How air pollution in Delhi is affecting our children

Delhi is under severe stress, thanks to urbanisation, increasing population and alarming levels of pollution. Studies have proved that transportation, industrial and residential sectors are the largest polluters, and that the citizens are exposed to high levels of nitrogen oxides, ozone, black carbon and particulate matter. The 2015 Global Burden of Disease report attributes about 1.09 million deaths in India to PM 2.51 and identifies air pollution to be among the top 10 health risks in the country. As per the World Health Organisation, 37 Indian cities are among the world’s top 100 cities with very high levels of PM10. Vehicles are largely responsible for the prevalence of precursor gases that lead to ozone formation. So policy changes are required to reduce the generation of ground level ozone through controlled vehicular emissions, and to monitor its ambient levels and health effect.