Infants, Toddlers Suffer Most from Air Pollution

Source: The Indian Express

Rapid industrialization and urbanization are depleting the green cover and giving rise to environmental issues that can cripple economies and their populations. People of all age groups have suffered – particularly infants and toddlers as they are in their critical formative years and depend on caregivers to protect them.

The government and policymakers must make investments in renewable energy, improve waste management and clean technologies to protect people against air pollution. Besides this, it is necessary to take up initiatives like planting trees, creating green spaces such as parks and playgrounds, developing infrastructure that is accessible to all where activities like walking and cycling are easy, and designing low-emission zones that will benefit the urban population, especially babies, toddlers and their caregivers. 

These steps will improve the quality of life, address public health and inequality issues not only for infants and toddlers but even for the elderly. Improving air quality improves children’s health and creates a healthier community, and helps build a healthy economy for babies and toddlers to grow up in.

In order to mitigate the effects of air pollution and climate change on children and caregivers, cities must measure air quality regularly and plan neighborhoods where air quality indices are within safety limits so that they can promote clean and healthy living for all.

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