Over 24 Nations Agree to Reduce 12.6 Million Annual Pollution Deaths

Health and environment officials from over 24 countries have committed to reducing the annual 12.6 million deaths due to pollution, the World Health Organisation and United Nations Environment Programme have said. On the sidelines of the ongoing 22nd session of the Conference of Parties (COP22) here, the officials on Tuesday signed up to the declaration for health, environment and climate change. The goal is to reduce pollution-related deaths through a new global initiative to promote better management of environmental and climate related risks to health. According to WHO, around 12.6…

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Mexico Declares Public Health Emergency Over Obesity, Diabetes

Mexico has declared a public health emergency over the rapid increase in obesity and diabetes. According to health officials, the decision was made after the National Institute of Statistics and Geography confirmed that between 2014 and 2015 the number of people who died of diabetes rose by more than 4,000, Xinhua news agency reported. In that period, diabetes-related deaths increased from 94,000 to 98,450, the Health Ministry announced. At a press conference on Monday, Deputy Minister of Health Pablo Kuri said the statistics led officials to take the unprecedented measure.…

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Over 30 Million Diabetics in India in One Decade: Experts

In the last one decade, the number of diabetes patients in India increased by over 30 million due to sedentary lifestyle and erratic schedule mostly common in the age group of 20-40 years, said the country’s leading diabetic experts on Monday. Their statistics stated that in the early 2000, there were around 31.7 million persons diagnosed with diabetes and by 2015, the figure increased to 62 million. “This change is due to the erratic food timings, sleep, unhealthy lifestyle, physical inactivity and other erratic patterns of lifestyle. Such changes in…

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After Delhi, Thick Smog Descends Over Lucknow

The air quality in the Uttar Pradesh capital and nearby areas was said to be “alarmingly bad” and polluted for a second straight day on Monday, officials said. According to a study by the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and UP Pollution Control Board, the air quality index of Lucknow was eight times poisonous than the permissible limit. IITR Director Alok Dhawan said the city’s air quality was in bad shape and the situation warranted immediate and urgent attention. People need to be careful…

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Delhi Government Orders Three-Day School Shutdown Over Smog

Schools in the Indian capital will be closed for the next three days, the Delhi state government said Sunday, as the city struggles with one of the worst spells of air pollution in recent years. “Emergency measures are needed to solve this problem together,” state chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said. “All construction and demolition in the city will be banned for next five days. All schools will be closed for the next three days in Delhi,” he added. Thick smog has blanketed the capital for days, with local and central…

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Health Weekly Roundup: Diwali air over north India world’s worst, air pollution behind 1 in 10 under-5 deaths, new breast cancer cases to rise to 3.2 mn a year by 2030

This week was filled with important medical discoveries, researches and health news. To ensure that you don’t miss any, we bring you a weekly roundup. Here is this week’s aggregation of the latest news stories on health, fitness and diet. Delhi chokes on worst Nov smog in many years The air quality index for 4 pm on November 2 was 432, in the “severe” category, while the index on October 31 (post Diwali) was 445. At 14 times the safe limit, Ggn breathes fire Concentration of PM 2.5 touched the…

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