Listen: All We Want for Christmas is Air We Can Breathe
A map of fine particulate matter in the atmosphere logged by the NASA Earth Observatory in 2010-2012. Credit: NASA
At a basic level, most of us wish for pretty standard things – food, shelter, clothing and some clean air that we can breathe. Is it really too much to ask for? Air pollution has been the talk of the town, with 13 Indian cities being ranked in a list of the world’s most polluted cities. While we understand that levels of pollution in certain areas are high, we lack hard data. How does pollution flow? Does a green cover provide complete protection from pollutants? Low-cost air quality sensors may help provide the answers to these questions. They cannot compare to the government’s heavy-duty, but often inadequate and poorly-placed, sensors. But, the supplementary monitoring they provide can address pollution at a local level. Is a collaborative effort of this kind what we need to combat the deadly menace of air pollution? The Intersection finds out.
This is the latest episode of The Intersection, a fortnightly podcast on Audiomatic. For more such podcasts visit audiomatic.in.
This article went live on December fifteenth, two thousand fifteen, at twenty-four minutes past five in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
