the highest excess number of cases of hospital admission of COPD until 2010, while from 2002 to 2010, the North West district topped the chart with the excess number of cases of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.

Doctors have been witnessing an increased number of cases of respiratory disease which they attribute to air pollution. "There is an increase in cases of respiratory diseases, especially in children. Air pollution is contributing to respiratory diseases while there is also a possibility of malformation of organs in new born babies as mothers are exposed to pollution for prolonged periods," said Dr. Dinesh Kapil, consultant pediatrician at Red Cross Hospital.

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