Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.                                                                  (Jacques Cousteau)

Recently, smoke from burning garbage forced the cancellation of a number of flights to/from Aurangabad due to poor visibility. Atmospheric haze in Pune also delayed numerous flights. The Environment Ministry has admitted that 35000 premature deaths in the last 10 years are attributed to Acute Respiratory Infection caused by air pollution. [http://www.thethirdpole.net/2015/09/15/its-official-breathing-kills-in-india/.] However, deaths due to cancer cannot be directly linked to air pollution as they occur much later. PM 2.5 is small enough not to be blocked by the respiratory tract and also large enough not to be absorbed/ eliminated by the body. A layer of PM 2.5 deposited inside the lungs reduces vital capacity and efficient respiration. We either suffer air pollution silently or avoid going outdoors. Dioxins, furans, etc, from burning garbage are carcinogenic and cause millions of premature deaths. Air pollution also causes heart problems, COPD, obesity etc. The Clean Air Act 1956 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Air_Act_1956] was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in response to London's Great Smog of 1952, which killed over 4000 people in the immediate aftermath. A further 8,000 died in following weeks and months. The thick fog stopped trains, cars, and public events. The airpocalypse of Harbin and Beijing in China recently also highlight the importance of clean air and may have a role in the current economic downturn of the mighty dragon [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35129258]. The spurt in demand for air purifiers highlights the problem of air pollution.

Air pollution also harms the climate. My hypothesis states that atmospheric haze (hiding in plain sight) is the root cause of ‘Climate Change’. [http://mygun-sight.blogspot.in/2016/01/climate-change-hypothesis.html]. Smokestacks emitting thick smoke commonly depict global warming. Dark bodies absorb more light/ heat as compared to lighter ones and the visible haze consists of dark SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) that absorbs both light and heat. The effect may seem insignificant; just as moths/ dust particles are visible in a movie’s projection beam, but do not reduce picture brightness perceptibly. Both smoke and clouds reduce visibility, but clouds reflect solar radiations back into space. Clear sunny days are warm and cloudy days are cool (because they reflect sunlight back into space). Conversely, clear nights are cool as heat is radiated out into space and cloudy nights are warm as clouds trap radiated heat in the atmosphere. Nano-particles absorb more heat/ light radiations than larger particles. The dark haze of SPM traps solar heat, both incoming and reflected/ radiated by day; and also radiated heat at night. This heats up air twice over, inhibiting normal precipitation.

Burning of garbage and other material is responsible for 29.4% of air pollution. In April 2015, The National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a complete ban on burning of waste in the open including garbage, leaves, plastic and crop residues. An order was passed to the civic authorities and state governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to spread mass awareness regarding ill-effects of burning waste materials in open areas and said violators will be fined Rs 5,000. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/national-green-tribunal-burning-waste-fine-pollution/1/432668.html]. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 also provides for measures to ensure clean air. Such regulations must be universally applicable and strictly implemented. Pollution of air and water is a ‘tragedy of the commons’ as they belong to everyone but no one is responsible for them. Wind carries away most air pollution, but the population density doesn’t allow it to simply disappear, especially due to temperature inversion in winter. Sunrise and sunset is no longer seen at the horizon, being obscured by atmospheric haze. Low-grade fires and industrial/ vehicular emissions aggravate the condition.

Garbage is surreptitiously burnt in the evening because it is not completely cleared in the day. It is impossible to stop because perpetrators either disappear or disown responsibility. Improved stoves (like JIKO stoves of Kenya) can reduce smoke from low-grade cooking fires. Moist garbage creates excessive smoke (we could not make a smoke signal for a helicopter pilot to judge wind-speed and direction because tinder-dry grass burnt out quickly in the breeze).

We should proactively stop environmental degradation by education and sustainable methods, rather than react to avoidable natural disasters. We have poor people, who use wood/ dung-cake for cooking; bonfires for warmth and aren’t sure of the next meal; living alongside the rich with no dearth of resources. We all must contribute to conserve the environment for our own survival. Remember that earth recovered after the Dinosaur Age and will do so again if we ruin it now.

I had opposed smoking in public areas in November 1989, prompting over 250 civilized people to laugh at me in a gathering; but it was banned on October 02, 2008 almost 19 years later. We do not need any experts’ report that smoke from burning garbage is bad for public health and environment. Time is running out fast. We must stop burning trash, improve public transport, stop deforestation and grow more trees.

If clean air is important to you, please sign this petition and share it with others. The problem is not limited to one city alone but affects all of us on earth.