Install air purifiers in schools: Soumya
Children are disproportionately impacted because they tend to breathe faster: Former WHO chief scientist
New Delhi: Former World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan has suggested installing air purifiers in all government and private schools to protect children from hazardous air pollution in cities like Delhi.
In an interview with PTI, Swaminathan, who is the advisor to the health ministry, said India has gathered enough data on air pollution and it is now time to take action. "Children are disproportionately impacted because they tend to breathe faster. They have a higher respiratory rate than adults. They are also shorter, closer to the ground, and a lot of these pollutants actually settle down. They are growing and therefore all their organs are impacted.
"So definitely, I think that air purifiers, if available and affordable, can be or should be used. Certainly, we could think of putting them in all schools because children spend a lot of time there. Whether government or private schools, if we could improve air quality within schools, that will benefit children. But the final solution is, let's clean up the air," she said.
Delhi often sees hazardous air quality levels in winters requiring strict restrictions under stages 3 and 4 of the air pollution control plan called GRAP, which significantly disrupt the education system and affect learning quality. After the Supreme Court aired concerns over learning loss, the Commission for Air Quality Management in November last year directed schools and colleges in Delhi-NCR to shift classes up to 12th standard to a "hybrid" mode in case of high air pollution levels.
According to a report published on Tuesday by Swiss air technology company IQAir, six of the world's 10 most polluted cities are in India, with Byrnihat in Meghalaya topping the list.
The World Air Quality Report 2024 also said Delhi remains the most polluted capital city globally, while India ranked as the world's fifth most polluted country in 2024. Air pollution in Delhi has worsened, with the annual average PM2.5 concentration rising from 102.4 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023 to 108.3 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024. Overall, 35 per cent of Indian cities reported annual PM2.5 levels exceeding 10 times the WHO limit of 5 micrograms per cubic metre, the report said.
