Air pollution tied to top two causes of death in India

NEW DELHI: Air pollution is an important risk factor for top two causes of death in the country-ischemic heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-health minister J P Nadda told Lok Sabha on Friday.

Nadda said water and soil pollution were associated with acute diarrhoeal diseases, typhoid, cholera, gastroenteritis, worm infestations, hepatitis and others. "Air pollution is one of the several risk factors in occurrence of such acute respiratory conditions (childhood pneumonia, bronchial asthma), chronic respiratory diseases, lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases," he said.

In an assessment made during the World Health Assembly last year in Geneva, WHO for the first time discussed the impact of air pollution on health. The UN agency estimated that one in eight deaths around the globe was due to the same. Nadda said the government has taken various measures to prevent diseases caused by pollu tion, including provision of safe drinking water.