State of India?s Environment 2023

State of India’s Environment 2023

News: On the occasion of World Environment Day celebrated on June 5, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down to Earth (DTE) has released their annual compendium of data “State of India’s Environment 2023”.

What is World Environment Day?
 World Environment Day is an annual global event celebrated on June 05.
 It is observed to raise awareness on the protection and preservation of the environment.
 The history of World Environment Day can be traced back to 1972 when the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm. As a result of this conference, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was established on June 15, 1972.
 Theme for World Environment Day 2023 is 'Beat Plastic Pollution”.

Key Findings:
 The report offers statistics on the state of climate and extreme weather, health, food and nutrition, migration and displacement, agriculture, energy, waste, water and biodiversity.
 For overall environmental performance, Telangana ranked at the top for its progress in increasing its forest cover and in municipal waste treatment. Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra followed Telangana. The bottom rank was occupied by Rajasthan, Nagaland and Bihar.
 For agriculture, Madhya Pradesh takes the top slot for the highest share of net value added, and its jump in food grain production. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh feature on the second, third and fourth spots.
 In Health, Delhi leads in public health — it has allocated the highest share of its budget to health and boasts of a robust network of healthcare facilities.
 In public infrastructure and human development - Gujarat leads the rankings in this category and it makes the cut for its performance in providing employment and tap water connections.
 The average life expectancy of an Indian is likely to have shortened by four years and 11 months due to air pollution in 2020.
 In 2020-21, India generated over 160,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste a day.
 Rural average life expectancy cut short by five years and two months. The life expectancy of their urban counterparts is nine months longer.
 In 2022, India experienced extreme weather events on 314 of the 365 days leading to a loss of over 3,026 lives and damage to 1.96 million hectares of crop area. The states that were worst affected by extreme weather were Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh.
Source – Down to Earth