[Stoves] News - Raising awareness of air pollution in India

Wed Jun 14 15:59:51 CDT 2017

Dear Nikhil and all

This one is easy. Using the exposure rated in ‘cigarettes smoked per day equivalent’ we can work backwards to the ambient PM2.5 concentration! Keep up, this is going to be fun!

10 cigarettes per day equivalent
1 cigarette = 15-40 mg<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51207723_Lung_injury_after_cigarette_smoking_is_particle_related> PM2.5 exposure (inhaled particles), average = 27.5
10 cigs = 275 mg exposure (range 150, 400)
Volume inhaled by an average Indian city dweller = 9700<http://ptaff.ca/air/?lang=en_CA> litres = 9.7 m3
275 mg = 275,000 µg (range 150,000, 400,000)
Therefore the average mass concentration of PM2.5 in Indian cities is 275,000/9.7 = 28,350 µg/m3(average, maximum is about 41,000 µg/m3)

That is pretty bad. It is 95 times higher than a Red Alert day in Beijing (300 µg/m3)

No wonder so many people are dying of air pollution in India. The air, according the final note, contains more than 2000 times as much PM2.5 as is recommended by the WHO.

If we calculate it the other way, using as an input the 170 µg/m3 (yeah, I know, measurements stuff up a lot of grand theories) we get something like this:

170 µg/m3 x 9.7m3 = 1649 µg exposure
1 cigarette = 275,000 µg
Living in an Indian city is the equivalent of smoking 1649/275,000 = 0.006 cigarettes per day.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I think if one of their claims is out by a factor of 166, the other claims should also be put to proof.

Crispin

Of course! Air pollution will take your breath away!!  See https://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/deepveer-will-save-us?utm_term=.jqMZnrPP2

I would like to think Indians are not born stupid, WHO and the professoriat makes them so (at least tries to).

I spare you the photographs. (lakh = 100,000)

Nikhil

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1. Hi. You know we have an air pollution problem, no? If you don't think it's thaaaat bad, get this: TWO INDIANS DIE PER MINUTE because of air pollution.

Ranveer: Deeps, did you know air pollution-related deaths in India increased six-fold between 2000 and 2010?

Deepika: I know, dude, and it's still growing. Air pollution caused around 6,20,000 deaths in India in 2010 and causes more than TEN LAKH DEATHS per year now.

Ranveer: O fucks.

2. Last year the WHO assessed 1,622 cities worldwide for fine particulate matter, and found India is home to 13 of the top 20 cities with the most polluted air.
3. Still not horrified? Ok. Breathing in Delhi’s air for 24 hours is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes a day.
4. And it's only getting worse. Air quality in India deteriorated by 21.6% in the past 10 years.

Bye bye, viable healthy futures for all our children! Toodles, life span! See you later, the 8.5% GDP we lost due to air pollution-related diseases in 2013!

5. In 2013, a study was conducted on the lung function of non-smokers. Indian non-smokers' lungs function 30% less effectively than Europeans' do.
6. India’s rapidly worsening air pollution is causing over 1 million people to die prematurely each year. A FUCKIN' MILLION. TEN LAKHS. WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU.
7. It's doomsday, fam. And I know you're a smart, conscientious, woke-AF reader, so you want to know what you can do to help. I gotchu. Keep reading.s
8. Use public transport or carpools as much as possible. Also, make sure your vehicles are properly serviced at all times. Badly maintained vehicles emit noxious pollutants into the air.
9. A maaaassssive component of the problem is the burning of fossil fuels to get energy. Switch to solar<https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74679X1524629&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fregajha%2Fdeepveer-will-save-us&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiagosolar.in%2F&xcust=4554241%7CBFLITE&xs=1> wherever you can, and make smaaaallll lifestyle changes<https://www.buzzfeed.com/gyanyankovich/you-can-do-it> to reduce your own carbon footprint.
10. Also, governments need to ensure existing coal based power use latest technologies, which reduce the amount of pollutants they release. There is a government notification<https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74679X1524629&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fregajha%2Fdeepveer-will-save-us&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpib.nic.in%2Fnewsite%2FPrintRelease.aspx%3Frelid%3D133726&xcust=4554241%7CBFLITE&xs=1> to ensure this, but power plants aren’t taking it seriously. In fact, they're trying to get the notification removed or diluted. Direct your outrage to this issue!
11. And finally, if you want your state government or municipality to take action on air pollution, you can start your own campaign on Air Alert<https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74679X1524629&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fregajha%2Fdeepveer-will-save-us&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.airalert.in&xcust=4554241%7Cd%7C0%7C0%3A0&xs=1>.
Breathing in Delhi’s air for 24 hours is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes a day.
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