There are many causes of environmental pollution. Environmental Pollution refers to any addition of unwanted material in the environment due to human activities that lead to undesirable changes in the environment and ecology. For example, sewage water being released in clean water sources like tanks, rivers, etc. is an example of water pollution. The different agents that cause Environmental pollution are called pollutants. Pollutants can be chemicals, biological materials, or physical things that get added into the environment by accident that are directly or indirectly harmful to people and other living things. The main cause for environmental pollution is humans.
- Pollution affects the very factors that support life on the ear, such as the air we breathe, the water we drink, and, at large, the ecosystems we depend upon. Thus, it poses a threat to life on the earth.
- Pollution poses one of the greatest challenges to the health of humans and other living beings.
- though it affects the overall well-being of the entire society, vulnerable sections like the poor, the children, the women etc are affected disproportionately by it.
- Pollution has its negative impacts on the economy as well. For example, as per a study, water pollution would cause a loss of around 6% of India’s GDP by 2050 due to loss in sectors like fishing, agriculture, water intensive industries etc.
- Other socio-economic impacts of pollution include food insecurity due to decreased agricultural yield, forced migration due to water crisis etc.
Primary Pollutants:
– They persist in the form in which they are added to the environment e.g. DDT, and plastic. this causes environment pollution.
Secondary Pollutants:
– Formed by interaction among the primary pollutants e.g. Peroxyacetyl Nitrate (PAN) is formed by interaction of Nitrogen Oxides and Hydrocarbons.
As per WHO, Air Pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. According to WHO data, 99 percent of the world’s population breathes air that contains high levels of pollutants and exceeds WHO guideline limits, with low and middle-income countries experiencing the highest exposures.
