'Burning': Life under the world's dirtiest skies

nature & planetPhys.org

'Burning': Life under the world's dirtiest skies

from Phys.org

On the outskirts of India's capital, a short motorbike ride through the urban area with the world's worst air pollution leaves salesman Kanwar Singh coated in toxic dust.

explained

Air pollution in Delhi, the capital of India, was found to be one of the most lethal of any city in the world in an August 2022 study of 7,000 world cities by the US-based Health Effects Institute. Air pollution in India is estimated to kill about 2 million people every year. India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases and asthma according to the World Health Organization. In Delhi, poor air quality has irreversibly damaged the lungs of 2.2 million children.

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India, the air quality in Delhi significantly improved.

India's Ministry of Earth Sciences published a research paper in October 2018 attributing almost 41% of air pollution to vehicular emissions, 21.5% to dust and 18% to industrial emissions. The director of the Centre for Science and Environment alleged that the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers was lobbying "against the report" because it was "inconvenient" to the automobile industry.

From Wikipedia: Air pollution in Delhi (CC BY-SA 4.0) ↗

so what

It makes the health cost of Delhi's air concrete through one ordinary working day. Stories like this explain why pollution is about people as much as numbers.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗