Celebrating UN International Day – Clean Air for Blue Skies

Published in: CASC

9th September, 2021

To celebrate the UN International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, SwitchON Foundation organised a webinar was organized with speakers from eminent institutions like the University of Chicago, NUJS, IIM Calcutta, XLRI, KIIT, CU, XISS, etc. sharing their thoughts on the prominence of youth in mitigating Air Pollution by taking an active role in advocating for Clean Air.

Prof. Dr. Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti, Vice Chancellor of National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) inaugurated the Clean Air Champions Cohort, launched by SwitchON Foundation in partnership with WWF, Greenpeace, Earth Day Network (EDN) Y-East, etc which comprises a group of individuals dedicated and passionate about making a difference in the present Air Quality across the states of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand. “Air Pollution – We don’t see it yet; it is there, we don’t feel it, yet we have problems associated with it as a significant human health issue.” said Prof. Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti.

After the successful completion of the first batch of cohorts that took part in Cycle awareness campaigns to bring back cycles, workshops and events like plantation drives, street plays, craft competitions, drawing competitions, online workshops we will be launching the second batch with a plan to work on. The cohort will comprise youth from West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha who are keen to bring a reformative change in their lives and the environment. They will be trained through workshops and be given the required support in terms of resources and mentorship to take up projects to mitigate air pollution in the three states.

“Clean Air is the birthright of our future progeny as much as it was that of our forefathers” Prof. Ranjan Mitter of IIM Calcutta. The recent Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) released by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) for 2019 revealed that Kolkata has the second highest life expectancy loss, which stood at 7.3 years after Delhi (9.7 years) among the Indian metro cities in 2019. Kolkata is also one of the seven non-attainment cities in West Bengal. A non-attainment city is one that does not meet the prescribed air quality standards set by the Union environment ministry.

Bad air days are when the air quality index (AQI) – pollutant measuring indicator – rises beyond the safe limit for any location falling either under the poor, very poor or hazardous AQI levels.

“It’s time that we realize that air pollution is cutting our lives short. It’s time that the health impacts of air pollution become a subject of discussion at our homes, schools, and offices. It’s time to create conversations that can create lasting change,” said Ashirbad S. Raha, EPIC India, University of Chicago. Human beings are facing an existential crisis because of their own activities and Professor Raghu Tata of XLRI Jamshedpur spoke about the roles of individuals and making a change in the demand side of the situation, “Consumption is increasing and is the root cause of the global emissions on air pollutants”. As individuals it is important to address and understand our own consumption patterns and the carbon footprint that we are leaving behind.

Stating that the air quality index (AQI) was created to make the general public aware city-based Dipankar Saha, who was former Additional Director, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said, “Urban local bodies must issue health warnings when the AQI for a certain region crosses the safe limit to ensure the public can take appropriate decisions to protect themselves. It has to be a mandatory requirement for all. Thus the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) has its focus right at the ULB level.”

Several studies have already shown the impacts of air pollution on not only respiratory organs but also the brain and even reproductive organs. Recently a first pan-India study conducted by scientists from four institutes across the country found a direct correlation between air pollution. The study stated that areas with poor air quality and higher emissions of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 are more likely to have Covid-19 infections and related deaths.

“We have to take climate change beyond talks, debates and street campaigns and make it actionable. We can’t wait for leadership of Governments to agree, but we as people have to take the lead.” said Dr. Saroj K Mahapatra, KIIT SOM.

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About International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies: was declared by the United Nations General Assembly on September 7 in recognition of the growing interest in clean air among the international community, and the need to continue improving air quality to safeguard human health. “Clean Air for All” was the subject for the first ever International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, which was introduced last year. “Healthy Air, Healthy Planet” is this year’s topic for International Day of Clean Air, which highlights the health implications of air pollution, particularly during COVID-19’s pandemic. A healthy air environment is a top priority, but the discourse should also include climate change, human and planetary health, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Applications are open for Jharkhand ,Odisha and West Bengal

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We are sharing the selective media articles published here :

UNI

Odisha Diary

Odisha Ray

The Business Bytes

The Times of Bengal

Daily Hunt (TOB)

Odisha News

North East Nation

Meghalaya Monitor

Insightipedia

Songoti Bengali

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