Are the ill effects of air pollution present in the common illnesses that so many of us experience? People who live in contaminated areas are more likely to have many chronic illnesses, according to a recent study—the largest of its kind conducted in the United Kingdom. More than 360,000 people with health data from the UK Biobank between the ages of 40 and 69 were studied by researchers. Even after accounting for variations in wealth, they discovered higher odds of a number of neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular, and common mental health problems including sadness and anxiety. These persistent issues have a negative impact on people's lives and have a significant negative impact on our economy and healthcare system.

The UK government set a goal earlier this month for England to have the worst particle pollution in 2040, reported the Guardian.&nbsp;It implies that England intends to comply with the 2005 World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations in 18 years, 35 years after the recommendations were established. For people who live with particle pollution that is worse than the 2040 England target, the new health study indicated an additional 20 per cent likelihood of developing several long-term illnesses.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/health-and-wellness/uk-man-given-a-year-to-live-defeats-stage-4-cancer-547984">UK man, given a year to live, defeats stage-4 Cancer</a>

Dr Ioannis Bakolis, from King’s College London, who spoke to the Guardian and also led the study, said: “We will need to track people’s changing health over time to know for sure if air pollution caused these chronic health problems. If air pollution exposure indeed affects risk, it presents an opportunity to shape the epidemic of multiple long-term illness using environmental policy such as expanding&nbsp;low-emission zones&nbsp;or avoiding building care homes in pollution hotspots.”

Also watch |&nbsp;WHO 'concerned’ on Covid situation in China, calls restrictions by countries ‘understandable’

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Air pollution has been affecting the height and health of soldiers who had grown up close to heavily coal-used areas, according to a recent analysis of army data from the First World War.

All of this strengthens the case that exposure to air pollution can cause a variety of chronic illnesses. To put it another way, there may be more advantages to clean air than we realise.

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Are the ill effects of air pollution present in the common illnesses that so many of us experience? People who live in contaminated areas are more likely to have many chronic illnesses, according to a recent study—the largest of its kind conducted in the United Kingdom.

Are the ill effects of air pollution present in the common illnesses that so many of us experience? People who live in contaminated areas are more likely to have many chronic illnesses, according to a recent study—the largest of its kind conducted in the United Kingdom. More than 360,000 people with health data from the UK Biobank between the ages of 40 and 69 were studied by researchers. Even after accounting for variations in wealth, they discovered higher odds of a number of neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular, and common mental health problems including sadness and anxiety. These persistent issues have a negative impact on people's lives and have a significant negative impact on our economy and healthcare system. The UK government set a goal earlier this month for England to have the worst particle pollution in 2040, reported the Guardian. It implies that England intends to comply with the 2005 World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations in 18 years, 35 years after the recommendations were established. For people who live with particle pollution that is worse than the 2040 England target, the new health study indicated an additional 20 per cent likelihood of developing several long-term illnesses. Also read | UK man, given a year to live, defeats stage-4 Cancer Dr Ioannis Bakolis, from King’s College London, who spoke to the Guardian and also led the study, said: “We will need to track people’s changing health over time to know for sure if air pollution caused these chronic health problems. If air pollution exposure indeed affects risk, it presents an opportunity to shape the epidemic of multiple long-term illness using environmental policy such as expanding low-emission zones or avoiding building care homes in pollution hotspots.” Also watch | WHO 'concerned’ on Covid situation in China, calls restrictions by countries ‘understandable’ Air pollution has been affecting the height and health of soldiers who had grown up close to heavily coal-used areas, according to a recent analysis of army data from the First World War. All of this strengthens the case that exposure to air pollution can cause a variety of chronic illnesses. To put it another way, there may be more advantages to clean air than we realise. WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Air pollution linked to multiple long-term illnesses, confirms UK study

Evelyn Forde hoped that January would bring some relief.

As the head teacher at Copthall School in north London, she spent the final weeks of 2021 dealing with major staffing shortages as the omicron variant of the coronavirus began tearing across the city. But Tuesday, as the all-girls secondary school reopened its doors, 13 of 120 teachers were absent.

One day later, another teacher tested positive.

“We were just hanging on for dear life and just thinking, ‘It’s going to be fine when we come back in January,’” Forde said, “only for the variant to kind of just spread like wildfire.”

Such scenes were repeated across London last week amid a record surge in coronavirus infections, even as the government has held back from imposing a national lockdown, choosing instead to “ride out” the wave.

The calculus in London, as in the rest of England and much of the United States, appears to be the same. Many parents, politicians and school administrators are desperate to keep schools open after two years of chaotic openings and closures. But the variant is raising questions about those hopes, at least in the short term.

In England, worries about staffing are dire enough that retirees — often older and therefore more vulnerable to severe illness from the coronavirus — have been urged to return to duty. Schools have been advised to merge classes to plug staffing gaps. And in a country that has long resisted the types of precautions taken in countries like Germany, secondary schools are now required to test all their students twice a week — adding to the burden of smaller staffs.

Even then, some parents question whether students should be back at all, given what they fear are inadequate precautions and promised changes in ventilation systems that they say are both too little and too late.

But in England, unlike in the United States, the national government can decree the rules for all public schools, and although teachers unions continue to voice concerns about a lack of protections, they have generally been compliant. Parents also have little choice but to go along; they can be fined for keeping their children at home over COVID worries.

In some ways, the latest days of uncertainty feel like a repeat of last January, when another coronavirus wave, driven by the alpha variant, shuttered schools for weeks after they had opened for just one day. Still, there is more hope this time that the seemingly milder omicron variant will not wreak the same havoc and that schools can muddle through with just a few changes.

And for many people, any risks are outweighed by indications that children not only fell behind in school but that many also suffered devastating mental health issues.

Beyond the new testing requirements, the government is now requiring secondary school students to wear masks not only in the hallways but also in classes. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi also promised to begin distributing ventilation systems to thousands of schools and to increase funding to help pay for substitute teachers.

Still, the challenges are clear.

Education staff were more likely than other workers to test positive for the coronavirus late last year and have to isolate, according to numbers from the Office of National Statistics, and in London, many schools had struggled just to make it to the holidays amid staff absences.

Since many schools reopened last week, more than one-third of about 2,000 schools surveyed in England had 10% of their staff absent on the first day back, according to a poll by NAHT, the school leaders union. And 37% of schools polled said they were unable to find enough substitute teachers to fill in for those who were ill.

Most schools had just two days to get the new government guidance implemented before students began to return to school, which led many to stagger their return to allow for testing their entire student bodies.

Trade unions representing most education staff in England have called for additional government support. Their demands include ventilation systems for all of the nearly 25,000 schools — a far greater number than the 8,000 pledged — as well as more people to help with tests and more money to pay for substitutes.

“Schools and colleges cannot on their own reduce the threat posed by the virus, and they need from the Westminster government more than rhetoric about the importance of education,” the organizations said in a statement last week.

Philippe Sibelly, an art teacher at a small international school in central London, said the school had to close two days early for the holidays because of so many staff and student absences.

When school restarted Tuesday, Sibelly said there were no staff absences, pointing out that most teachers had contracted COVID last month or over the Christmas holidays. But now many students are out sick or isolating at home after testing positive.

During earlier waves of the pandemic, the school had gone beyond the measures recommended by the government, remaining closed to in-person teaching for a longer period of time and installing better ventilation systems. But Sibelly said that those decisions had often been met with pushback from some parents.

“From the beginning of COVID anyway, whatever we do, well, we can’t win because it’s a very polarizing issue,” he said, though he added that most parents seemed to be on board with the current approach.

Some educators are hopeful that the worst may be behind them. Nick Soar, executive principal of the Harris Federation of Schools, who oversees two state-funded schools in central and north London, said they had staggered toward the holidays with many staff and student absences.

He credited school staff with making heroic efforts to keep the school open, including having some teachers who had been exposed to the virus or had asymptomatic cases deliver classes remotely from their homes to full classrooms with a supervising adult.

But, he said, it seems like things have turned a corner, with testing so far revealing just a handful of cases and far fewer absences than December.

“It feels like the ghost of Christmas COVID has gone, even though we are crossing our fingers,” Soar said. “We’ve learned if we pull together, we cannot overreact, and make sure that great teaching and exciting teaching takes place, even while everything else around you might seem to be falling apart.”

Public health experts, however, have cautioned that the full effect of social mixing over the holidays has yet to be seen.

That — and what they consider a haphazard government approach — is enough to add to some parents’ pandemic worries.

Kirsten Minshall, who lives in southeast England, questioned the government’s reactive approach and the last-minute testing guidance that meant some schools, including his children’s, suddenly delayed openings, posing challenges for working parents.

“It doesn’t feel like really anything is ever adequately put in place to deal with what is happening at the moment,” he said. He pointed out that a full year after schools opened and shut in one day, the country’s leaders are still having the same conversations about masking, ventilation and distancing in schools, when better precautions could have already been put in place.

Now he fears it is only a matter of time before someone in his family catches the virus.

“We have this clash of a desire for everything to be as it always had been, versus the new reality,” he said.

Chaela Cooper, whose children go to school in the southeast of England, said she is also frustrated, and frightened. She would like to see mandatory masking at all age groups since most children under 12 years old are not yet able to get vaccinated, as well as better ventilation systems.

“If we have to live with this virus, we have to mitigate for it,” she said. “Otherwise what you are actually saying is live with death and illness.”

Evelyn Forde hoped that January would bring some relief. As the head teacher at Copthall School in north London, she spent the final weeks of 2021 dealing with major staffing shortages as the omicron variant of the coronavirus began tearing across the city.

Evelyn Forde hoped that January would bring some relief. As the head teacher at Copthall School in north London, she spent the final weeks of 2021 dealing with major staffing shortages as the omicron variant of the coronavirus began tearing across the city. But Tuesday, as the all-girls secondary school reopened its doors, 13 of 120 teachers were absent. One day later, another teacher tested positive. “We were just hanging on for dear life and just thinking, ‘It’s going to be fine when we come back in January,’” Forde said, “only for the variant to kind of just spread like wildfire.” Such scenes were repeated across London last week amid a record surge in coronavirus infections, even as the government has held back from imposing a national lockdown, choosing instead to “ride out” the wave. The calculus in London, as in the rest of England and much of the United States, appears to be the same. Many parents, politicians and school administrators are desperate to keep schools open after two years of chaotic openings and closures. But the variant is raising questions about those hopes, at least in the short term. In England, worries about staffing are dire enough that retirees — often older and therefore more vulnerable to severe illness from the coronavirus — have been urged to return to duty. Schools have been advised to merge classes to plug staffing gaps. And in a country that has long resisted the types of precautions taken in countries like Germany, secondary schools are now required to test all their students twice a week — adding to the burden of smaller staffs. Even then, some parents question whether students should be back at all, given what they fear are inadequate precautions and promised changes in ventilation systems that they say are both too little and too late. But in England, unlike in the United States, the national government can decree the rules for all public schools, and although teachers unions continue to voice concerns about a lack of protections, they have generally been compliant. Parents also have little choice but to go along; they can be fined for keeping their children at home over COVID worries. In some ways, the latest days of uncertainty feel like a repeat of last January, when another coronavirus wave, driven by the alpha variant, shuttered schools for weeks after they had opened for just one day. Still, there is more hope this time that the seemingly milder omicron variant will not wreak the same havoc and that schools can muddle through with just a few changes. And for many people, any risks are outweighed by indications that children not only fell behind in school but that many also suffered devastating mental health issues. Beyond the new testing requirements, the government is now requiring secondary school students to wear masks not only in the hallways but also in classes. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi also promised to begin distributing ventilation systems to thousands of schools and to increase funding to help pay for substitute teachers. Still, the challenges are clear. Education staff were more likely than other workers to test positive for the coronavirus late last year and have to isolate, according to numbers from the Office of National Statistics, and in London, many schools had struggled just to make it to the holidays amid staff absences. Since many schools reopened last week, more than one-third of about 2,000 schools surveyed in England had 10% of their staff absent on the first day back, according to a poll by NAHT, the school leaders union. And 37% of schools polled said they were unable to find enough substitute teachers to fill in for those who were ill. Most schools had just two days to get the new government guidance implemented before students began to return to school, which led many to stagger their return to allow for testing their entire student bodies. Trade unions representing most education staff in England have called for additional government support. Their demands include ventilation systems for all of the nearly 25,000 schools — a far greater number than the 8,000 pledged — as well as more people to help with tests and more money to pay for substitutes. “Schools and colleges cannot on their own reduce the threat posed by the virus, and they need from the Westminster government more than rhetoric about the importance of education,” the organizations said in a statement last week. Philippe Sibelly, an art teacher at a small international school in central London, said the school had to close two days early for the holidays because of so many staff and student absences. When school restarted Tuesday, Sibelly said there were no staff absences, pointing out that most teachers had contracted COVID last month or over the Christmas holidays. But now many students are out sick or isolating at home after testing positive. During earlier waves of the pandemic, the school had gone beyond the measures recommended by the government, remaining closed to in-person teaching for a longer period of time and installing better ventilation systems. But Sibelly said that those decisions had often been met with pushback from some parents. “From the beginning of COVID anyway, whatever we do, well, we can’t win because it’s a very polarizing issue,” he said, though he added that most parents seemed to be on board with the current approach. Some educators are hopeful that the worst may be behind them. Nick Soar, executive principal of the Harris Federation of Schools, who oversees two state-funded schools in central and north London, said they had staggered toward the holidays with many staff and student absences. He credited school staff with making heroic efforts to keep the school open, including having some teachers who had been exposed to the virus or had asymptomatic cases deliver classes remotely from their homes to full classrooms with a supervising adult. But, he said, it seems like things have turned a corner, with testing so far revealing just a handful of cases and far fewer absences than December. “It feels like the ghost of Christmas COVID has gone, even though we are crossing our fingers,” Soar said. “We’ve learned if we pull together, we cannot overreact, and make sure that great teaching and exciting teaching takes place, even while everything else around you might seem to be falling apart.” Public health experts, however, have cautioned that the full effect of social mixing over the holidays has yet to be seen. That — and what they consider a haphazard government approach — is enough to add to some parents’ pandemic worries. Kirsten Minshall, who lives in southeast England, questioned the government’s reactive approach and the last-minute testing guidance that meant some schools, including his children’s, suddenly delayed openings, posing challenges for working parents. “It doesn’t feel like really anything is ever adequately put in place to deal with what is happening at the moment,” he said. He pointed out that a full year after schools opened and shut in one day, the country’s leaders are still having the same conversations about masking, ventilation and distancing in schools, when better precautions could have already been put in place. Now he fears it is only a matter of time before someone in his family catches the virus. “We have this clash of a desire for everything to be as it always had been, versus the new reality,” he said. Chaela Cooper, whose children go to school in the southeast of England, said she is also frustrated, and frightened. She would like to see mandatory masking at all age groups since most children under 12 years old are not yet able to get vaccinated, as well as better ventilation systems. “If we have to live with this virus, we have to mitigate for it,” she said. “Otherwise what you are actually saying is live with death and illness.”

London schools are determined to stay open. Staff illnesses make it hard.

Yet no confirmed case of Coronavirus has been noted so far but there are few people who are under scanner after returning from China. 7 people in Kerala being observed in the hospitals, 2 people in Mumbai, 1 in Bengaluru & 1 person in Hyderabad so far.

No Confirmed Cases Of Coronovirus In India So Far, 73 People Under Observations

It has been reported, Initially, China hid the cases of the infected people from Coronavirus. Even when people raised the voice, 8 people were detained for spreading rumours. So, Did China really tried to cover up deadly 'Coronavirus' outbreak initially?

Reports: China tried to cover up deadly 'coronavirus' outbreak initially

The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes, but the virus that has killed people in China is a novel strain and not seen before. After which, W.H.O. lists ways to prevent the spread of deadly Coronavirus originated from China.

W.H.O. Lists Ways To Prevent The Spread Of Deadly Coronavirus Originated From China

Kabul residents have long run the gauntlet of suicide attacks and bombs. This winter, however, they face another deadly threat, air pollution.

For weeks a thick layer of toxic smog has blanketed the sprawling city as cold air traps pollution caused by people burning coal, wood, car tyres and even garbage to stay warm.

The choking contamination peaks in evenings and early mornings when temperature&nbsp;plunge below zero.&nbsp;

Dangerous particulate matter, including toxins like sulphate and black carbon, hang in the air like a thick curtain, reducing visibility and making breathing difficult.&nbsp;

Residents complain the air is getting worse — a view supported by doctors who report a sharp rise in respiratory illnesses.

"In previous years 30 to 40 per cent of our patients were suffering from acute respiratory infections, but this year it has jumped to 70 or 80 per cent," said Akbar Iqbal, a doctor in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Indira Gandhi children's hospital in Kabul.

"I believe the cold and pollution are the main causes." &nbsp;&nbsp;

A seasonal lack of rain and snow in Kabul, coupled with a fast-growing population, fume-belching vehicles, and proliferation of diesel-fuelled generators, are contributing to the deteriorating air quality.

A former official at the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) described this winter's <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.wionews.com/india-news/rs-17134-crore-fine-on-volkswagen-for-causing-air-pollution-in-delhi-recommends-ngt-panel-190490&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjPnanh0f7fAhVIi3AKHb2tBuAQFggFMAA&amp;client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;usg=AOvVaw0mxg2v7RStz3em2Ribco0V">pollution</a> as "deadly".

"This can cause stunting and mental development problems in children as well as miscarriages and can lead to many forms of cancer," said Abdul Hadi Zhemen, who until recently was the spokesman for NEPA. &nbsp;

Kabul's air pollution exceeds the World Health Organisation's (WHO) safe levels on any given day in winter. Recently the city of five million people has ranked among the most polluted in the world, according to the AirVisual network.

The air quality index reading is often above 300, while at night it can top 600. Recent snow and rain offered some respite, but readings still remain well above the WHO's limits.&nbsp;

Any reading over 100 is considered unhealthy.&nbsp;

Long-term exposure to air pollution can cause strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory illnesses, WHO said.

Authorities have turned to media to educate people on air pollution and encourage the use of face masks, even though they often provide poor protection.&nbsp;

"On the most polluted days we advise people to stay indoors... when the pollution level is at its highest," said Mohammad Kazem Homayoun, NEPA's chief for Kabul.&nbsp;

In a country where most people are illiterate and healthcare is limited, the information is unlikely to help many. &nbsp;

Doctors are also falling victim to the toxic air.&nbsp;

Sohrab Noori, head of the ICU at Wazir Akbar Khan hospital — where the number of admissions for respiratory-related problems has increased — said he had developed a "winter cough" for the first time.&nbsp;

"I think it's an allergic reaction to the air pollution," Noori said as he walked past patients hooked up to oxygen cylinders.&nbsp;

"If it (air pollution) continues in the long term, in two to three months we might have a big health crisis."&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Kabul residents have long run the gauntlet of suicide attacks and bombs. This winter, however, they face another deadly threat, air pollution. For weeks a thick layer of toxic smog has blanketed the sprawling city as cold air traps pollution caused by people burning coal, wood, car tyres and even garbage to stay warm.

Kabul residents have long run the gauntlet of suicide attacks and bombs. This winter, however, they face another deadly threat, air pollution. For weeks a thick layer of toxic smog has blanketed the sprawling city as cold air traps pollution caused by people burning coal, wood, car tyres and even garbage to stay warm. The choking contamination peaks in evenings and early mornings when temperature plunge below zero. Dangerous particulate matter, including toxins like sulphate and black carbon, hang in the air like a thick curtain, reducing visibility and making breathing difficult. Residents complain the air is getting worse — a view supported by doctors who report a sharp rise in respiratory illnesses. "In previous years 30 to 40 per cent of our patients were suffering from acute respiratory infections, but this year it has jumped to 70 or 80 per cent," said Akbar Iqbal, a doctor in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Indira Gandhi children's hospital in Kabul. "I believe the cold and pollution are the main causes." A seasonal lack of rain and snow in Kabul, coupled with a fast-growing population, fume-belching vehicles, and proliferation of diesel-fuelled generators, are contributing to the deteriorating air quality. A former official at the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) described this winter's pollution as "deadly". "This can cause stunting and mental development problems in children as well as miscarriages and can lead to many forms of cancer," said Abdul Hadi Zhemen, who until recently was the spokesman for NEPA. Kabul's air pollution exceeds the World Health Organisation's (WHO) safe levels on any given day in winter. Recently the city of five million people has ranked among the most polluted in the world, according to the AirVisual network. The air quality index reading is often above 300, while at night it can top 600. Recent snow and rain offered some respite, but readings still remain well above the WHO's limits. Any reading over 100 is considered unhealthy. Long-term exposure to air pollution can cause strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory illnesses, WHO said. Authorities have turned to media to educate people on air pollution and encourage the use of face masks, even though they often provide poor protection. "On the most polluted days we advise people to stay indoors... when the pollution level is at its highest," said Mohammad Kazem Homayoun, NEPA's chief for Kabul. In a country where most people are illiterate and healthcare is limited, the information is unlikely to help many. Doctors are also falling victim to the toxic air. Sohrab Noori, head of the ICU at Wazir Akbar Khan hospital — where the number of admissions for respiratory-related problems has increased — said he had developed a "winter cough" for the first time. "I think it's an allergic reaction to the air pollution," Noori said as he walked past patients hooked up to oxygen cylinders. "If it (air pollution) continues in the long term, in two to three months we might have a big health crisis."

Afghanistan: Kabul chokes on dirty air as temperature plunge

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