In 2021 India is in the midst of the pollution age. The by-product of economic growth is air pollution that costs Indian businesses 95 billion USD every year which is 40% of the coronavirus disease tackling cost and 3% of India’s GDP according to the report released by Clean Air Fund(CAF), Management firm Dalberg Advisors and Confederation of Indian Industry(CII). This is how Air Pollution is affecting Non-human assets, Economics, and Companies.
Pollution has always been a concern for all of us but the alarming thing is pollution affecting economics as well. The report shows that how Indian businesses are getting affected by air pollution in 6 ways- lower labor productivity, premature mortality, lower consumer footfall, increased health expenses, welfare losses, lower asset productivity.
Employees fall sick as air pollution Rises or they take a leave to take care of their family members who are more vulnerable to air pollution. This resulted in a loss of 6 billion USD because 1.3 billion working days were lost. 98% of this cost is found in Eastern and Northern India where AQI levels cross 300 most often. AQI level means Air Quality Index. 300 AQI level is considered very unhealthy. Even though some employees don’t take leave because earning and supporting the family is more important in some cases.
22 billion USD lost in 2019 because India’s strength of being a large consumer economy diminished by air pollution resulted in a reduction in consumer spending by 1.3 %. Consumers avoid coming in contact with air pollution so avoid going to the market. Sectors with no online presence are affected the most including apparels, food, and even restaurants by pollution.
3.8 billion working days lost, costing 44 billion USD in India 18% of all deaths in India are caused by air pollution. Premature mortality is increasing because of air pollution and cream mixture mortality is hurting the current workforce but also future workforce full stop these are the direct effects and we are unaware of numerous indirect effects of air pollution.
Air pollution is directly affecting different sectors and cities. 1.3 billion USD lost in IT sector and 10% decrease in attendance on bad air days is seen. Reduction in productivity by 3% and 28% higher hiring challenges are also seen. These impact growth. the tourism sector in India is also directly getting affected by air pollution. 2 billion USD lost, 1% decline in GDP is seen. 8,20,000 jobs are lost in the tourism sector because International tourists reconsider their plans to fly to India as pollution is a big concern.
Air pollution in Kolkata caused a delay in 13% of all flights, shipping, and cargo handling delays because of low visibility. Migrant workers in Delhi find it challenging to adjust to the polluted air of Delhi and a higher attrition rate can be seen. Delhi faces 275 days of unhealthy air. 40% of Survey respondents tend to leave Delhi. 6 times more rise in respiratory medicines sales can be seen on bad hair days in Delhi. 64000 cases of respiratory ailments were registered in a single Hospital in 2015, Gurgaon. Now it’s time to take action as air pollution is leaving a direct impact on lives as well as on economics.
Which is the most polluted country in the world? Bangladesh is the most polluted country in the world where India is the third most polluted country in the world in 2020. According to the world air quality report 2020, Hotan is the most polluted city in the world which is in China. Ghaziabad is the second most polluted city followed by some other polluted cities in India. 22 out of 30 most polluted cities in the world are in India and Delhi is the most polluted capital city globally. These reports are based on PM2.5 data.
Nearly 9 million people died because of air pollution in 2018 which means people died because of dirty air is four times as people died because of covid-19. Air pollution is the third highest cause of death in Delhi That Kills over a million people a year. Delhi has the highest death toll.” Air pollution killed 54000 people in 2020″, a study says.
An Indian journalist Neha Mehta filmed a powerful documentary “Delhi’s Deadly Air” in 2019. The documentary shows how deadly air pollution could be.
“Delhi had zero good air quality days in 2018”, Neha Mehta said.
Also Read: Air Pollution and Its Effect on Human Life
Author’s Bio:
Shweta Lohar is a proud Indian and Ambidextrous. She keeps on trying new things to understand every angle of life. She aims to create awareness about Indian culture and traditions as because of modernization the actual significance of Indian traditions is lagging and to keep Indian culture alive. And………… To be continued…………..
