E-Paper
India, China most vulnerable to climate crisis, pollution
New Delhi: India and China are among the five countries most vulnerable to climate change and air pollution, a first- of-its-kind research assessing the combined risks of the two factors said on Thursday
New Delhi: India and China are among the five countries most vulnerable to climate change and air pollution, a first- of-its-kind research assessing the combined risks of the two factors said on Thursday.
The world’s two fastest developing economies have witnessed a spurt in particulate matter induced air pollution levels in the past two decades and a simultaneous increase in frequency of extreme weather events such as extreme rainfall, frequent cyclones and heat waves .
On Wednesday, extreme rainfall over the week had flooded many parts of Henan province in central China, leaving 33 persons dead. Several other regions of China have faced flooding this week even as north America is witnessing extreme heat wave.
“Deaths resulting from toxic pollution are highest where the distribution of toxic pollution is greatest and, critically, also where the impacts of climate change pose the greatest risk,” the study, titled Global Distribution and Coincidence of Pollution, Climate Impacts, and Health Risk in the Anthropocene, said, in a specific reference to India and China.
For at least 30 years, the scientists on the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have assessed the impact of human induced climate change even as bodies such as the World Health Organisation have focused on the health impact of rising air pollution globally.
Scientists at University of Notre Dame found a “strong and statistically significant” link between the two hazards and said the countries which are at most risk from climate change are also the countries with highest risk from toxic pollution.
A vital difference between climate change and air pollution is that green house gases that causes global warming are considered non-toxic whereas air pollutants such as particular matter or nitrogen dioxide are toxic.
“It is not surprising to find that these risks are highly correlated, but this study provides the data and analysis to inform policy, data and analysis that were previously lacking,” Debra Javeline, an associate professor of political science at the university said in a statement.
To make the study useful for policymakers, the authors ranked 177 countries on “Target”, a measure that combined a country’s climate impact risk, toxic pollution risk and its potential readiness to mitigate these risks. China is the world’s leading total GHG emitter and India is on track to join it at the top and they are the two top ranked countries in terms of toxic air pollution.
Based on these criteria, the study ranked Singapore, Rwanda, China, India, Solomon Islands, Bhutan, Botswana, Georgia, the Republic of Korea and Thailand as the top 10 countries at risk from the two factors combined. “The top one-third of countries at risk of toxic pollution and climate impacts represent more than two-thirds of the world’s population, highlighting the magnitude of the problem and unequal distribution of environmental risk,” researchers wrote in the paper published on peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS One.
On India and China, the two largest countries, with a combined population of over 2.5 billion people, the study said they have relatively high Proportion Mortality ranks --- India ranked 5th and China 13th with 23.5% and 17.9% of annual deaths associated with toxic pollution, equaling 2.3 and 1.9 million premature deaths annually, respectively.
The study also pointed out that the two countries have come up with national pollution reduction policies to reduce pollution deaths. In case of China, it said, its National Plan on Air Pollution led to 40% reduction in pollution levels.
“The improved air quality resulted in significant corresponding reductions in respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease mortality rates,” the study said.
he paper also said that by mitigating toxic pollution in large countries with high populations such as China and India, neighbouring countries will also benefit.
Anumita Roy Chowdhary of Centre for Science and Environment said the study provides broad parameters linking air pollution and climate change and insights on how tackling both with singular policy instrument can be co-beneficial. “We know that reducing air pollution helps in managing green house gas emissions and vice-versa. The study, however, analyses the capability of 180 countries to deal with twin environmental problems,” she said.
Notre Dame University’s postdoctoral research associate Drew (Richard) Marcantonio said the idea of ranking (Target) is to highlight where action can be taken to reduce risks to human health and whether it can be done through incentives or sanctions. “A range of measures can be used to promote risk reduction such as trade incentives, be they negative or positive incentives, or other policy and regulatory enforcement mechanisms.”
BOX: Ranking
Top five: Singapore, Rawada, China, India, Solomon Islands
