Release of awareness booklet on Air Pollution 

Chandigarh, September 7, 2022: Arvind Nautiyal, Joint Secretary to Government of India & Member Secretary, Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), along with Prof. SN Tripathi, released an awareness booklet on Air Pollution on the occasion of International Day for Clean Air for Blue Sky.
 
There is increasing evidence that air pollution affects our environment, climate, and human health. People are exposed to pollutants such as fine airborne particles, vehicular exhausts, fly ash, and tropospheric ozone, which are associated with increased mortality and hospital admissions due to respiratory, cardiovascular, and other diseases. Considering this, Prof. Ravindra Khaiwal from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, and Dr. Suman Mor from Panjab University, Chandigarh, conceptualized and designed an awareness booklet on air pollution.

Arvind Nautiyal, Joint Secretary to Government of India and Member Secretary, Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), along with Prof. Sachchida Nand Tripathi, National Knowledge Network, NCAP, released an awareness booklet on Air "Air Pollution Infographics: A pictorial Guide for Awareness to Action.”

During an online release event, Guest of Honor Nautiyal added that the Government initiates significant efforts to tackle the air pollution problem. He specified that a Commission for Air Quality Management is working comprehensively with all stakeholders and states to address the air pollution during October and November over Indo-Gangetic Plains. Nautiyal, mentioned that public participation and awareness are critical for controlling air pollution, and the Air Pollution Infographic booklet will motivate the public to adopt eco-friendly practices to reduce air pollution.

The event was also graced by Dr. Sachchida Nand Tripathi, Member National Clean Air Program, and Professor IIT Kanpur. He highlighted that to address the increasing air pollution across the country, the Environment Ministry launched a pan India time-bound ‘National Clean Air Programme - (NCAP).’ He added that NCAP has a holistic and integrated approach by having city-specific air pollution abatement action plans for non-attainment cities. He mentioned that under NCAP, cities now have an increased number of monitoring stations, the creation of specialized assessment cells, and technology support, including public participation in planning and implementation. 

The awareness booklet includes the key messages by Shri Prakash Javadekar, Ex-Minister of  Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, and Shri. Babul Supriyo, Ex-Union Minister of State of MoEF&CC including Shri. R P Gupta, Ex-Secretary of the Environment Ministry. They highlighted that this booklet would be a valuable tool to educate and engage citizens, professionals, and authorities in simple, easy-to-grasp pictures about various aspects of air pollution and its adverse impacts on human health. They further appreciated the author's efforts in coming up with different idea that draws the general public’s attention.

Dr. Ravindra Khaiwal, Professor of Environmental Health, Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGIMER, Chandigarh, mentioned that this booklet explains the in the simple term the type of air pollution, its sources, and health effects, including a step-by-step guide for all of us to be heroes of environmental protection by adopting simple measure in daily life.

Dr. Suman Mor, Chairperson, Department of Environment Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh, emphasized that this pictorial booklet aim to educate readers of all age and would be a helpful tool to create awareness and empower individuals and communities for air pollution reduction and ensure better health and environmental sustainability. She also highlighted that this awareness booklet is being released in over ten national languages.

The air pollution infographic booklet has a total of 28 pages, which explains the general aspects of air pollution in an easy-to-understand manner to achieve the goal of ‘Clean Air for All. The primary focus of the awareness booklet is the dissemination of critical scientific-based information to the public with the help of pictures through readily available communication tools like mobile, internet, and e-books.

The authors mentioned the support from the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, New Delhi (India), under the “Community Environmental Empowerment Program (CEEP)” project.