In the world's most polluted town, Byrnihat in northern India, air pollution is so severe it causes skin rashes and burns the eyes. Farmers have trouble growing their crops and people can't dry their laundry outside. The population's health suffers greatly as a result—many visit clinics with respiratory issues.
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00:00Two-year-old Samaya Ansari has just come off oxygen support.
00:09Now, she's playing with her brother.
00:12A bright moment in a place where the haze never lifts.
00:17They live in Birnihat in northeast India,
00:20the most polluted place on earth,
00:23where even the walls turn black.
00:27She faces difficulty in breathing, congested chest and coughing, among other issues.
00:37It has been happening for the last eight to nine months, almost a year,
00:41but it has aggravated recently.
00:43With tens of thousands living in the thick pollution,
00:47many more people are at risk.
00:50Vehicle emissions are high here,
00:52and the town is home to around 80 industries,
00:56including distilleries, steel plants, and cement factories.
01:01Birnihat also sits between the states of Assam and Makhalaya,
01:06and its bowl-shaped terrain traps the air.
01:10It gets so toxic here that it causes skin rashes and burns the eyes.
01:16In the health clinics, coughing adults and children line up for help.
01:23In most of the cases that we see here, be it adult or in pediatric section,
01:27we see most, like 90% of the cases will fall in cough and cough.
01:31So OPD, likewise, the total number of cases will fall towards respiratory problems.
01:38If a child does not respond adequately,
01:40it requires multiple hospital admissions,
01:42it requires administration of oxygen or even ventilation for that matter.
01:46So these are a group of children who are at risk to develop long-term lung damage,
01:51which can eventually cause multi-organ dysfunction when they grow up and become adults.
02:01India has bypassed many environmental safeguards in the name of economic growth.
02:06And in Birnihat, the smoke lingers everywhere.
02:11Pollution here is 25 times higher than what experts consider safe.
02:19It's so bad, people can't even dry their laundry outside or grow a garden.
02:26Everything in the surrounding area has turned black.
02:29Earlier, there was just one factory nearby,
02:32but because of the new factory, we are unable to grow anything like betel nut or leaves.
02:37We cannot even stay indoors.
02:39But following a stark warning from a Swiss air quality watchdog,
02:44change might finally come.
02:47The state governments of Assam and Meghalaya have agreed to collaborate,
02:51forming a joint committee to tackle Birnihat's pollution,
02:55a move that many hope will clear the air and put a stop to the health crisis.
03:00Eason Chen and Zalanchata for Taiwan Plus.
03:03Eason Chen and Zalanchata for Taiwan Plus.