Smoke coming out of tar factory in Jharkhand, India. Credit: Dinodia Photos / Alamy Stock Photo
A study reveals that more than 60 million people in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) are exposed to enormous concentrations of atmospheric black carbon (BC)1. The levels exceed the limit set by the World Health Organisation.
The sooty material, emitted when fossil fuels and agricultural waste are burned, is a component of atmospheric fine particulate matter and ferries toxic chemicals into the human lungs. It causes lung dysfunction and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
There is a large discrepancy between simulated and observed BC surface concentrations over the densely populated IGP. This prevents researchers from gauging the actual effects of BC on human health.
To assess this, an international team, which included researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in West Bengal, analysed distribution of surface BC concentration for the wintertime over the IGP using a chemical transport model.
They found that the wintertime all-day BC surface concentrations for the urban belt and the megacities were about three and eight times higher, respectively, than the rural belt. People living in megacities such as Delhi and Kolkata are at greater risk of dying from CVD. BC contributes to 400,000 deaths annually over the IGP.
The researchers say BC emissions from fossil fuel combustion sources such as diesel vehicles, coal-fired power plants and brick kiln industries could potentially be reduced by 87% in urban areas and megacities. This could save about 160,000 lives in urban areas and 50,000 lives in megacities each year.
