The Hazy Pollution in Asia

A vast blanket of pollution stretching across South Asia is cutting down sunlight by 10 percent over India, damaging agriculture, modifying rainfall patterns and putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk, according to a new study.

The startling findings of scientists working with the United Nations Environment Programme indicate that the spectacular economic growth seen in this part of the world in the past decade may soon falter as a result of this pollution.

Research carried out in India indicates that the haze caused by pollution might be reducing winter rice harvests by as much as 10 percent, the report said.

“Acids in the haze may, by falling as acid rain, have the potential to damage crops and trees. Ash falling on leaves can aggravate the impacts of reduced sunlight on earth’s surface. The pollution that is forming the haze could be leading to several hundreds of thousands of premature deaths as a result of higher levels of respiratory diseases” it said. Results from seven cities in India alone, including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmadabad and Kolkata, estimate that air pollution was annually responsible for 24,000 premature deaths in the early 1990s, By the mid 1990s they resulted in an estimated 37,000 premature fatalities.

“The haze has cut down sunlight over India by 10 percent (so far) – a huge amount! As a repercussion, the North West of India is drying up” Prof. V. Ramanathan said when asked specifically about the impact of the haze over India. Stating that sunlight was going down every year, he said, “We are still in an early stage of understanding of the impact of the haze.”

Asked whether the current drought in most parts of India after over a decade of good monsoon was owing to the haze, he said, “It was too early to reach a conclusion. If the drought persists for about four to five years, then we should start suspecting that it may be because of the haze.”

India, China and Indonesia are the worst affected owing to their population density, economic growth and depleting forest cover. The preliminary results indicate that the build up of haze, a mass of ash, acids, aerosols and other particles is disrupting weather systems, including rainfall and wind patterns and triggering droughts in western parts of the Asian Continent. The concern is that the regional and global impacts of the haze are set to intensify over the next 30 years as the population of the Asian region rises to an estimated five billion people.