The hidden toll of air pollution on India’s athletes

Athlete Rahul Jhore was worried to see his teammates quit the sport every few months. Over the past year, more and more athletes skipped weekly training claiming sickness — coughs, body aches, chest pain, and breathlessness. But “the problem wasn’t the rigorous training; it was the polluted air we were breathing,” said Jhore. He and his teammates run 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) a day as part of their training for Kabaddi, a seven-a-side contact sport. Without training facilities in their Bhadole village, in India’s Maharashtra state, they are forced to use roadways congested with fumes from old cars and trucks. Like others, 18-year-old Jhore was affected and often missed training. Unsurprisingly, the team lost all the kabaddi games in the first six months of 2024. “We felt short of strength while defending,” he shared. Seeing his health deteriorate over the past two years, his family has suggested he quit. Jhore is not alone in this. The effects of long-term exposure to air pollution are not usually immediate. The constant inhalation of harmful air pollutants affects stamina and performance, highlighting that the team’s struggling performance isn’t just tied to poor form but also to an ongoing decline in their physical health due to severe air pollution. Numerous studies have raised concern that air pollution affects athletes worldwide. Researchers tracked 799 soccer players from a German first-division club to understand the impact of air pollution. Published in Science of The Total Environment in 2023, they found that air pollution exposure led to slower sprinting times, poorer speed, and missed accuracy. Higher nitrogen dioxide concentration also affected cognitive performance. In the United States, researchers analyzed the impact of pollution on 334 male track and field athletes from 46 universities exposed to PM 2.5 and ozone for 21 days leading up to a five-kilometer race. Published in Nature’s scientific reports in 2023, the study found that air pollution exposure while training, before and during the race, worsened student-athlete race times. Runners exposed to higher levels of PM2.5 had race times 12.8 seconds slower than those with lower exposure. PM2.5 is an air pollutant smaller than 2.5 micrometers that enters deep into the lungs, impacting health. Sebastian Rowland, a scientist at PSE Healthy Energy and co-author of the paper, said athletes breathe in a much greater volume of air during training and exercising, leading to higher exposure. “Fine particulate matter causes inflammation and oxidative stress, which strain the cardiovascular system by increasing blood pressure and reducing heart rate variability,” he explained. Whenever someone is exposed to higher concentrations of PM2.5, the cardiovascular system may be less able to adapt and respond to the body’s needs. “What our study added to previous studies was that exposure during training affects performance, and concentrations even below USEPA [United States Environmental Protection Agency] standards still impact performance,” Rowland told Devex. According to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, PM2.5 reduces the life of a person living in India by 5.3 years. The entire Indian population resides in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds the World Health Organization’s guidelines. The problem is so severe that last year, Bangladesh’s and Sri Lanka’s cricket teams canceled their practice sessions during the Cricket World Cup in New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world. ‘In extreme heat, air pollution feels even more severe’ A paper published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that short-term exposure to extreme heat and air pollution increased mortality risk. However, simultaneous exposure to PM2.5 and heat had effects beyond the sum of the individual effects to both. This is because extreme heat and air pollution lead to oxidative stress, making it difficult for the body to neutralize the harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species. During high temperatures and solar radiation, the volatile organic compounds released from industries and vegetation combine with nitrogen oxides predominantly released from vehicles to form ozone, a harmful pollutant. It further reacts to form more secondary particulate pollutants, leading to a vicious cycle. Ozone can make breathing difficult and cause respiratory infections, metabolic disorders, and nervous system issues. As per the State of Global Air Report, nearly 50% of global ozone-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, deaths were reported in India. Aishwarya Birajdar, 20, is a long-distance runner and a champion Taekwondo fighter from Maharashtra’s Bhendavade village. “In the past two years, air pollution has increased rapidly, and it becomes even more severe in the summer when the body dehydrates more quickly,” she shared. The combined effect of heat and air pollution is so severe that many athletes collapsed during summer training when the temperature reached 43 degrees Celsius in her village, she said. Her hands and legs swelled due to dehydration and she experienced dizziness. “We only realized the depth of the problem after we lost the race by a few seconds,” she shared. And it’s not just dirty cars and trucks that cause problems for India’s athletes. Like Birajadar, many come from families that can’t afford to replace their cooking fuel often, and they rely on traditional stoves that burn firewood, charcoal, and farm residues, which release harmful air pollutants. “Every evening, I have to create smoke in the cattle shed to protect our cattle from mosquitoes,” she shared. This constant exposure to harmful air pollutants is severely affecting her performance. “Despite that, I train more rigorously to ensure our family can escape poverty.” The economic burden of air pollution on athletes and their families is significant, often forcing them to choose between their health and professional pursuits. Birajdar said that frequent doctor visits have become normal for several athletes. Jhore faces similar problems. Several studies show that this problem is global. Rural athletes remain disproportionately affected In the past 30 years, Taekwondo coach Sakharam Patil has trained thousands of athletes in Maharashtra’s Kurlap village. Lately, he said he hasn’t been getting the results he expected. “Previously, I could train an athlete to reach their potential in six months, but now it takes over a year,” he shared. A major reason for this delay is the rising air pollution. “Proper breathing is crucial for any sport, and air pollution directly impacts that.” As athletes inhale more pollutants, they see a decline in stamina. “A Taekwondo round lasts for two minutes, and many athletes can’t handle that as well because of air pollution.” He is currently training 150 students in Taekwondo and in athletic events such as track and field and marathon. Like Patil, athlete and sports coach Santosh Rathod, 30, has observed a similar pattern. “Often during matches, it feels like our bodies are constricted, making it difficult to execute our kicks effectively,” he said of air pollution’s impact on Taekwondo. This has increased the risk of injuries, forcing them to quit within a year or two. Every day, Rathod starts training at 6 a.m.. “Even in the early hours, the pollution levels are so high that many of my students are now experiencing breathing issues,” he shared. Rathod regularly monitors his students’ pulse rates to prevent major issues. Some of his students competing in 1500-meter and 5000-meter running have seen increased race times. “After running for a few seconds, the athletes start experiencing breathlessness, after which they slow down,” explained Rathod. Delays of at least 10 seconds have become common now in 1,500-meter races. “During such moments, an athlete can’t think properly, which further impacts them,” said Rathod, who has to extend rest periods during games and training. He now schedules workouts early in the morning, but this hasn’t made a significant difference. Since most of his students train on roads, they are often exposed to heavy vehicular exhaust, exacerbating the issues. A study published in Science of The Total Environment in 2022 found that exercising for an hour in vehicular air pollution resulted in higher levels of chemicals that cause inflammation and reduced the chemicals that fight them. It led to a rise in blood pressure after 90 minutes of exercise. Insufficient solutions Several coaches from small towns and villages face a significant challenge: the need for real-time monitoring of air pollution and well-built sporting centers. “We just don’t know how severe the air pollution level is in the village because no one is monitoring it,” said coach Rathod. They rely on measures like morning training, which can be counterproductive due to the widespread burning of agricultural residue in villages to heat water for bathing. “Ultimately, we need strict regulations on emissions and air pollution, and we need to shift to renewable energy sources,” advocated coach Sakharam Patil. Sebastian Rowland suggested adjusting the training, race times, and locations according to the exposure levels. “We need to investigate the effects of very high pollutant concentrations and explore potential interventions to protect athletes from such exposure,” Rowland said. However, for Jhore and many rural athletes, missing a day of training can be detrimental, as is training in a polluted environment. “We see the damage air pollution is causing us, but for poor athletes like us who can’t afford top-notch training, there’s no alternative,” Jhore said. They previously discussed the gameplay of international kabaddi champions during training. “Now, everyone worries about whether they’ll make it to the next day’s session.”