As more and more among us develop respiratory complications from severe outdoor pollution and governments grapple with the menace, we take a look at air pollution around the world and why India, with China, continues to dominate pollution-related ...
By TNN | Updated:
NEW DELHI: The haze that blanketed Delhi last week was in the making over several days. As more and more among us develop respiratory complications from severe outdoor pollution and governments grapple with the menace, we take a look at air pollution around the world and why India, with China, continues to dominate pollution-related deaths.
How does air pollution kill?
Burning of fossil fuels like coal is the main source of air pollution, a fallout of increasing urbanisation and industrialisation. The two most common pollutants linked to fuel combustion and industrial activity are sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrous oxides (NOx). These react in the atmosphere to form particulate matter (PM). The tiniest microscopic particulate matter, less than 2.5 microns in size (a micron is a thousandth of a milimetre) and hence called PM2.5, is the most lethal because these lodge deep in the dense but fragile network of alveoli in our lungs, eventually leading to chronic lung disease and breathing distress.
