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Incidence of stroke and related deaths are rising substantially around the world, with <keyword id="19900550" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="air-pollution" source="keywords">air pollution</keyword>, <keyword id="21334318" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="high-temperatures" source="keywords">high temperatures</keyword> and metabolic risk factors such as high blood pressure and physical inactivity, driving these increases, according to estimates published in The Lancet Neurology journal. Researchers found that the contribution of high temperatures to poor health and early death due to stroke has increased 72% since 1990 and is likely to continue increasing in the future, thereby highlighting how environmental factors can impact growing stroke burden. Further, for the first time, particulate matter or PM air pollution was found to have the same contribution as smoking towards causing a fatal form of brain bleed, according to the researchers forming the <keyword id="20691740" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Global-Burden-of-Disease" source="keywords">Global Burden of Disease</keyword>, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) group. The GBD study, the "largest and most comprehensive effort to quantify health loss across places and over time", is coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, US. Globally, the number of people experiencing a stroke for the first time rose to 119 lakh in 2021 -- up by 70% since 1990 -- while deaths related to stroke rose to 73 lakh, which was up by 44% since 1990, making the neurological condition the third leading cause of death after ischaemic heart disease (short supply of blood to heart) and COVID-19. They added that over three-fourth of those affected by strokes live in low- and middle-income countries. According to lead author Valery L. Feigin from Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, the rapid growth in the number of people affected by stroke strongly suggested that <keyword id="23228151" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="stroke-prevention" source="keywords">stroke prevention</keyword> strategies currently used are not sufficiently effective. "New, proven effective population-wide and motivational individual prevention strategies that could be applied to all people at risk of having a stroke, regardless of the level of risk, as recommended in the recent Lancet Neurology Commission on Stroke should be implemented across the globe urgently," said Feigin. The researchers also estimated that stroke-related liabilities attributable to 23 modifiable risk factors, including air pollution, excess body weight, high blood pressure, smoking and physical inactivity, increased from 100 million years of healthy life lost in 1990 to 135 million in 2021. These risk factors are present in huge numbers in Eastern Europe, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, they said. The authors also acknowledged substantial progress made in reducing the global stroke burden from risk factors linked to poor diet, air pollution and smoking. Poor health resulting from diets high in processed meat and low in vegetables declined by 40 % and 30%, respectively, while that due to PM air pollution and smoking fell by 20 % and 13%, respectively, they found. The results suggested that strategies for reducing exposure to these risk factors over the past three decades such as clean air zones and public smoking bans have been successful, the authors said. They called for implementing and monitoring the evidence-based recommendations set out in the 2023 World Stroke Organization-Lancet Neurology Commission on stroke for drastically reducing the global burden of stroke in the years to come and improving brain health and overall well-being of millions of people around the world. The recommendations include stroke surveillance programmes that monitor indicators of stroke such as incidence, recurrence, death rates and risk factors in a country, and care and rehabilitation services for people affected by stroke.

Stroke cases increasing globally, air pollution, high temperatures driving numbers, notes Lancet Study

<keyword id="22976106" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indoor" source="keywords">Indoor</keyword> <keyword id="19900550" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="air-pollution" source="keywords">air pollution</keyword> is a bigger <keyword id="21117961" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-risk" source="keywords">health risk</keyword> than <keyword id="20543591" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="outdoor" source="keywords">outdoor</keyword> air pollution in India, and sometimes cities are cleaner than nearby villages where <keyword id="22976772" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="household-pollution" source="keywords">household pollution</keyword> is higher, according to the country's two top policy experts. Addressing the India <keyword id="20445293" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="clean-air" source="keywords">Clean Air</keyword> Summit (ICAS) 2024, Principal Advisor, <keyword id="19904190" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Health-and-Family-Welfare" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ministry of Health and Family Welfare" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Ministry of Health and Family Welfare">Ministry of Health and Family Welfare</keyword>, Soumya Swaminathan said, "Studies done in Delhi have shown that women's average exposure to high levels of <keyword id="20827287" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="black-carbon" source="keywords">black carbon</keyword> (women <keyword id="19895006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="keywords">who</keyword> are mostly at home) is as much as auto-rickshaw passengers going around outdoor exposed to the ambient air pollution in Delhi, resulting in high systolic blood pressure." "Cities contribute less than 20 per cent to the overall state emissions, wherever they have been assessed, but household emissions predominate, ranging between 20 per cent and 40 per cent. Across the country, we are seeing is that sometimes cities are cleaner than the surrounding villages where household air pollution predominates," she said at the summit organised by think-tank Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy. This builds a strong case for expanding the scope of India's National Clean Air Programme (<keyword id="20133150" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NCAP" source="keywords">NCAP</keyword>), which currently focuses on non-attainment cities. Air pollution is a major threat to public health and contributes to a significant amount of morbidity as well as mortality. Apart from PM2.5 and PM10, short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon, methane, ozone, and hydrocarbons have the potential to harm the environment and warm the atmosphere even more than CO2. Black carbon can cause chronic respiratory illnesses, lung cancer, emphysema, pneumonia, asthma, heart disease, and low birthweight. "In terms of reducing our life expectancy, globally, PM2.5 is contributing to about 2.3 years of life lost. Just below that is tobacco. In fact, there's so much attention on tobacco and global frameworks for control, but not the same level of attention has been paid to PM2.5 and certainly not the same level of commitments," Swaminathan said. The impact of air pollution is not limited to public health but has a significant economic cost as well. Recently, the World Bank published a study highlighting that air pollution has resulted in a loss of around USD 8.1 trillion in 2019, which is 6.1 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). "We are always talking about air pollution as a problem but studies also show a strong economic case for action on clean air. There are significant positive consequences to investing in cleaning up the air in terms of the return on investments. We know air pollution is not just bad for our health, but it's also bad for agriculture, because it reduces the sunlight that's reaching the crops and it's bad for our economy or any country's economy as it deters people from coming and living or visiting those places," Swaminathan added. Kalpana Balakrishnan, Director, WHO Collaborating Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, said that the main barrier to shifting to clean cooking fuels that can help reduce household air pollution levels is finance. "If we give free LPG to women for two years, they are unlikely to shift back to biomass cooking even if you remove the subsidies," she said. Through Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) launched in May 2016, more than 100 million households in India received LPG cylinders by the end of March 2023. Studies shows over 50 per cent of the households that received new LPG cylinders under PMUY did not choose to refill it even once. Around a third of the world's population - 2.4 billion people globally (including 500 million people in India) - still lack access to clean cooking solutions. Although the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG) claims that the country's household LPG "coverage" stands at 99.8 per cent, the National Family Health Survey conducted in 2019-21 (NFHS-5) shows that 41 per cent of the population still cooks on biomass.

Indoor air pollution poses greater health risk than outdoor: Experts

Amid the severe pollution gripping the national capital, <keyword id="19948557" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="delhi-metro" source="keywords">Delhi Metro</keyword> recorded its highest-ever daily ridership on November 18, with a staggering 78.67 lakh passenger journeys, according to official data. This figure exceeded the previous high of 77.49 lakh passengers on August 20 of this year, the data said. On November 18, the Yellow Line, which connects Millennium City Centre in Gurugram to Samaypur Badli in Delhi, saw the highest passenger traffic, with a record 20.99 lakh commuters. The Blue Line followed closely with 20.80 lakh passengers, while the Red Line recorded 8.56 lakh commuters, 8.15 lakh in Pink Line and 7.93 lakh in Violet Line. The Magenta Line saw 6.19 lakh passengers, followed by the Green Line with 4.12 lakh commuters, 81,985 in Airport Line, 57,701 in Rapid Metro, and 50,128, in the Grey Line, as per the data. Thick grey haze continued to choke Delhi for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, with pollution levels remaining alarmingly high at 488 in the 'severe plus' category. To encourage more people to use the metro in this scenario, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is running 60 extra trips on weekdays, offering more capacity than usual, an official statement said. The DMRC has recorded its 25 highest passenger journeys since August this year, the statement added. It emphasised that the more people opt for the metro over private vehicles, the greater the reduction in vehicular emissions, which will help improve the air quality of the city and its surrounding areas. In addition, the DMRC has introduced several measures to make travel more convenient for passengers, the statement read. These include the ability to book single or multiple journey tickets through various digital platforms, allowing passengers to plan their journeys anytime and anywhere without the need to stand in queues at the station. Furthermore, partnerships with organisations such as IRCTC, NCRTC, ITPO, and others have made it easier for people to not only travel by metro but also access interconnected travel options, along with various offers and events, all with seamless ease, the statement said. The DMRC also stated that it is one of the most <keyword id="24050954" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="environmentally-friendly-transport" source="keywords">environmentally friendly transport</keyword> options and the first metro system in the world to be registered for carbon credits with the United Nations for its environmental measures.

Severe pollution pushes Delhi Metro to record its highest-ever daily ridership on November 18

<keyword id="55910" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-Pollution" source="Orion">Air pollution</keyword> is a pressing global issue that affects both developed and developing nations. Using data from the IQAir 2022 World Air Quality Ranking we will examine the <keyword id="19039904" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="most-polluted-countries-in-the-world" source="Orion">most polluted countries in the world</keyword> from 2018 to 2022, shedding light on the sources of <keyword id="13001" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pollution" source="Orion">pollution</keyword> and the impacts on public health and the environment. 1. Chad Chad tops the list as one of the <keyword id="13437378" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="most-polluted-countries" source="Orion">most polluted countries</keyword>, with alarming levels of particulate matter (PM2.5). The sources of pollution primarily stem from various factors, including industrial activities and vehicular emissions. 2. Iraq Iraq is the second most polluted country on our list. The rise in air pollution can be attributed to increased industrial activities and a growing number of vehicles on the road. 3. Pakistan Pakistan has consistently faced severe air pollution, and the data indicates fluctuations in pollution levels. Major sources of pollution include vehicular emissions, industrial discharges, and crop burning. 4. Bahrain Bahrain, despite its small size, faces significant air pollution challenges primarily due to industrial activities and oil refineries. The government has initiated measures to combat this issue. 5. Bangladesh Bangladesh has been grappling with air pollution, mainly driven by vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, and construction activities. The health impacts are severe, leading to respiratory diseases and other health issues. 6. Burkina Faso Burkina Faso, with limited available data, experiences air pollution challenges. The lack of comprehensive data makes it difficult to identify specific sources of pollution. 7. Kuwait Kuwait's air quality is affected by factors such as industrial activities, oil refineries, and construction dust. The hot and arid climate exacerbates pollution issues, leading to health problems. 8. India India, with its rapid urbanization and industrialization, has faced significant air pollution challenges. Major cities like New Delhi often experience hazardous air quality due to vehicular emissions, industrial discharges, and construction activities. 9. Egypt Egypt's air quality is affected by emissions from vehicles and industrial activities. The political situation in the country has hindered environmental regulations and enforcement. 10. Tajikistan Tajikistan has faced fluctuations in air pollution levels, driven by factors such as vehicular emissions and industrial activities. The lack of consistent data makes it challenging to track long-term trends. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Impact on Health and the Environment" comment="subhead" text="Impact on Health and the Environment">Impact on Health and the Environment</cmsannotation> The consequences of air pollution in these countries are severe, with a high incidence of respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems, and other health issues. Long-term exposure to <keyword id="6489235" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Polluted-Air" source="Orion">polluted air</keyword> can lead to more severe conditions such as lung cancer. In addition to its effect on human health, air pollution also damages the environment, including contributing to climate change, impairing ecosystems, and harming agricultural productivity. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Efforts to Combat Pollution" comment="subhead" text="Efforts to Combat Pollution">Efforts to Combat Pollution</cmsannotation> Many of these countries have recognized the urgent need to address air pollution and have taken measures to mitigate its effects. These efforts include improving public transportation, implementing stricter emission standards, and promoting clean energy alternatives. However, challenges such as limited resources, rapid urbanization, and political instability continue to hamper progress. International cooperation and support are crucial in addressing the problem of air pollution. Multilateral agreements and partnerships can help countries access technology, financing, and expertise to combat pollution effectively. Air pollution is a global concern, and the data from 2018 to 2022 highlights the persistent challenges faced by the most <keyword id="19165516" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="polluted-countries" source="Orion">polluted countries</keyword>. These nations must continue their efforts to improve air quality, protect public health, and safeguard the environment. The path to cleaner air involves a combination of government initiatives, international collaboration, and individual actions to reduce emissions and protect the planet for future generations.

The most polluted countries in the world: A global environmental concern

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Biotech company Neoplants just released the first houseplant grown to reduce indoor air pollution.</li><li>This plant, called Neo Px, gets its pollution-eating superpower from genetically engineered bacteria.</li></ul>Looking at Neo Px, you'd never know that it was anything but a typical houseplant. But on a microscopic level, this plant is supercharged with billions of pollution-eating bacteria.This week, the France-based biotech company Neoplants released the first houseplant bioengineered to remove harmful chemicals from indoor air. It targets <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicone-hair-products-may-release-harmful-emissions-new-study-2023-12">volatile organic compounds (VOCs)</a>, which are emitted by the everyday stuff in our homes: gas stoves, paints, even furniture.<div type="image" title="A marbled pothos house plant potted in a special pot designed by Neoplants sits on a small table with more plants against a window in the background." height="4000" width="6000" msid="109738533" hostid="261"></div>Indoor air can be two to five times (and in extreme cases, up to 100 times) more polluted than outdoor air, according to the American Lung Association. This is, in part, driven by higher levels of VOCs indoors. Long-term exposure to these compounds can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches and dizziness, even liver damage and cancer.The best ways to remove VOCs from your home are opening the windows and getting rid of their sources, Glenn Morrison, a University of North Carolina environmental science and engineering professor who studies indoor air pollution, told BI. Some types of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/home/best-air-purifier">mechanical air purifiers</a> can remove them too, but many of them can produce other harmful chemicals like carbon monoxide, ozone, and formaldehyde.But Neoplants co-founders Patrick Torbey and Lionel Mora weren't satisfied with these options. They argue that opening windows only temporarily reduces indoor pollution to outside levels, and not everyone can easily get rid of VOC sources in their homes. What's more, they believe existing VOC-removing technologies aren't worth their drawbacks.So, they turned to biology to invent their own solution. The result, Neo Px, is 30 times more effective at removing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/home/how-to-improve-indoor-air-quality">indoor air pollution</a> than the average houseplant, Torbey and Mora told Business Insider."What we care about is putting nature at the center of innovation again," Torbey said.<h2>Harnessing the power of bacteria</h2><div type="image" title="A petri dish that's half purple and uncolonized on the left side, and pink and colonized by rows of small spots of bacteria on the right side, against a black background." height="5768" width="8652" msid="109738536" hostid="261"></div>Non-engineered houseplants are equipped with some <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-houseplants-are-completely-idiot-proof-and-can-live-for-weeks-without-water-2017-10">natural air-purifying power</a>, and some types are more effective than others. But research has shown that it would take hundreds of regular houseplants to purify the air inside a 1,500 square-foot home.Torbey and Mora wanted to achieve air purification with a single houseplant. To do that, they hacked into the plant's microbiome.They targeted a strain of bacteria called Pseudomonas putida, which have a particular appetite for three common VOCs: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cancer-risk-benzene-pollution-houston-channelview-jacintoport-2023-12">benzene</a>, toluene, and xylene. There are tens of thousands of types of VOCs that can be present in homes, Morrison points out. But Neoplants chose to target these three because they are especially harmful and prevalent in indoor spaces, Mora said.This species of bacteria can live off VOCs as their sole carbon source, metabolizing them into harmless sugars and amino acids, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0760/8752/5696/files/NEOPX-WHITEPAPER.pdf?v=1711714362">Neoplants white paper</a>.What's more, these bacteria naturally occur in the soil around plant roots and form a mutually beneficial relationship with their host plants. If Torbey and Mora could figure out how to supercharge these VOC-eating bacteria, they'd create a natural air-purifying system.Through <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-carbon-bacteria-evolution-chemistry-2016-12">directed evolution</a> — the process of reproducing organisms in a lab to enhance a selected trait over time — they created a new version of Pseudomonas putida that is extremely effective at metabolizing VOCs."These are like tiny, tiny air purifying machines that build more air purifying machines the more pollution there is," Torbey said.But keeping these bacteria abundant presented a challenge. Plant microbiomes are difficult to maintain, and their viability declines as soon as you ship that plant to someone, Jennifer Brophy, assistant professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/04/26/1071407/plants-air-cleaning-neoplants-genetically-modified-air-quality">told MIT Tech Review</a>.To solve that problem, Neo Px comes with "power drops," a solution of their engineered bacteria that can be used to replenish the plant's microbiome once a month and ensure that it's working at its maximum air-purifying capacity, similar to regularly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/home/honewell-hpa3300bv1-powerplus-true-hepa-air-purifier-reveiw">replacing an air purifier's filter</a>.<h2>Limitations</h2>UNC's Morrison thinks that there are other limitations to consider before purchasing Neo Px. "It doesn't really matter how much they modify the plant or modify the bacteria in the soil if they can't get the air into and through it," he said.Neo Px is potted in a biodegradable shell that's designed with vents to maximize airflow between the soil and the room, but Morrison argues that the airflow would still be too minimal to make a significant difference in air quality for the average home. "It might actually remove some VOCs, it just doesn't remove very much," he said.But Torbey and Mora are confident in their product. "We know that phytoremediation (plants-based solution) is not an approach that most in the indoor air quality community believe in," Torbey told BI in a later email in response to Morrison's skepticism. He and his colleagues have built two VOC measurement rooms at their headquarters in Paris, which they will use to study the phytoremediation potential of their system."We will be publishing this data as soon as possible to help the world better understand the power of phytoremediation," he added.<h2>Unpacking the Neo Px system</h2><div type="image" title="A potted plant sits next to one large box, one smaller box, a small packet, and a beaker with a pipette against a white background." height="3692" width="4271" msid="109738539" hostid="261"></div>The Neo Px air purifying system comes with a marble queen pothos plant, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/poisonous-houseplants-noah-whiteman-most-delicious-poison-book-2023-12">popular species of houseplant </a>which serves as the perfect host for their VOC-eating bacteria, Mora said.Eventually, Mora and Torbey hope to expand Neoplants to include different types of plants, but for now, pothos is the only species available for purchase.The Neo Px package includes the biodegradable, vented shell, which also has a built-in self-watering system. "Even <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/houseplant-industry-americans-billions-die-2022-3">people who don't have a green thumb at all</a> can very easily take care of this plant," Mora said.This $119 package comes with a six-month supply of power drops. When they run out, customers can sign up to auto-replenish them for $39 every three months.<h2>Striving for sustainability</h2><div type="image" title="NeoP1 photographed from below, showing the vents in the shell with pothos leaves peaking out of the top." height="3339" width="4037" msid="109738542" hostid="261"></div>For Mora and Torbey, the most exciting aspect of this new product is that it's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mexico-manufacturing-jobs-trade-china-biden-immigration-labor-america-businesses-2024-1">made entirely in the US</a>. Even the recycled plastic and agricultural waste used to make their self-watering shell comes from the US.Achieving this proved challenging, Mora said, but he and Torbey wanted to manufacture their product as close to their main customer base as possible. To them, it didn't make sense to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/y-combinator-backed-startup-seabound-carbon-capture-wave-shipping-2023-8">ship a product</a> designed to clean the air across the world. And manufacturing Neo Px in the US helped ensure their product was made responsibly."What we tried to do is build a product that is as sustainable as possible. So, you don't need to use any electricity, you don't need to replace filters that have a lot of pollution in them and throw them away," Mora said.This sustainable model is part of Neoplants overarching goal: to drive progress towards solutions to even bigger environmental issues."If we project ourselves in five years from now, not only will we have this product family for indoor spaces that people can put in their homes, but we'll also start hitting some of the first fundamental technical milestones for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/afp-resurrection-plants-offer-hope-as-climate-turns-hostile-2015-11">climate change applications</a>," Mora said.

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Stroke cases increasing globally, air pollution, high temperatures driving numbers, notes Lancet Study

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Indoor air pollution poses greater health risk than outdoor: Experts

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Severe pollution pushes Delhi Metro to record its highest-ever daily ridership on November 18

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The most polluted countries in the world: A global environmental concern

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This $119 houseplant is bioengineered to remove harmful air pollution in your home.

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