Smog in India Damaged Enough Crops to Feed 94 Million, Study Says

EarthzineEcosystems, Sustainability

Originally Published by Yale 360 – Ground-level ozone, the main component of smog, damaged 6.7 million tons of Indian crops worth an estimated $1.3 billion in a single year, according to a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters. That’s enough wheat, rice and other staple crops to feed 94 million people — roughly one-third of the country’s impoverished population. Arising from a combination of vehicle emissions, cooking stoves, and industrial sources, plant-damaging ozone has left many of India’s fast-developing cities among the most polluted in the world, according to the country’s Air Monitoring Center. The number of vehicles there has nearly tripled in the past 10 years, rising from 50 million in 2003 to 130 million in 2013, and the country currently has no air quality standards to protect crops from ozone pollution. The researchers say the findings should be used to guide new ozone emission standards for the country.

Pollutionwatch: The world's dirtiest cities

EarthzineEcosystems

Originally Published by The Gaurdian – For the first time in history, over half the world’s population now live in cities. But only 12% of urban dwellers enjoy airborne particle pollution that meets World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. Globally, lowest city air pollution is in Canada and Iceland and the highest in India (Delhi and Patna) and Pakistan (Karachi and Peshwar).

Coral reefs: life in the balance

EarthzineEcosystems

Originally Published by The Guardian – The seabed’s rainbows survive by making intimate relationships; if they fail, coral bleaching will be devastating.