The Indian Council of Medical Research on Tuesday cited international studies to say that rising air pollution levels will add to coronavir...
The Indian Council of Medical Research on Tuesday cited international studies to say that rising air pollution levels will add to coronavirus mortality, reported Mint. It added that wearing masks was the only effective way to tackle the twin public health crises.
“It is well-known that pollution is one of the most important aspects of death,” said ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava at a virtual briefing. “First being malnutrition, then tobacco, high blood pressure, and pollution… On pollution related to Covid-19 mortality, there have been some studies in Europe and the United States. They have looked at polluted areas, and have compared the mortality during lockdown and correlation with pollution, and have found clearly that pollution is contributing to the morality in Covid-19. That is well established by these studies.”
According to a study published in Cardiovascular Research on Tuesday, scientists estimated that about 15% of deaths worldwide from Covid-19 could be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution. In East Asia, about 27% of the deaths could be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution, while it was 19% in Europe and 17% in North America.
The air quality of Delhi-NCR typically deteriorates in the winter. Earlier this month, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority had asked the Uttar Pradesh and...
