Tag: delhi qir quality

Delhi’s Air Is Awful – and It’s Not Even the Worst India Has to Offer

In May, the World Health Organisation said Delhi was the sixth-most polluted city in the country.

New Delhi: That time of year when Delhi makes the news for its severely polluted air is back with a vengeance. On November 8, the day after Diwali, pollution in the city reached the “severe-plus emergency” category because of the widespread use of firecrackers. And while people in Delhi can testify to just how bad it gets, what’s even more surprising is that there are five other Indian cities that fare even worse when it comes to PM 2.5 levels.

PM 10 refers to particulate matter with a diameter below 10 μm; PM 2.5 refers to that with a diameter below 2.5 μm. PM 2.5 is generally considered more harmful since its smaller size enables it to enter the lungs and cause more damage than larger particles can. 

Also read: All You Need to Know About Anti-Pollution Masks

According to a report released by the World Health Organisation in May this year, Kanpur, Faridabad, Varanasi, Gaya and Patna are even more polluted than Delhi. In the list of the 15 most polluted cities in the world, 14 are in India. Almost all of them lie in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar.

Rand City PM 2.5 level
1 Kanpur 173
2 Faridabad 172
3 Varanasi 151
4 Gaya 149
5 Patna 144
6 Delhi 143
7 Lucknow 138
8 Agra 131
9 Muzaffarpur 120
10 Srinagar 113
11 Gurgaon 113
12 Jaipur 105
13 Patiala 101
14 Jodhpur 98
15 Ali Subah Al-Salem (Kuwait) 94

While Kanpur ranked at one in the WHO’s list, a Reuters report pointed out that the city has a hard time tracking air quality. “Every week a lung cancer patient walks in; earlier we would get one in three months,” Prem Singh, head of the department of medicine in Kanpur’s Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, told Reuters.

Varanasi, which ranks third on the WHO’s list, did not see ‘good’ air for even a single day in all of 2015.

Also read: EPCA Was Specially Empowered to Deal With Air Pollution Crises. Is It Working?

In Patna, pollution levels rose sharply on Tuesday. The same trends were visible in Gaya and Muzaffarpur, with air quality in the ‘very poor’ category. S.N. Jaiswal, a senior scientist at the Bihar State Pollution Control Board, told Times of India, “Vehicular emission and dust emanating from damaged roads and construction activities are responsible for the high level of air pollution in Patna and some other cities in Bihar.”

This year, ignoring a Supreme Court order to burst only “green” crackers between 8pm and 10 pm on Diwali, residents burst crackers in several parts of the country at various times of day. In Delhi, which saw a large amount of crackers, PM 2.5 levels reached 999. Yet, post Diwali, Kolkata was worse than Delhi in terms of PM 2.5 levels, with reckless explosions in the city. Patna, Gaya and Muzaffarpur in Bihar were also particularly affected.

While pollution levels in Mumbai rose after Diwali, researchers said the air in the city was cleaner than the same time in other years.

According to Down to Earth magazine, air quality has been deteriorating even before Diwali in all 70 cities for which the Central Pollution Control Board releases an AQI bulletin. Between October 22 and 29, the report says, not one of these cities breathed air in the ‘good’ category. So even while media and public attention has been focused on Delhi and other metropolitans, smaller cities maybe breathing even more harmful air.

The problem is compounded by other factors. In a report by the Times of India, Gufran Beig, director and chief scientist of the System Air-quality Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), said that the convergence of air masses in the Indo-Gangetic plains, together with calmer air during the winter, makes it difficult for stagnant polluting particles to disperse.

Thick Haze Engulfs Delhi as Diwali Celebrations Continue Long After SC Deadline

Several localities in the national capital region recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 999, the highest the scale can record. Police said serious action would be taken against those found violating the 10 pm deadline to burst crackers.

New Delhi: The day after Diwali, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) turned ‘hazardous’ as celebrations lasted much longer than the deadline of 10 pm set by the Supreme Court. The national capital’s overall AQI was recorded at 805 at 6 am on Thursday morning.

Several locations in Delhi reported an AQI of 999, the highest that the index can record. Areas such as Anand Vihar, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium were among those that recorded an AQI of 999.

On Wednesday night, the AQI was 302 at 11 pm, which is categorised as “very poor”.The air quality started deteriorating rapidly from 7 pm, when it was 281. It rose to 291 at 8 pm and further deteriorated to 294 at 9 pm and 296 at 10 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Also Read: In Imposing a Partial Ban on Crackers, SC Has Put Right to Life Over Religious Freedom

The Supreme Court had allowed bursting of firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm only on Diwali and other festivals. It had also allowed manufacture and sale of only “green crackers”, which have lower light and sound emission and less harmful chemicals.

The court had asked the police to ensure that banned firecrackers were not sold and said in case of any violation, the station house officer (SHO) of the police station concerned would be held personally liable and it would amount to committing contempt of the court.

But despite the apex court order, there were reports of its violation from many areas long after 10 pm.

Several areas showed a spike in the air pollution. Areas like Anand Vihar, ITO and Jahangirpuri recorded very high pollution levels.

Violations of the deadline were reported from Mayur Vihar Extension, Lajpat Nagar, Lutyens Delhi, IP extension, Dwarka, Noida Sector 78 among other places.

The police admitted that there were violations, adding that they would take serious legal action against those violating the apex court order.

The online indicators of the pollution monitoring stations in the city indicated “poor” and “very poor” air quality as the volume of ultra-fine particulates PM2.5 and PM10, which enter the respiratory system and can reach the bloodstream, sharply rose from around 8 pm.

According to the CPCB data, the 24-hour rolling average of PM2.5 and PM10 was 164 and 294 micrograms per cubic metre respectively on Wednesday.

Haze engulfs Delhi after Diwali celebrations. Credit: ANI

The SAFAR forecast “bad” air quality Thursday even though partially toxic crackers were burst as compared to 2017. It also said the pollution levels would peak between 11 am and 3 am on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Environment Pollution (Control and Prevention) Authority announced on Thursday that trucks would not be allowed to enter Delhi until Saturday, in light of the increased pollution.

High pollution in Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad

The situation was similar, if not worse, in the neighbouring areas of Delhi such as Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad, where crackers were burst as usual, raising question marks on the efficacy of the administration in enforcing the apex court’s ban.

Also Read: China Can Set a Good Example for Delhi’s Air Pollution Menace

A “very poor” AQI essentially means that people may suffer from respiratory illnesses on a prolonged exposure to such air. If the air quality dips further, the AQI will turn “severe”, which may trouble even those with sound health conditions and seriously affect those with ailments.

As many as 209 calls were received by the Delhi Fire Services on Diwali, including one related to a huge fire in a factory at Bawana, officials said.

Of these, 89 calls were related to fire incidents at garbage and dumpyards, while the rest were related to fire incidents involving electric wires, at factories and residential areas, a senior Delhi Fire Services officer said.

The officials said the number of calls related to firecrackers was comparatively low, but there was no decline in the number of calls related to fire incidents.

Air pollution in Delhi was severe after Diwali celebrations. Credit: ANI

The Centre, in collaboration with the Delhi government, has launched a 10-day “Clean Air Campaign” from November 1 to 10 to monitor and report polluting activities as well as to ensure quick action.

About 52 teams deployed under the campaign are visiting different parts of Delhi and the adjacent towns of Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Noida.

The teams are being led by the sub-divisional magistrates of the respective areas and comprise senior officials of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), representatives of the CPCB, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

(With PTI inputs)