AIR

Air is the one of the five basic natural ingredients of life system.  Atmosphere is gaseous cover on the surface of earth. Essentially it consists of a mixture of gases, principally Nitrogen(78.084%), Oxygen(20.946%), Argon (0.934%) and Carbon dioxide(0.0314%) mixed with water vapour and is collectively called air. It also contains numerous other gases in traces and floating particulate matter such as dust, pollen grains and microorganisms like viruses, bacteria and fungal spores.

Atmosphere constantly receives inputs from natural and man-made sources. Among the natural sources are the gases from volcanoes, forest fires and biological respiration and particulate matter like pollen grains, bacteria, viruses from biological resources and particulate matter from outer space, and salt dust from sea surface and soil particles from ground surface. Among man made sources are gases from industries, automobiles, railways, kitchen and domestic heating, incineration of municipal and domestic waste, and aero planes.

Both these activities degrade our atmosphere   severely causing Air pollution. Each year, hundreds of millions of tons of gases and particulates pour into the atmosphere.

There are two types of air pollution:  outdoor and indoor, air pollution. According to a WHO study, 84,000 deaths were directly attributed to outdoor air pollution in Indian cities. At the same time, indoor air pollution accounted for 496,000 deaths in villages and 93,000 deaths in cities. In Punjab so far,  The Punjab Pollution Control Board has identified 15547 polluting industries under the provision of Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. Out of these 9465 are Red Category Units ( 288 LSUs, 340 MSUs & 8837 SSUs ) and 6082  are Green Category Units ( 2775 SS Moderately Polluting & 3307 SS Marginally Polluting units ). The industrial zones of the state have high ranges of SPM, NOx, and SO2 than the prescribed standards. These industries have caused serious air, water and land pollution problems in the state.
 
Our environment is all about symbiosis, synergy, syncretism, knife-edge balances. The lesson we must take to heart is that while nature is willing to gracefully submit to some amount of needling, it cannot entirely succumb to humans. With the alarming increase in the atmospheric pollution in the state in last two decades, there is a urgent need to take collective measures both by public and government of the state to save its ecology for the sustainable development in the future.