India is home to 18 of the 20 cities with the most severe increase in fine particle pollutants (PM 2.5) from 2010 to 2019, according to a comprehensive and detailed analysis of air pollution and global health effects for over 7,000 cities released on 17th August.
The report published by the U. S.-based research organisation Health Effects Institute (HEI) also shows that Delhi has the highest average level of fine PM 2.5 among the world's most populated cities.
The analysis used data from 2010 to 2019 and focussed on two of the most harmful pollutants; fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
The report Air Quality and Health in Cities combined ground-based air quality data with satellites and models to produce air quality estimates for cities around the world.
The authors noted that in 2019, 1.7 million deaths linked to PM 2.5 exposure occurred in the 7,239 cities included in the analysis, with cities in Asia, Africa, and Eastern and Central Europe seeing the greatest health impacts.
They zoomed in to the most populous cities in each region i.e. a subset of 103 cities across 21 regions.
Among the most populous cities in each region, Delhi and Kolkata featured in the top 10 with the highest PM 2.5-related disease burden in 2019.
In the 20 cities with highest PM2.5 exposures, residents in cities from India, Nigeria, Peru, and Bangladesh are exposed to PM 2.5 levels that are several-fold higher than the global averages.
Only four of these cities, and none in India, met the WHO annual PM 2.5 Air Quality Guideline of 5 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m3) in 2019.
India and Indonesia have seen the most severe increase in PM2.5 pollution, whereas China has seen the greatest improvements.
Of the 50 cities with the most severe increase in PM 2.5, 41 are in India and 9 are in Indonesia. On the other hand, of the 20 cities with the greatest decrease in PM2.5 pollution from 2010 to 2019, all are located in China.
The report found that while exposures to PM 2.5 pollution tend to be higher in cities located in low- and middle-income countries, exposure to NO2, is high across cities in high-income as well as low- and middle-income countries.
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2022
Malaysia's premier men’s hockey tournament.
will be held from November 16 to 25 in Ipoh.
Australia, India, Germany, New Zealand and Canada are the five teams invited to play along with hosts Malaysia this year.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup has been part of the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) calendar every year since 2003.
The invitational tournament is named after Malaysia’s former FIH executive board member Sultan Azlan Shah.
Australia is the most successful team at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup with 10 titles followed by India with five. Pakistan and South Korea have lifted the trophy thrice each.
At the last edition in 2019, India lost the final to South Korea 4-2 in the shoot-out after being held to a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was first played in 1983. It became an annual event in 2003.
Books in News
India’s Vaccine Growth Story: From Cowpox to Vaccine Maitri - Sajjan Singh
Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie
Recalibrate: Changing Paradigms - N. K. Sing
Putin-His Life and Times - Philip Short
Veer Durgadas Rathore
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 13th August unveiled the Statue of Veer Durgadas Rathore on his 385th birth anniversary in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur.
Veer Durgadas Rathore single-handedly preserved the rule of the Rathore dynasty over Marwar (Jodhpur) after the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh in the 17th century.
Durgadas Rathore (13 August 1638 – 22 November 1718) was the Rathore Rajput General of the Kingdom of Marwar. He is credited with having preserved the rule of the Rathore dynasty over Marwar, India, following the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh in the 17th century.
In doing so he had to defy Aurangzeb, a Mughal emperor. He commanded the Rathore forces during the Rajput War (1679–1707) and played a major role in the Rajput Rebellion (1708–1710) which became one of the main reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire.
Sunil Kumar Gupta
Senior IAS officer Sunil Kumar Gupta was on 17th August appointed as secretary to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Gupta, a 1987 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is currently serving in his cadre state West Bengal.
Gupta had earlier worked with Dhankhar when he was the West Bengal governor.
Roshni Lantern
Union Minister Jitendra Singh launched India's first saline water lantern, which uses seawater to power LED lamps.
Singh unveiled the first-of-its-kind lantern named "Roshni" during a visit to SAGAR ANVESHIKA, a Coastal Research Vessel, operated and used by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai for coastal research.
Saline Water Lantern will bring "Ease of Living" to the poor and needy, particularly the fishing community living along the 7500 Kilometres long coastal line of India.
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