National lab tech certifies tech that can clean air at public place

National lab tech certifies tech that can clean air at public place, Source ET

• A national laboratory has certified air purifying technology that can turn public space into clean air zone.
• Clean Air Zone technology can be installed at hospital, schools and bus stands among other public places.
• The organization is in talk with government agencies like municipal bodies to plan installation of the technology in other places.
• The technology is based on the principle," Law of Fluid dynamics".
• It has high performance air filters.
• It utilizes a combination of atmospheric chemistry and airflow engineering.
• It has dual purifier system combining nano particles for removing 97-99% of fine dust particles.

Rising pollution could hit monsoon rains: UN report, Source ET

Rising pollution could hit monsoon rains: UN report, Source ET

• Rising air pollution in India is likely to impact rainfall patterns in the country and decrease monsoon in long term, which can cause extensive financial losses.
• However, some parts can also witness high precipitation depending on the topography.
• Pollution will also impact the duration and distribution of rainfall.
• The presence of particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5), a deadly tiny pollutant, can affect precipitation pattern.
• Indoor air pollution contributes to  22-52% to the country’s ambient air pollution.
• India needs to ensure provision of clean household energy. 
• Burning of fossil fuels in households is a big health threat, especially for women and children.
• Growing air pollution affects the country’s health care causing heart attack, cancer and other respiratory diseases.
  

World's last wilderness may vanish due to human activity:Study, Source TOI

World's last wilderness may vanish due to human activity:Study, Source TOI

• The world's last wilderness areas are disappearing due to human activities.
•  About 3.3 million Sq km was lost to human settlement,farming,mining and other pressures.
• Today more than 77% of land excluding Antarctica and 87% of the ocean has been modified by the direct effect of human activities.
• Ocean is the only region that is free of industrial fishing,pollution and fishing which almost confined to the polar region.
• Nation can priorities establishment of protected areas in ways that would slow the impact of industrial activities.
•  Push expansion of regional fisheries management.

EU air quality slowly improving but still deadly: report

Air pollution is slowly easing in EU countries but still causes nearly half a million early deaths each year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said in its annual report published Monday.Although pollution levels dropped slightly in 2015, they remain far higher than standards set by both the European Union and the World Health Organization, the report said.

The findings come just weeks after an EU watchdog said most member states fail to meet the bloc's air quality targets, warning that the toll on health in eastern European countries was even worse than in China and India.

The EEA said on Monday that exposure to fine pollution particles known as PM2.5 was responsible for around 391,000 premature deaths in the 28-nation bloc in 2015.

Paris zoo welcomes rare birth of endangered Orangutan

PARIS: A baby Bornean orangutan has been born in a downtown Paris zoo - the first to be born there since 2005. 
The zoo of the Jardin des Plantes says that Java, a female, who was born on October 17. Java is the fifth orangutan at the Jardin des Plantes. Her father, Banggi, was born in 2006 in Spain and Java is his first baby. The zoo said orangutans have experienced sharp population declines in recent years and lost 80 per cent of their habitat.

Delhi Is Ready To Fight Choking Air Pollution; Here's A List Of Norms To Be Followed From Nov 1

The Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority announced on Saturday fresh anti-pollution measures in Delhi-NCR from November 1 under the Graded Response Action Plan.

These include a halt in construction activities for 10 days, shutting down of coal and biomass-based industries over the November 4-10 period and an advisory asking people to limit their exposure to the air.

 These norms were formed as a result of forecast of adverse weather conditions beginning from Nov 1st and its potential to increase the pollution level.

Air pollution is the ‘new tobacco’, warns WHO head

Air pollution is the “new tobacco”, the head of the WHO has warned, saying the simple act of breathing is killing 7 million people a year and harming billions more.

Over 90% of the world’s population suffers toxic air and research is increasingly revealing the profound impacts on the health of people, especially children.

A clean and healthy environment is the single most important precondition for ensuring good health. By cleaning up the air we breathe, we can prevent or at least reduce some of the greatest health risks.