Site icon Youth Ki Awaaz

Air Pollution: It’s High Time We Spoke About The Elephant In The Room

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is the most listened but unfortunately most ignored problem by everyone around the world who are so busy in making the balance between their personal and professional life that they even forgot about what they are breathing.

We go to the supermarket and check the quality of fruits, vegetables, milk products and everything before buying, but do we ever care about the quality of the air we breathe?

Do we ever concern about knowing the possible causes behind the various lung problems, breathing problems, eye irritations, cardiovascular diseases among old people and children of our house, neighbours or relatives? And the obvious answer is, “Not really.”

Environmental activists all around the world are continuously addressing PM pollution as “a cloud on the horizon.” But we have to know that they are saying so since the 1990s, and now this problem will no more remain a cloud on the horizon but today this problem becomes like standing on thin ice.

The reason why this problem gets ignored is because the cool air coming from the air conditioners in their workplace often blows away the memories of their breathing discomforts during their journey to the office.

All of those who have given a cold shoulder to this problem feel that air pollution is a matter of serious concern for all those folks who spend most of their time struggling outside an office building and not for them. Such a feeling is just a sign of unawareness about the problem.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA’s) report on Indoor Air Quality indicated that indoor air pollution is more harmful to human health in comparison to the outdoor air pollution. The report mentioned that, “Working professionals in a city, on an average, spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations.”

Hence, there are no bunkers for the rich to save them from the attack of air pollution. This problem is not a person-specific, nor a community-specific, nor a state or nor a country or a continent-specific one; it’s a worldwide problem, and hence requires global cooperation.

I know that it’s everyone’s right to life and freedom, to live their life in the way they want. But please don’t forget, there is also a right to every human being and that is the right to breathe. Don’t give a chance to the noise of a disaster to break your sleep, wake up before by hearing your own will.

Featured image for representative purpose only.
Featured image source: Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images.
Exit mobile version