The effects of air pollution
Air pollution is now understood to be responsible for worsening people’s quality of life and even shortening their life. It is responsible for various health concerns and does not discriminate in causing harm – although your chances of being negatively affected can be made more severe based on income and occupation.
Many alarming studies have been conducted by air quality testing platforms, time and again, signifying the risks air pollution poses to urban residents. History teaches us that people are slow to combat invisible threats and therefore people have failed to practice standard precautions in the past exposing them to higher levels of pollution.
Some fantastic work has been done over the past decade to improve air quality in our cities. Vehicle manufacturers have made some real progress with Euro VI standards. Sometimes interventions work well and have contributed to the lowering of emissions, sometimes we get them wrong. For example, European nations pushing diesel vehicles and the subsequent dieselgate crisis.
Right now more young people are coming forward, voicing their opinions and demanding action. They recognise that they are a part of that vulnerable group who are most likely to bear the risk of pollution.
Children are at a huge risk of several health-related problems during their development. Some of the problems include lung growth being hindered and acute respiratory infections.
Air pollution is a huge factor behind the large asthma cases that develop in childhood. It also has the tendency to create artificially stressful environments, which are a key cause of mental health problems such as depression and stress.
Impact of Covid-19 on Air Pollution
COVID-19 has drastically improved air pollution levels. Reactions on movement ground the transport sector to a halt. In turn, emissions from transport have declined and the air pollution in several regions has significantly dropped.
A combination of increasing awareness around air quality and measures improved by coronavirus have started to improve air quality, albeit slowly.
While it is the duty of policymakers to establish certain quality standards that can minimise air pollution-borne issues, there is also pressure on businesses to act. Measuring air pollution requires understanding pollution at the local level, as well as the cause of that pollution – retrospective and passive data is not enough.
How does EMSOL help?
Solutions are required that enable sustainable business practices. Businesses need to continue growing as we move out of lockdown while keeping their air and noise pollution to a minimum.
EMSOL promotes sustainable urban growth by reducing transport pollution. We do this by fusing air quality data with vehicle or asset location data. This allows organisations to take action by identifying the specific sources of pollution. We have worked with businesses to promote good air quality and sustainable development across construction, urban supply chain, and rail.
If you are interested to find out how we can help – get in touch.
