Air Pollution, Its Sources and Health Effects: A Case Study of Delhi

Abstract

This study has made an attempt to analyze the impact of air pollution on health, its causes and level of awareness by conducting a field survey on the youth of Delhi, studying in different universities and colleges in Delhi. The survey broadly aims to capture awareness about air pollution, it causes and its health effects. Also the study proposes certain solutions to contain the environmental degradation. For this, a total number of 419 respondents were surveyed during September 2016 to January 2017. The collected data has been assessed with multiple techniques like descriptive statistics, frequency tables, cross tabulation and chi-square test of independence on sources, effects, and solutions to air pollution. The study reveals that vehicular pollution is identified as the major cause of pollution in Delhi followed by industrial pollution and crop burning by neighboring states. The survey reveals that more than 60% of the respondents recognized lung infections as the major health effect of air pollution followed by cold & cough, and bronchitis. Finally, the study concludes that a large number of awareness campaigns should be organized involving a greater participation from all sections of the society along with better implementation of present laws.

Keywords: Air Pollution, Environment Degradation, Health, Environmental Awareness