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Air pollution is playing havoc with human life  

Published : Sunday, 27 April, 2025 at 12:00 AM  Count : 602
PARVEZ BABUL
Just leave breathe and then keep your nose closed; what do you feel? Air is life; yes, I repeat, air is life. We cannot live but air. Clean air helps us alive, and polluted air pushes us to death silently, directly and indirectly through many ways. So, air is one of the most precious components to alive. Because air is vital for life. It provides the oxygen necessary for respiration in almost all living organisms. Plants also use air, specifically carbon dioxide, for photosynthesis. Air is essential for sound transmission and the water cycle.

Humans and animals need oxygen from the air to breathe and generate energy through a process called cellular respiration. This energy is crucial for life functions like moving, thinking, and growing. Plants take in carbon dioxide from air and, along with sunlight and water, use it to produce their own food through photosynthesis. This process also releases oxygen back into the air. It acts as a medium for sound waves to travel, allowing us to hear. Air is an important part of the water cycle, carrying water vapor and facilitating the evaporation and condensation processes.

In addition, air pollution and human-induced climate change are deeply interconnected. Many sources of air pollution, like burning fossil fuels, also contribute to climate change by releasing greenhouse gases. Furthermore, some air pollutants, like black carbon and methane, are short-lived climate pollutants that have a significant warming effect on the planet. Addressing air pollution and climate change requires a unified approach, as reducing pollutants can also benefit both human health and the planet's climate.

Researchers observed that air pollution is primarily caused by human activities and natural sources, including burning fossil fuels, industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust, agricultural practices, and natural events like wildfires and volcanic eruptions. Major contributors include vehicle exhaust, industrial processes, and power generation from fossil fuels.

World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that air pollution kills seven million people every year globally: 4.2 million from outdoor air pollution, and 3.8 million from indoor air pollution from burning wood and charcoal.

Considering all the issues, addressing air pollution is essential for adopting and mitigating climate change and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards. Targets of particular relevance to ambient and household air pollution include: SDG target 3.9.1, which calls for a substantial reduction in deaths and illnesses from air pollution. SDG target 7.1.2, which aims to ensure access to clean energy in homes.SDG target 11.6.2, to reduce the environmental impact of cities by improving air quality. And SDG 13 -- climate change among others required to address properly.

In fact, air pollution is indeed a cross-border issue, meaning pollutants can travel across national boundaries and affect multiple countries. And from one country can significantly impact the air quality of neighboring countries, leading to health issues and environmental problems.

Air pollution disproportionately affects women's health, causing a range of issues including respiratory problems, cardiovascular disease, and reproductive complications. Women are more vulnerable due to factors like biological differences, hormonal fluctuations, and gendered roles that increase exposure to pollutants. Polluted air impacts women's reproductive health, leading to miscarriages, stillbirths, and pregnancy complications.

Studies have shown that air pollution, particularly diesel exhaust, can cause changes in blood components associated with heart disease and inflammation, and the effect is more pronounced in women.

According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, air pollution is responsible for 27 percent of deaths from strokes worldwide and 28 percent of ischemic heart disease.It is the silent adversary that claims millions of lives each year, cutting short futures and burdening economies.

The second WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health on 28 March, 2025 concludes with powerful commitments to protect public health. At the high-level session, DrTedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus, WHO Director-General, urged leaders to respond to a global call to action: "It is time to move from commitments to bold actions. To achieve clean air, we need urgent actions on all fronts. Financial investment in sustainable solutions, such as in clean energy and sustainable transport. Technical enforcement of WHO global air quality guidelines. And social commitment to protect the most vulnerable in our most polluted regions."

Experts mentioned about regional cooperation in South Asian and Hindu Kush Himalayan countries truly important for comprehensive plans and projects.The challenges regional countries face: climate change, biodiversity loss, environment and air pollution, and disasters that do not respect national borders. Many challenges have significant impacts on other areas. Policy responses to air pollution remain inconsistent. Urgent action is needed to bridge the gap between policy intent and implementation.

As pollution knows no borders, so cross-border initiatives, regional and global partnerships are essential to address this crisis collectively. Countries need to drive meaningful change and push governments and stakeholders toward cleaner, more sustainable solutions.

The writer is a journalist



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