New Delhi Essay

Imagine you are about to land at the New Delhi airport and you see a thick blanket of what looks like dense grey clouds, only to land and discover it was actually smog. United Airlines had to once cancel its flights to New Delhi because of the extreme air pollution that resulted in reduced visibility. Every year, 4.6 million people die from air pollution, and India has the largest majority among these deaths. In 2014, New Delhi was identified as one of the most polluted metropolitan cities in the world. The root cause of this extreme pollution can be traced back to increased automobile and industrial emissions. The air pollution has affected many aspects in India including the people's health, the economics, and the environment.

India's health

One effect of India’s air pollution is acid rain. According to mas.gov, Acid rain is precipitation that contains harmful amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. These acids are formed primarily by the combination of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. These chemicals are released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. In addition to the environment, pollution also affects wildlife. The toxic pollutants in the air slowly break down and are injected into the aquatic ecosystems. Persistent toxic air pollutants are resulting in disease to animals and birds. Ozone depletion is a byproduct of air pollution as well and has been identified as a significant problem in India. The ozone is gradually being destroyed by man-made chemicals which are particles in the air pollution. If the protective ozone layer is destroyed, their will be increased amounts of ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching the Earth; resulting in more cases of skin cancer, impaired immune systems, and cataracts. The UV light can also damage and stunt growth of agricultural crops, trees and plants, and vegetation in general including forests as