Microplastics found in air above pristine Sunderbans island, says IISER study

A recent study conducted by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, discovered airborne microplastics drifting above the protected mangrove forests of Sunderbans-the first such evidence recorded in any of India's natural ecosystems.

- SOUMITRA NANDI

The findings, now published in the international journal Science of the Total Environment, reveals that the air above a completely uninhabited island in the heart of the Sunderbans contains tiny plastic particles known as microplastics-invisible to the naked eye yet potentially harmful to plants, animals and humans alike.

The discovery which is both scientific and symbolic is a reminder that the fight against plastic pollution must not only focus on what lies beneath our feet or flows through our rivers, but also on what now floats silently in the sky above us.