My Science School

A portal named "PRANA" was launched by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) on the occasion of the second International Day of Clean Air For Blue Skies, on September 7 this year. What is this portal for?

Air pollution, a major threat

Air pollution poses a major threat to human health, besides affecting animals and plants. A type of environment pollution, it affects the quality of air around us. A mixture of solid particles, gases, and droplets that remain suspended in the air, it is primarily caused by human activities, taking the form of exhaust from vehicles, emissions from factories and vapour from aerosol cans. Dust, pollen, mould spores, and animal dander (skin flakes shed by animals) too affect air quality. Air pollution is common in large, urban cities where emissions from varied sources remain trapped.

The Central Government has launched several initiatives, including the recent PRANA, to improve air quality in the country. PRANA stands for Portal for Regulation of Air pollution in Non-Attainment cities. It has been launched for monitoring and regulation of air pollution in 132 cities across the country-the cities that come under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The portal (prana.cpcb.gov.in) aims at providing real-time information on city wise pollution levels. It will tracking of physical as well as the support financial status of city air action plan implementation and disseminate information on air quality to the public. It also provides information on how specific cities are curbing air pollution levels, as well as data on air pollution mitigation milestones achieved since 2018. It is said that information available on this portal will help shape future policy decisions.

What is NCAP?

NCAP is the National Clean Air Programme launched in 2019 in partnership with various Ministries and States to improve air quality in over 100 cities. It is the first-ever effort in the country to frame a national framework for air quality management with a time-bound reduction target. The tentative target is to reduce Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5) concentration by 20-30% 2024 by across the country.

Non-attainment cities

These are those that have failed to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM 10 (particulate matter of 10 microns or less in diameter) or nitrogen dioxide for over five years. These were identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the basis of their ambient air quality data available from 2014.

Who developed PRANA?

Knowledge Lens, a B2B product company that builds innovative solutions in niche technologies, including Big Data, Al, IoT, in collaboration with the CPCB, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the Ministry of Environment. Forest and Climate Change, has developed PRANA.

Picture Credit : Google

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated "India's first smog tower in New Delhi on August 23. What is a smog tower and why is it installed? Let's find out

Improve air quality

Smog is a type of intense air pollution that reduces visibility. It is a combination of harmful pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, fine particulate matter, and ground-level ozone. Smog towers are installed to fight pollution and to filter and purify air. As we all know, Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world. In a bid to control pollution levels, the Delhi government has installed a smog tower at Connaught Place on an experimental basis. If the pilot project is found to yield results, many such structures can be expected to come up around the capital.

The 24-metre tall steel-and-concrete smog tower, built at a cost of Rs. 20 crore, has 40 huge fans and 5,000 filters. It will suck in polluted air from above and pass it through filters fitted at the bottom. It is believed to be able to purify up to 1,000 cubic metres of air every second within a radius of one kilometre. While the technology has been imported from America, the tower has been built by Tata Projects Limited with technical support from IIT-Delhi and IIT-Mumbai, which will analyse its data. National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd (NBCC) is the project management consultant.

The smog tower is expected to operate at full capacity" after the monsoon season. A control room has been up at the site to monitor its operations A two-year pilot study will ascertain the efficacy of the tower

Background

The Supreme Court in January 2020 had directed the Central government to construct a smog tower to reduce pollution at Anand Vihar, and the Delhi government to install another such structure at Connaught Place. “IQAir”, a Switzerland-based company that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging airborne particles known as PM2.5, had ranked Delhi the world's most polluted capital for the third consecutive year in 2020. The smog tower, built by the Central government at Anand Vihar, is expected to become operational soon According to a 2019 estimate, the capital will need over 200 such anti-smog towers.

Experts' take

The concept of smog towers does not find favour with some experts, who argue that the towers may provide immediate relief from air pollution in a small area, but are too expensive to set up. They also feel there is no scientific evidence to back the long-term benefits of smog towers. Instead renewable energy, should be promoted to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions.

Picture Credit : Google

On August 13, the Environment Ministry notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, which prohibits specific single-use plastic items that have low utility and high littering potential by 2022. The decisions follow recommendations made by an expert group constituted by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals two years ago.

Under this rule, the manufacture, sale, and use of a range of plastic products will be prohibited from July 1 2022 These include ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags candy sticks, ice cream sticks, thermocol for decoration plastic cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, cups, plastic wrapping and packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, cigarette pack and PVC banners less than 10 microns. These items will be phased out in three stages.

The new rule has also increased the permitted thickness of polythene bags. They must be at least 75 microns thick from September 30, 2021, and 120 microns from December 31 next year, compared to 50 microns at present.

At the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019, India piloted a resolution on addressing single-use plastic products pollution. Later that year, in his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on people to stop the use of single-use plastic bags.

Following this, many Indian States set deadlines to ban certain plastic products. The initial enthusiasm soon died down and banned plastic items are back in use. At about 34 lakh tonnes generated in 2019-20. India has a staggering annual volume of plastic waste, of which only about 60 % is recycled.

While environmentalists welcome the new rules, they also point out the challenges in curbing plastic pollution. What are they?

Why is plastic non-biodegradable?

 A material is biodegradable if it can be decomposed by bacteria and other living organisms. Most plastic are derived from propylene, a chemical component of petroleum. A crucial manufacturing step causes monomers (a molecule that can be bonded to other identical molecules to form a polymer) of propylene to link together and form very strong carbon-carbon bonds with each other. This results in polypropylene, which is not easily broken down by microorganisms. Thus plastic remains non-biodegradable for years.

What are single-use plastic?

Single-use plastic, or disposable plastic, are those plastic items we use only once before discarding them. Each year, 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced around the world, and 40 % of that is single-use.

Plastic is low cost, lightweight, practical, and easy to make. These qualities make it the most preferred material for producing disposable items. According to the UN Environment, the most common single-use plastic found in the environment (in order of magnitude) are cigarette butts, plastic drinking bottles, plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, plastic grocery bags, plastic lids, straws and stirrers, other types of plastic bags, and takeaway foam containers.

What happens to the plastic that we discard?

Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose, in the meantime, it remains in the environment contaminating soil and groundwater. A lot of it also ends up in the ocean posing threat to marine life. Animals consume plastic accidentally or mistaking it for food .plastic gets lodged in their stomach and prevent their digestive system from working properly .This eventually leads to the animal death n

When they degrade plastics also leach potentially toxic chemical (additives used to shape and harden plastic) which make their way into our find and water supply systems. These toxic chemicals are now being found in our bloodstream Researches have found them to disrupt the endocrine stem which can cause cancer, birth defects impaired immunity, and many other problems.

Some plastic slowly break down into smaller pieces of plastic called microplastics and make their way into the system of marine animals and humans who ultimately consume some of these seafood Microplastics have been found in soil and air as well.

 The UN Environment Programme reports that past 9 % of the world's nine billion tonnes of plastic have been recycled.

What are the challenges ahead?

Putting an end to plastic pollution depends on various factors. Some of the challenges in implementing measures against use of plastic listed out by experts are

• The failure to enforce rules.
• Finding alternatives to single-use plastic items. This alternative should be sustainable too.
• Bioplastics, which are made using a range of agricultural byproducts, are increasingly being seen as an alternative. However, bioplastics break down only in a high-temperature industrial composting facility and very few cities have the infrastructure needed to deal with them. These bioplastics often end up in landfills and oceans and pose the same risk as conventional plastic. 
• Considerable amounts of plastic waste are not recycled because of lack of segregation and collection Only 60 % of plastic waste is collected and recycled in India, while the remaining remains littered in the environment Our policies should also focus on collection and segregation
• The plastic recycling industry is vast and unorganised.  Most of the plastic wastes are recycled into low quality materials which again become single-use items. The recycling business would need support - technical and financial - to upgrade to alterative industry.
•  Collaboration is required across the value chain-from design and reuse to repair and recycling-in order to develop impactful solutions.

Picture Credit : Google

A California wildfire that closed nearly 200 square miles of forest forced evacuations across state lines into Nevada recently as winds and scorching, dry weather drove flames forward through trees and brush.

The Beckwourth Complex - which began as two lightning-caused fires in Plumas National Forest - was intense. Hot rising air formed a gigantic, smoky pyrocumulus cloud that reached thousands of feet high and created its own lightning.

In north-central Arizona, increased humidity slowed a big wildfire that posed a threat to the rural community of Crown King.

Elsewhere, Cyprus saw one of the worse wildfires since the Republic of Cyprus was established in 1960. Wildfires destroyed 50 homes, damaged power lines and forced the evacuation of 10 villages. The blaze ripped through mountain forests and farmland, killing four people and destroying scores of homes.

Water-bombing planes from Greece and Israel and British aircraft from bases on the Mediterranean island helped douse the huge fire, which blackened 55 square kilometres (21 square miles) of the Troodos Mountains.

Climate change is considered a "key driver' of a trend that is creating "longer and more intense dry seasons that increase moisture stress on vegetation and make forests more susceptible to severe wildfire," the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

What is a wildfire?

An uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation which spreads quickly, wiping out large areas of land is called a wildfire. A wildfire can also be termed a forest fire, a grass fire, a peat fire or a bush fire, depending on the type of vegetation present in the area.

What causes wildfires?

Wildfires are common in Australia, Southeast Asia, southern Africa, Western Cape of South Africa, the forested areas of the United States and Canada, and the Mediterranean Basin. During summer, when there is no rain for months, the forests become littered with dry leaves and twigs, which could be ignited by the slightest spark.

Natural causes: Lightning is the most common cause of wildfire. There are three conditions for a forest fire to spread -fuel, oxygen and a heat source. In the forest, anything that is flammable is a fuel. This includes tall, dry grass, bushes and trees. High temperature, drought and dry vegetation are a perfect combination for igniting a forest fire.

Man-made disaster: Human neglect such as downed powerlines, sparks from tools or forest machinery, abandoned campfires and discarded cigarette butts can spark fires. People also tend to clear forests by setting them on fire to pave way for cultivation. Sometimes they set fire to scare away wild animals.

How is a forest fire put out?

Traditional extinguishing methods include water dousing and spraying of fire retardants from aircraft. To limit the spread of a fire, firefighters remove ground litter and bush.

What is a heatwave?

A heatwave is a period of prolonged abnormally high surface temperatures relative to those normally expected. Classifying a heatwave varies from country to country. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) defines heatwaves as five or more consecutive days during which the daily maximum temperature surpasses the average maximum temperature by 5°C or more.

What is the link between climate change and forest fires?

• Climate change has created conditions conducive to forest fires. Long summer, drought, and dry air and vegetation make forests more susceptible to severe wildfire.
• Climate change has led to frequent heatwaves across the globe. Hotter temperatures, again, mean parched land.
• Climate change has also lengthened the fire season in many parts of the world.

Why does California experience forest fires quite often?

California's climate: Wildfires are a natural part of its landscape. California has two distinct fire seasons- one that runs from June through September and another from October through April. While the first one is driven by a combination of warmer and drier weather, the second one is driven by dry winds which make wildfires spread rapidly and cover large areas.

Longer fire season: In the recent past, the fire season in California has been starting earlier and ending later. The length of the season is estimated to have increased by 75 days. Beetle infestation: Prolonged drought conditions leave behind a landscape of dead trees, which lead to infestation by bark-eating pests such as the mountain pine beetle. Outbreaks of pests weaken and kill trees. Beetle-killed trees are at a higher risk of fire.

Warmer weather: Heatwave is a major contributor to forest fires in California.

Picture Credit : Google

Children face special risks from air pollution because their lungs are growing and because they are so active and breathe in a great deal of air.

Several studies have found air pollution linked to harm to children while they are still in the womb. A large study in California found that higher particle pollution levels increased the risk of preterm birth.5 Pregnant women exposed to even low levels of particle pollution had higher risk for preterm birth in a Boston study.6 Preterm births occurred more frequently when particle pollution spiked, as an Australian study found, even when they controlled for other risk factors.

Further evidence that cleaner air provides real benefits to children’s health came in a 2016 report from the same study exploring changes to 4,602 children’s respiratory symptoms such as coughing, congestion and phlegm. The study looked at the changes in these symptoms in three groups of children living in Southern California over different periods of time when air quality also differed (1993-2001, 1996-2004, and 2003-2012). As air quality improved, the children in the study suffered fewer bronchial symptoms whether they had asthma or not. In communities where the air quality improved the most, the children experienced even fewer symptoms.

So, does cleaning up the air really improve children’s health? In 2017, the researchers reviewed these long-term studies of children in Southern California and the impact of improvements in air quality on their health. They concluded that the 20 years of collected data provided strong evidence of the potential to improve children’s health by reducing some of the most common outdoor air pollutants.

Picture Credit : Google

PM 2.5 refers to a category of particulate pollutant that is 2.5 microns or smaller in size. The average cross-section of a human hair is 50 microns. PM stands for “particulate matter.” The EPA and many health organizations categorize particulate matter by size because different size particles have different health effects. For instance, PM 10 particles (particles less than 10 microns in size) can irritate your nose and eyes, but fewer of these particles penetrate deep into your lungs, so they do not cause the same health problems that smaller micron particles can, although they do increase rates of respiratory disease 

PM 2.5 particles are complex because they can be made up of numerous types of chemicals and particles, and they can be partly liquid, as opposed to solid, like a common dust particle. Particulate pollutants that are entirely or partly made up of liquid droplets are known as an aerosol. Natural kinds of aerosols include dust, sea salt and volcanic ash, whereas man-made sources include factory and auto emissions, coal combustion and biomass burning for clearing land or farming.

Picture Credit : Google

A 2013 assessment by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that outdoor air pollution is carcinogenic to humans, with the particulate matter component of air pollution most closely associated with increased cancer incidence, especially lung cancer.

The Board meets regularly, bringing together ministers from the health and environment sectors to address important issues in the WHO European Region.

Evidence published by WHO/Europe earlier this year, as part of the international project to review evidence on health aspects of air pollution (REVIHAAP), confirmed the importance of outdoor air pollution as a risk factor for health, and strengthened the causal link between fine particles (PM2.5) and cardiovascular and respiratory ill health. It also showed that long-term exposure to PM2.5 can trigger a range of problems, such as atherosclerosis, adverse birth outcomes and childhood respiratory diseases, and suggested possible links with neurological development, cognitive function and diabetes.

IARC’s recent classification provides indisputable evidence that air pollution is carcinogenic, and adds to the compelling evidence for taking action to improve air quality in order to reduce this important burden of disease in Europe.

Picture Credit : Google

Ambient air pollution accounts for an estimated 4.2 million deaths per year due to stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. Around 91% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits.

Exposure to high levels of air pollution can cause a variety of adverse health outcomes. It increases the risk of respiratory infections, heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.  Both short and long-term exposure to air pollutants have been associated with health impacts.  More severe impacts affect people who are already ill.  Children, the elderly and poor people are more susceptible.  The most health-harmful pollutants - closely associated with excessive premature mortality - are fine PM2.5 particles that penetrate deep into lung passageways.  

Although air quality in high-income countries has been generally improved over the last decades, the adverse health effects of particulate air pollution, even at relatively low levels, remain a global public health concern.

Picture Credit : Google

Each year, close to 4 million people die prematurely from illness attributable to household air pollution from inefficient cooking practices using polluting stoves paired with solid fuels and kerosene.

Around 3 billion people still cook using solid fuels (such as wood, crop wastes, charcoal, coal and dung) and kerosene in open fires and inefficient stoves. Most of these people are poor, and live in low- and middle-income countries.

These cooking practices are inefficient, and use fuels and technologies that produce high levels of household air pollution with a range of health-damaging pollutants, including small soot particles that penetrate deep into the lungs. In poorly ventilated dwellings, indoor smoke can be 100 times higher than acceptable levels for fine particles. Exposure is particularly high among women and young children, who spend the most time near the domestic hearth.

3.8 million people a year die prematurely from illness attributable to the household air pollution caused by the inefficient use of solid fuels and kerosene for cooking. Among these 3.8 million deaths:

• 27% are due to pneumonia


• 18% from stroke


• 27% from ischaemic heart disease


• 20% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)


• 8% from lung cancer.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Pollution is anything that people do those damages the natural environment. For example, if poisonous chemicals are not properly thrown away, they can get into the ground, water, or air.

There are many ways that people pollute the earth. When poisonous chemicals, such as paints and fertilizers, are dumped into rivers and lakes, the plants and animals that use that water may become sick or die.

When waste from people and animals gets into the soil and water, the plants and animals that use that soil and water may become sick.

Some pollution damages the air. Smog is one kind of air pollution. It is created by the action of sunlight on exhaust from cars and factories. Very heavy smog can hurt people. Even countries that work to improve their own air can be polluted by air from a neighboring country.

Picture Credit : Google

The history of our planet has been divided into tiny sections of time, and this is called geologic time. Depending on many factors within a specific period, these sections are called eons, eras, periods, epochs, and age. What we now live in is officially called the Holocene (meaning “entirely recent”), an epoch that began more than 11,000 years ago after the last major Ice Age. However, for decades now, many scientists have been calling for a specific name to be given to the epoch that begins mid-20th Century. A name that will sum up how intensely and singularly we humans have altered our planet – Anthropocene (anthropo meaning “human” and cene, “new”). Mid-century was chosen because that’s when the first atomic bomb exploaded leaving behind radioactive debris in sediments and glacial ice, “becoming part of the geologic record”. While we do not know if Anthropocene will be officially accepted and adopted, what we can be sure of is that our actions are directly responsible for how the Earth is today. In fact, we’re in the midst of the sixth mass extinction – the first one for which humans are to blame! But many are still hopeful that we can work collectively to save the planet despite the window of opportunity closing really fast.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Take a moment to look around and you will realise plastic is truly a ubiquitous material. It is difficult to imagine life without plastic Plastic production has increased exponentially over the years from 48 million tonnes in 1970 to 448 million tonnes in 2015.

Plastic materials not only remain in the landfills for years, leaching out chemicals into the environment, but also affect marine life when they end up in the ocean. Thankfully, people are slowly waking up to the dangers plastic poses to life and the environment. Globally, consumers and manufacturers are scrambling to find alternatives to plastic. One of the promising finds turns out to be bioplastic.

What's bioplastic?

Bioplastic simply refers to plastic made from plant or other biological materials. (Conventional plastic is derived from petroleum, a fossil fuel.) There are two main types of bioplastics. While PLA (polyactic acid) is typically made from the sugar in com starch, cassava or sugarcane, PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) is biosynthesised by microorganisms. The former is commonly used in food packaging and making utensils, the latter is used in medical devices such as surgical sutures and cardiovascular patches.

Advantages

While petroleum-based plastics are generally not biodegradable. bioplastics are biodegradable and compostable under the right conditions.

Bioplastics are made from renewable resources, thus limiting the use of fossil fuels.

However…

There are some environmental issues associated with bioplastic

• Research has found that bioplastic production can result in pollution due to the fertilizers and pesticides used in growing the source crop. • Plant-based bioplastic production also requires extensive land which could otherwise be used for food production.


• Production of some plastics leads to emission of cancer causing toxins into the air.


• Bioplastics often end up in landfills where they may release methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide, during degradation


• In most cases, bioplastics will break down only in a high-temperature industrial composting facility and very few cities have the infrastructure needed to deal with them. In case of bioplastic not being treated, it is as bad as conventional plastic.


• If bioplastics end up in marine environments, they will last for decades, posing a danger to marine life.

Scientists are working towards finding a way to address the above issues.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Bushfires happen almost every year across the island-nation of Australia. However, this time around, it has been one of the worst-ever. What began in September 2019 has continued well into 2020. It has claimed more than 25 lives while reducing millions of acres to ash. And New South Wales was hit the hardest – in this State alone, more than half-a-billion creatures, including mammals, birds and reptiles, are feared to have perished. There are reports that thousands of kangaroos and koalas have been consumed by the fire across the country. The last few decades have seen an increase in the number of bushfires, and may be attributed to global warming. As for Australia, the bushfires season seems to be beginning earlier and lasting longer. In a chilling revelation, the U.K. scientists have said that the recent fires in Australia are assign of what the world will go through as temperatures increase.

 

Picture Credit : Google 

A telling identity of our planet’s biodiversity, the tiger is also a keystone species. And its population the world over, and especially in India, has been of particular concern. However, July 2019 brought with it some comforting news. The findings of the Tiger census, conducted in our country once in every four years, showed that the tiger population had increased from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,967 in 2018. With that, India is estimated to be home to around 70% of the world’s tigers. Following an alarming decrease in the tiger population since the early 20th Century, the government had put in place stringent laws in the 1970s to protect the national animals, and this seems to have been paying off over the last decade or two. However, human-animal conflicts continue, and conservationists have repeatedly called for an increase in protected areas for the tiger.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Between September and October 2018, the Gir forest sanctuary – the only place to find the Asiatic lion in the wild today – lost nearly 25 of its most popular inhabitants. The death of lions is believed to have been caused by a potent combination of canine distemper virus and babesiosis, a disease caused by tick-borne parasites, according to government officials. The officials also said that the lions belonged to one pride. Following the deaths, 33 lions from the area were rescued, quarantined and vaccinated and kept under observation. Interestingly, answering a question at the legislative Assembly in early 2019, the Gujarat government said that over 200 lions had died in the Gir forest region in the previous two years (2017 and 2018).

Canine Distemper is a viral disease that is frequent in dogs, foxes, wolves, big cats and even primates. It is caused by a single-stranded RNA virus of the family Paramyxoviridae (the family of viruses causing measles, mumps and bronchiolitis in humans). It infects the spinal cord and brain and also the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. The virus is believed to have a 50% fatality rate in dogs.

In 1994, the CDV was responsible for an epidemic in the Serengeti region of Africa, where 1,000 lions died in three weeks. Its prevalence in India has not been studied and only a few reports are available regarding its detection in wild carnivores.

 

Picture Credit : Google