New Delhi’s decades-old regime to control vehicular pollution, including a heavy reliance by commercial vehicles on compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel, has been challenged by a new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).  The report upends the narrative the that CNG is a ‘clean’ fuel, pointing to its high level of health-damaging […] Continue reading ->
Humans are ingesting and inhaling more microplastics than at any time in recorded history, a Cornell University study revealed. The research shows microplastic consumption has risen sixfold globally since 1990, with Asian, African, and American countries all experiencing increases. People in China and the United States are among those consuming record levels of tiny plastic […] Continue reading ->
NEW DELHI – On 2 November 2023, extreme air pollution caught Delhi off-guard. It shut down schools and led to flight cancellations, curbs on construction and other emergency responses.  That every little increase in air pollution increases the risk of death has been well-established for some years. But till now the effect of short-term air […] Continue reading ->
A growing body of evidence from India is firmly establishing the country’s toxic levels of air pollution as a leading cause of ill health, particularly non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The results are significant because the country’s politicians have repeatedly questioned the validity of research that links air pollution with reduced life expectancy and worsening health.  As […] Continue reading ->
The fifth State of Global Air report shows air pollution is now the second-leading risk factor for death globally, after high blood pressure. Most of the deaths are from non-communicable diseases (NCD). The report has a silver lining about lives saved which shows how there’s been a large drop in the death rate of children […] Continue reading ->
Four well-known heavy metals and chemical pollutants – lead, asbestos, arsenic and cadmium- continue exact a heavy toll on the lives of those in low- and middle-income countries  – with lead named a factor in as much as 5 million premature deaths annually from cardiovascular disease, according to one recent estimate. Asbestos, arsenic, and cadmium round […] Continue reading ->