Alarmingly, carbon deposits have been found in the lungs of children as young as four undergoing unrelated surgeries. This condition, known as anthracosis or “black lungs,” is usually observed in adults exposed to heavy smoke and dust.
By Rashmi Sinha
This opinion piece was scheduled to be published on Children’s Day.
Protecting our children from pollution has never been more urgent. While we grew up breathing relatively cleaner air and eating less adulterated food, yet feel miserable and stressed due to high AQI and chemically laden food. What will happen to today’s children who are starting their lives facing significant degradation in both?
In India, with a birth of 25 million children each year, a child is born almost every 30 seconds, and as you read it, one of those newborns is taking her first breath in an air thick with pollution—a gas chamber of our own making. Her embryonic lungs and organs are too vulnerable to bear the weight of the dust-filled, toxic air she inhales. This pollution takes a toll with every breath, harming her delicate body. How can we expect her to grow up strong to reach her full potential? Will she ever have the chance to compete, like an Olympic athlete, against those who grow up in healthier conditions?
As poet Gabriela Mistral said, “We are guilty of many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children… A child cannot wait.” These words are especially true today. If we fail to protect children from environmental harm, we risk abandoning an entire generation to a life of illness and diminished potential.
Pollution and climate change are not just altering the planet; it is reshaping the very childhood and impacting health. The 2021 Children’s Climate Risk Index by UNICEF shows us that, by 2021 one billion children globally are at extreme risk due to climate change, with 13.4 million in India suffering from severe water scarcity. This crisis impacts children the most. Their lungs, immune systems, and other organs are still maturing, making them especially vulnerable to pollution, extreme heat, and contaminated water.
Children at risk
Dr. Shalini Misra, pediatrician at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute Delhi, explains, “Hazardous air pollution affects their developing lungs, leading to symptoms similar to asthma, cases of bronchiolitis, and a heightened vulnerability to pneumonia. Children under the age of eight are especially at risk, as their lungs are still growing, and their higher breathing rates make them more susceptible to the harmful effects of air pollution.
Alarmingly, carbon deposits have been found in the lungs of children as young as four undergoing unrelated surgeries. This condition, known as anthracosis or “black lungs,” is usually observed in adults exposed to heavy smoke and dust, such as coal miners and smokers. The presence of carbon in children’s lungs at such an early age can disrupt lung development, setting the stage for respiratory diseases in later life”.
She further informs, “Research has shown that pregnant women exposed to high levels of air pollution are more likely to experience preterm labour and deliver low birth weight babies, contributing to increased infant mortality rates. Infants and toddlers cannot wear masks, leaving them defenceless against smog”.
“As a mother of a child with wheezing issues, I have personally experienced the distress of this situation. It is disheartening to realize that we have failed our future generations, making it impossible to truly wish them a Happy Children’s Day.”
Dr. Renu Srivastava, Strategy Director Newborn Child Health – UPTSU-IHAT, quotes the World Bank Report of 2019, ‘the death rate in India due to ambient Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 the most harmful pollutant – was highest for newborns less than 7 days old. In India, the Haryana-Delhi-UP-Bihar-WB corridor has the highest levels of particulate matter (PM 2.5) in the air in the world.
Pathways to a Healthier Future
These are small particulates with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns, and are about one-thirtieth the width of a human hair. India’s climate challenges loom large. According to the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), over 75% of Indian districts, home to more than 638 million people, have become hotspots of extreme climate events—cyclones, floods, droughts, and heatwaves. The intensity and unpredictability of these events have surged in recent decades, taking lives, disrupting essential services, and forcing families to relocate. Entire communities bear the brunt of climate impacts, with women and children often suffering the most.
The toll of extreme heat extends beyond physical health, disrupting access to food, water, and education. Displacement due to extreme weather has become common, and this, too, affects children’s development and security. Water scarcity adds yet another burden, especially for girls, who often miss school to walk long distances to fetch water for domestic use.
Floods pose yet another deadly risk, bringing threats of drowning, contamination, and disease. Floodwaters overwhelm communities, destroying homes, contaminating drinking water, and exposing children to waterborne diseases and malnutrition. Stunting and undernutrition are lasting impacts that no child should endure, yet these are the realities in many flood-prone areas of India.
Amid these grim realities, however, there are pathways to a healthier, more sustainable future. Tackling climate change requires a multifaceted approach, including transitioning to renewable energy sources like wind and solar to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Additionally, fostering sustainable agriculture, conserving forests, and promoting reforestation efforts can help absorb carbon dioxide and restore natural ecosystems. Lastly, governments, businesses, and individuals must collaborate to adopt policies, technologies, and behaviours that support climate resilience, environmental protection, and a low-carbon economy.
Mitigate Climate Change
Stubble-burning in Punjab and surrounding areas is a key cause of Delhi pollution, and can be tackled through crop diversification. By moving away from reliance on single crops, we can build agricultural systems more resilient to climate extremes as well as control farm residuals and dependence on groundwater. The urban population can work on conserving water and be more discreet in the use of private transportation.
National and international governments and agencies with scientists, engineers, experts, designers, recycling experts, and farmers need to come to a Round Table to explore the most effective ways to mitigate climate change. The efforts must go beyond awareness; they must lead to concrete action. Our children’s futures depend on decisive steps to curb emissions, enforce air quality standards, and invest in sustainable waste management.
By supporting innovations like drought-resistant crop varieties, establishing market linkages, stubble, and farm residual management, and leveraging technology to support farmers, the manufacturing industry, and transportation, we can shape a future where our children have clean air to breathe, nutritious food to eat, and safe environments to grow in.
Climate action isn’t just about building resilient agriculture or regulating industrial waste; it’s about honouring our duty to protect the lives, dreams, and potential of our youngest and most vulnerable. Climate change may be vast in scope, but our responsibility is urgent and unmistakable.
Let us keep the essence and spirit of Gabriela Mistral close as a powerful reminder of what is truly at stake, ‘many of the things we need can wait. The child cannot. Right now, her bones are being formed; her blood is being made. To her, we cannot answer ‘Tomorrow.’ Her name is Today.’
