{"id":15546,"date":"2021-06-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/05-06-2021\/the-rising-pollution\/"},"modified":"2021-06-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-05T00:00:00","slug":"the-rising-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/05-06-2021\/the-rising-pollution","title":{"rendered":"The Rising Pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>In News<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Recently, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) warned that pollution will rebound if stronger action is not sustained and scaled up.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Current Situation<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The rate at which urban air pollution has grown across India is alarming, the toxic web of air quality fails to meet health-based standards.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Particulate matters, SoX, NoX and other air toxins are responsible for this.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Medium and small-sized towns and cities are witnessing a phenomenal spurt in pollution as severe as or more than any megacity.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The key highlight is that the springtime &#8211; January to March, when pollution level begins to subside after winter, PM2.5 this year has recorded the highest seasonal levels compared to the corresponding period in preceding years including the normal year of 2019.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Facts from CSE<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Status<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">: While the number of days in severe and severe-plus categories has stabilized in 2020, the number of days in the very poor category has increased this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Drop-in PM 2.5:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> There has been a substantial drop in PM2.5 levels during both the hard lockdown phases in March to May in 2020 and April-June, 2021 with nearly similar levels evoking imagery of blue sky, t<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Year-wise variations: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Longer-term PM2.5 levels have stabilized and are downward \u2013 but seasonal variation is high: Spring (January to March) acts as a transitional period between the two extremes \u2013 winter and summer. There was a 26 per cent drop between the winter of 2018 and spring of 2019. In 2020 this drop increased to 36 per cent due to pollution control measures in place and also the imposition of partial lockdowns in March 2020. But this downward trend in spring pollution did not continue this year, with a seasonal drop limited to 18 per cent. In fact, spring this year has been 31 per cent dirtier than 2020 and 8 per cent dirtier than 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Lockdown with a difference: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Lockdowns were effective in bringing down PM2.5 levels this year as well. But given the shorter duration and lesser stringency of lockdowns this year PM2.5 levels are not as low as the summer of 2020. The monthly average level of PM2.5 in April and May 2021 \u2013 the hard lockdown phase, was higher than the corresponding levels in April-May, 2020, \u2013 also a hard lockdown phase.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Varying pattern of hard lockdown phase and semi-lockdown phase of 2020 and 2021: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">This year restriction in form of night-curfews and weekend lockdowns started on April 6 with complete lockdown being imposed on April 19. Imposition of partial-lockdown lowered PM2.5 levels by 20 per cent, the complete lockdown brought the average down by a further 12 per cent.<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Behaviour of pollution hotspots during lockdowns:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> If we look at places that reported relatively higher PM2.5 levels during the lockdown this year, the hotspots (old and new) occupy the top of the list without exception. Further, 21 out of 43 stations that have data for both lockdowns show improvement in PM2.5 levels.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Rebound Effect: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">There would be a rebound effect with a full opening of the economy and intensification of traffic. Action may have slowed down during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. But this has to gather momentum now to prevent a rebound effect.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>IQ Air\u2019s Global Air Pollution Report<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The latest report was released in 2021.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Published by a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Swiss<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> air quality technology company specialising in protection against airborne pollutants, and developing air quality monitoring and air cleaning products.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It highlighted that <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Delhi is the most polluted capital city<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> in the world.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">India is the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>3rd most polluted country <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">in the world.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Of the 106 monitored countries, only 24 met the WHO\u2019s annual guidelines for PM 2.5.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The eight Indian cities in the top 10 list are \u2014 Bulandshahar, Bisrakh Jalalpur, Noida, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Lucknow (all in UP), Bhiwari in Rajasthan and Delhi.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Major Reasons for Pollution in India<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Transportation and vehicular emissions;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">biomass burning for cooking,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">electricity generation;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Industry and construction;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">waste burning; and\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">episodic agricultural burning.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Way Forward<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Improve air quality monitoring to <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>include more pollutants and more areas<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> in cities to assess the risk of air pollution, make appropriate policies to control it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The most recent attempt by CPCB to revise the ambient air quality standards will set a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>tighter benchmark<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> for air quality. These standards will set new and tighter targets for air quality improvement in our cities &#8211; one uniform health-based standards for all land-use classes; tighter standards for sensitive areas; introduction of more short term standards, among others.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">India needs <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>strong policy interventions<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> to enable research in the field of air pollution.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Health-based criteria<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> should become the basis of air quality regulations. Only this can help break a business and political resistance to hard mitigation measures to combat air pollution.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Efforts to create <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>awareness<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> amongst people about hard policy decisions.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; table-layout:fixed; width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color:#ffe599; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; border-left:1px solid #000000; border-right:1px solid #000000; border-top:1px solid #000000; vertical-align:top\">\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>World Environment Day 2021<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Since <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>1974<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">, World Environment Day has been celebrated every year on <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>5 June<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">, engaging governments, businesses and citizens in an effort to address pressing environmental issues.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>theme<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> for 2021 is <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>&#8216;Reimagine, Recreate, Restore\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Host: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Every World Environment Day is hosted by a different country in which official celebrations take place. This year&#8217;s host is <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Pakistan<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Above all, World Environment Day offers a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>global platform<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> for inspiring positive change. It pushes &#8211;<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">for <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>individuals<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> to think about the way they consume;\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">for <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>businesses<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> to develop greener models;\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">for <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>farmers<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> and <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>manufacturers<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> to produce more sustainably;\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">for <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>governments<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> to invest in repairing the environment;\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">for <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>educators<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> to inspire students to take action; and\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">for <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>youth<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> to build a greener future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Some Facts:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Every three seconds, the world loses enough forest to cover a football pitch and over the last century, we have destroyed half of our wetlands.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">As much as 50 per cent of our coral reefs have already been lost and up to 90 per cent of coral reefs could be lost by 2050, even if global warming is limited to an increase of 1.5\u00b0C.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Only with healthy ecosystems can we enhance people\u2019s livelihoods, counteract climate change and stop the collapse of biodiversity.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Ecosystems &#038; Degradation<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">These are defined as the interaction between living organisms &#8211; plants, animals, people &#8211; with their surroundings. This includes nature, but also human-made systems such as cities or farms.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Ecosystem loss is depriving the world of carbon sinks, like forests and peatlands, at time humanity can least afford it. Global greenhouse gas emissions have grown for three consecutive years and the planet is at one pace for potentially catastrophic climate change.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Over <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>4.7 million hectares of forests <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">\u2013 an area larger than Denmark \u2013 are <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>lost every year<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">. That\u2019s one football pitch every three seconds. Over half of the world\u2019s wetlands have disappeared in the last century.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Environment and Covid: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The emergence of COVID-19 has also shown just how disastrous the consequences of ecosystem loss can be. By shrinking the area of natural habitat for animals, we have created ideal conditions for pathogens \u2013 including coronaviruses \u2013 to spread.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Solutions:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Ecosystem restoration<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> is a global undertaking at a massive scale. It means repairing billions of hectares of land \u2013 an area greater than China or the USA \u2013 so that people have access to food, clean water and jobs.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It means bringing back plants and animals from the brink of extinction, from the peaks of mountains to the depths of the sea.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">But it also includes the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>many small actions<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> everyone can take, every day: growing trees, greening our cities, rewilding our gardens or cleaning up trash alongside rivers and coasts.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Urgency to Act\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">World Environment Day 2021 will see the launch of the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">: A global rallying cry for everyone \u2013 from governments to corporations and citizens \u2013 to do their part in healing our ailing planet.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The timeline also overlaps with the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>UN Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">. Ecosystems are our lifeline and underpin all 17 goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Sources<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">: <\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/news\/air\/world-environment-day-2021-pollution-will-rebound-warns-cse-77288\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size:10pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\"><u>DTE<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Recently, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) warned that pollution will rebound if stronger action is not sustained and scaled up. Current Situation The rate at which urban air pollution has grown across India is alarming, the toxic web of air quality fails to meet health-based standards.\u00a0 Particulate matters, SoX, NoX and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[60,26],"class_list":["post-15546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-environmental-pollution-degradation","tag-gs-3"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/6680357HOD current-affairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}