South Asian Nitrogen Hub by British Government 18 Indian Institutes to Study Nitrogen Pollution

Nitrogen dioxide creates poor air quality & aggravates respiratory & heart conditions

• The British government has announced a research project to study nitrogen pollution in India and South Asia. Eighteen research institutions in India are among a group of 50 institutions — called the South Asian Nitrogen Hub (SANH) — in the United Kingdom and South Asia. The SANH (South Asian Nitrogen Hub) has secured about Rs. 200 crore from the U.K. government to assess and study the quantum and impact of “nitrogen pollution” in South Asia.

•  The focus of the study is on nitrogen as the dominant gas in the atmosphere; it is inert and doesn’t react. However, when it is released as part of compounds from agriculture, sewage and biological waste, nitrogen is considered “reactive”, and it may be polluting and even exert a potent greenhouse gas (heat trapping) effect.

• Nitrogen pollution is caused, among other things, by emissions from chemical fertilizers, livestock manure, and burning of fossil fuels. Gases such as ammonia and nitrogen dioxide contribute to poor air quality and can aggravate respiratory and heart conditions, while nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that depletes the ozone layer.

A Brief note on SANH (South Asian Nitrogen Hub)

• It is a new partnership program, South Asian Nitrogen Hub, will be led by the UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and will include 50 organizations from across the UK and South Asia.

• Indian institutions to be involved include National Institute of Oceanography, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University, National Physical Laboratory and TERI University.

• It is a five-year program being established with funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and is worth 19.6 million pounds (about Rs 182 crore).

• It will focus on the impacts of different forms of nitrogen pollution, particularly looking at nitrogen in agriculture in eight countries in South Asia.

• It is expected to boost cleaner and more profitable farming, as well as industrial recycling of nitrogen.

• It will look at nitrogen in agriculture in eight countries — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives.

The findings of the hub and further improvements

• Apart from air pollution, nitrogen is also linked to the loss of biodiversity, the pollution of rivers and seas, ozone depletion, health, economy, and livelihoods.

• Nitrogen pollution is caused, for example, by emissions from chemical fertilizers, livestock manure and burning fossil fuels. Gases such as ammonia (NH3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) contribute to poor air quality and can aggravate respiratory and heart conditions, leading to millions of premature deaths across the world.

• Nitrate from chemical fertilizers, manure and industry pollutes the rivers and seas, posing a health risk for humans, fish, coral and plant life.

Pic courtesy:NationalInstituteOfEnvironmentalHealth