Analysis of Major Environmental Problems and Strategies to Minimize or Eliminate Them

Analysis of major environmental
problems and strategies to
minimise or eliminate them

TABLE OF CONTENTS
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................7

The complete south Asian region is prone to vulnerable natural disasters and is also
threatened by the climate change. It will not only affect the internal regions and mountain
areas but the climate change will increase the frequency of natural disasters. This essay states
about the environmental problems faced by India and the key steps taken by government to
reduce or eliminate the problems.
The rapid economic development has changed the life of millions but on the other
hand it has polluted the environment in which billions of Indians live. The major
environmental problems faced by India are stated below.
Climate change: India is the centre of this changing climate trend. The temperature in
country’s south have started rising above the average and there is a large chance of similar
rise in northern regions of the country (Zaveri and et.al, 2016). As per the Global Climate
Risk Index 2019, India ranks 14th most vulnerable country even though it has shown
improvement over the past two years. India is also placed at second position as the most
affected country by the casualties in respect to extreme weather.
Poor air quality: The air quality in the Indian cities is deteriorating at the fast rate and
currently it is at the worst stage than in China. According to the report issued by Greenpeace
in 2017, 'Airpocalypse', assessing air pollution in Indian cities. Also, based on the World
Health Organization (WHO) global ambient air quality database, 11 of the 12 cities are
having the highest levels of small particulate – PM2.5. As per the report Airvisual’s 2018, 22
of the top 30 most polluted cities in the world are from India. Based on this, Gurugram,
(Delhi), is the most polluted (Gurjar and Nagpure, 2019). The study by the University of
Chicago, the pollution concentration in Delhi 2016 has reduced the life expectancy by over
10 years. The major reason for it is the 60% of the population who has relied on the biomass
for the purpose of cooking (India: environmental issues. 2019). Two-thirds of the Indian
population lives in rural areas from burning biomass which releases noxious fumes has
threatened the people's health and has increased the child mortality rate. This has been seen to
be increasing because of increased coal consumption in the power sector.
Deforestation: It is an important issue of environmental change. The increase in
demand for agricultural land, increase in demand for fuel and commercial wood,
construction, mining, growing industrialization and urbanization has highly exploited the
forest (Dutta, 2019). This has created chaotic conditions and environmental imbalances. As
per the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2017, has expressed concern over the forest
deforestation and also it is remarked that no action has been adopted or implemented by the
“Ministry of Environment and Forests” to reduce the cases of illegal cutting of trees in
forests.
Water pollution: It is the biggest issue in India. The untreated sewage water is
transferred to the ponds, lakes and rivers and this is the situation of 60% of the sewage in the
urban system. this has created pollution and has made water unfit for human consumption
(Sharma, Yadav and Gupta, 2017). Water used for irrigation purpose has led to the risk of
health and contamination of food supply. The dozens of rivers are contaminated with high
levels of heavy metals which includes Ganga and the Hindu which is the holy rivers.
According to the report of composite water management index, India is suffering the worst
water crisis and over 600 million Indians are facing high to extreme water stress and