According to a March 2019 report by IQ AirVisual and Greenpeace, fifteen of the twenty most polluted cities in the world are in India. The Indian capital, Delhi, is the world’s most polluted capital in terms of particulate matter 2.5 microns. Air pollution is at a hazardous level in the city where this article is being written- Noida ranks as the 6th most polluted city on the planet Earth. It is home to thousands of leading Indian and international startups but the entrepreneurs here drive past open sewers, heaps of garbage, and breathe in a negatively awarded air. Where do the big data services companies fall in this scenario and make sense?
The ‘small-scale’ of India is comparable to the ‘large-scale’ of many other countries. The type of air pollution discussed above is man-made and there are over 1.3 billion people in India. Data from them, about them, and for them is going to be exponentially large, just like this largest democracy. This is where the big data services companies like Loginworks Softwares Inc and Visual Bi Solutions come into the picture. The pollution is a result of the so-called ‘economic growth’ which in the modern unfortunate times translates to burning fossil fuels as the primary energy source in myriad of ways, lifestyles that thrive on indiscriminate consumerism, and to further aggravate the situation a majority of people are completely unaware or unconscious of the situation because of various social, mental, political and economic reasons. Pollution is region-specific too like Delhi-NCR has more of dust and smoke which is because of the construction, deforestation for urbanization, congestion and vehicular exhaust.
India borrowed economic models from the West. Today most of the countries in Europe have better air quality than what they had a century ago. These nations took lessons from their misdoings. India is repeating several of their mistakes. It is at the cusp of a great transformation wherein the political, economic, and social wellbeing rests in the hands of the Indians. The young population of this nation sparks hope; sixty-five percent of the population is under 35. They are expected to work upon the issues that grip the times. And why not? Be the change you want to see!
When one sits down to contemplate the solutions, the first thing that comes to mind is the enormity- it is a BIG issue and that the reason why big data comes to mind. Researching will need data of the major polluters in this region- the huge fossil fuel burners, the number of vehicles, the people’s habits that contribute to air pollution, the number of trees, data from the monitoring devices, and the data for the analysis from the short-term and the long-term measures implemented. Big data services companies will be greatly needed in this exercise. Their services will be indispensable in formulating the details of the word ‘policy’.
Given the immensity and urgency of the issue, the Government of India launched the National Clean Air Programme in January 2019. This was very late but it aims to reduce particulate pollution by 20-30 percent from 2017 levels by 2024. This is a doable objective and if the target is achieved well in time, it would have a significant impact on the health of the people living in the worst air on the Earth. People in 102 cities that have been highlighted for their below the standard air quality will have life expectancy increased by one year and four months. The government of India needs to contact the big data services companies to protect the NCAP from becoming a wasted effort.
Outdoor pollution has been linked to behavioral issues. It causes a great loss to the loved economy of a nation-8.5% of Indian GDP according to the World Bank. Globally, more than seven million die prematurely due to air pollution and the financial cost of air pollution stands at $225 billion. The economy nations burn fossil fuels for is being eaten away by the same. Big data services companies like Heckyl, Sigmoid Analytics, Flutura, and the Indix can focus on the question of this article. The value and consequences of the topic require no more emphasis, hence the problem-solvers out there are hearkened to take note:
It is important,
it is doable,
it is imminent,
it is your work.
Hark thee and clean the air beginning with the big data!
