CBSE Class 10 Social Science sample paper 2025-26: question 18

Read the given text and answer the following questions:

Global pollution is rising due to rapid economic growth, population increases, and insufficient environmental management. This poses serious health risks for people and ecosystems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Contributing to these challenges, the global economy relies on deeply intertwined supply chains, sustained by more than 100 billion tons of raw materials entering the system each year. Intensive material consumption depletes natural resources and causes negative environmental impacts at every stage of the product lifecycle. Global waste is expected to increase to 3.4 billion tons by 2050.

Pollution of all types hinders development outcomes. Exposure to air pollution, water pollution, and hazardous chemicals and wastes like mercury, lead and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) causes debilitating and fatal illnesses, creates harmful living conditions, and destroys ecosystems. Pollution undermines sustainable economic growth, exacerbates poverty and inequality in both urban and rural areas, and significantly contributes to climate change. Poor people, who cannot afford to protect themselves from the negative impacts of pollution, end up suffering the most.

Pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and premature death. It is estimated to be several times more deaths than from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Global health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, are reminders of the strong linkages between environment and health and of the need to address such linkages systematically.

[Source: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/pollution]