Assignment
On
Air Pollution Disaster in DelhiNCR and its Sustainable
Solutions
By
Name of
the Student – Lakshya Pant
Roll No. –
1922/23
Course –
BA Hons. (History)
Semester
– 1st Semester
Teacher
Name:
Submitted to –
Air Pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the
presence of substances in the atmosphere that are
harmful to the health of humans and other living
beings, or cause damage to the climate or to
materials. It is also the contamination of indoor or
outdoor surrounding either by chemical activities,
physical or biological agents that alters the natural
features of the atmosphere. There are many
different types of air pollutants, such as gases
(including ammonia, carbon monoxide, sulfur
dioxide, nitrous
oxides, methane and chlorofluorocarbons), particul
ates (both organic and inorganic), and biological
molecules. Air pollution can cause diseases,
allergies, and even death to humans; it can also
cause harm to other living organisms such as
animals and crops, and may damage the natural
environment (for example, climate change, ozone
depletion or habitat degradation) or built
environment (for example, acid rain). Air pollution
can be caused by both human activities and
natural phenomena.
Air quality is closely related to the earth's climate
and ecosystems globally. Many of the contributors
of air pollution are also sources of greenhouse
emission i.e., burning of fossil fuel.
Air pollution is a significant risk factor for a number
of pollution-related diseases, including respiratory
infections, heart disease, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, and lung
cancer. Growing evidence suggests that air
pollution exposure may be associated with
reduced IQ scores, impaired cognition, increased
risk for psychiatric disorders such
as depression and detrimental perinatal health.
The human health effects of poor air quality are far
reaching, but principally affect the body's
respiratory system and the cardiovascular system.
Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the
type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the
degree of exposure, and the individual's health
status and genetics.
Outdoor air pollution attributable to fossil fuel use
alone causes ~3.61 million deaths annually,
making it one of the top contributors to human
death, with anthropogenic ozone and
PM2.5 causing ~2.1 million. Overall, air pollution
causes the deaths of around 7 million people
worldwide each year, or a global mean loss of life
expectancy (LLE) of 2.9 years, and is the world's
largest single environmental health risk, which has
not shown significant progress since at least
2015. Indoor air pollution and poor urban air
quality are listed as two of the world's
worst toxic pollution problems in the
2008 Blacksmith Institute World's Worst Polluted
Places report. The scope of the air pollution crisis
is large. In 2018, WHO estimated that "9 out of 10
people breathe air containing high levels of
pollutants."] Although the health consequences are
extensive, the way the problem is handled is
considered largely haphazard or neglected.
Productivity losses and degraded quality of life
caused by air pollution are estimated to cost
the world economy $5 trillion per year but, along
with health and mortality impacts, are
an externality to the contemporary economic
system and most human activity, albeit sometimes
being moderately regulated and
monitored. Various pollution control technologies
and strategies are available to reduce air
pollution. Several international and national
legislation and regulation have been developed to
limit the negative effects of air pollution. Local
rules, when properly executed, have resulted in
significant advances in public health. Some of
these efforts have been successful at the
international level, such as the Montreal
Protocol, which reduced the release of
harmful ozone depleting chemicals, and the
1985 Helsinki Protocol, which reduced sulfur
emissions, while others, such as international
action on climate change, have been less
successful.
Air Pollution in Delhi NCR
The air quality in Delhi, the capital territory of India,
according to a WHO survey of 1,650 world cities,
and a survey of 7,000 world cities by the USbased Health Effects Institute in August 2022, is
the worst of any major city in the world. It also
affects the districts around Delhi. Air pollution in
India is estimated to kill about 2 million people
every year; it is the fifth largest killer in India. India
has the world's highest death rate from chronic
respiratory diseases and asthma, according to the
WHO. In Delhi, poor quality air irreversibly
damages the lungs of 2.2 million or 50 percent of
all children.
On 25 November 2019, the Supreme Court of
India made statements on the pollution in Delhi
saying "Delhi has become worse
than narak (hell)". Supreme Court Justice Arun
Mishra said that it is better to get explosives and
kill everyone.
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India,
the water quality of the Yamuna and Ganges river
basins have improved as industries are closed due
to the lockdown. The air quality has also
significantly improved during the lockdown.
India's Ministry of Earth Sciences published a
research paper in October 2018 attributing almost
41% to vehicular emissions, 21.5% to dust and
18% to industries. The director of Centre for
Science and Environment alleged that Automobile
Manufacturers is lobbying "against the report"
because it is "inconvenient" to the automobile
industry.
Air quality index of Delhi is generally in the Good
(0–50), Satisfactory (51–100), and Moderate (101–
200) levels between March and September, and
then it drastically deteriorates to Poor (201–300),
Severe (301–400), or Hazardous (401–500+)
levels during October to February due to various
factors including burning of effigies during
Vijayadashami, bursting of firecrackers during
Diwali, stubble burning, road dust, vehicle pollution
and cold weather. In November 2016, in an event
known as the Great Smog of Delhi, the air
pollution spiked far beyond acceptable levels.
Levels of PM2.5 and PM 10 particulate matter hit
999 micrograms per cubic meter, while the safe
limits for those pollutants are 60 and 100
respectively. According to Bloomberg, 16.7 lakh
(1,670,000) people died due to polluted air in India
in the year 2019.
Delhi's pollution problem is also caused by the
factor of animal agriculture, as smog and other
harmful particles are produced by farmers burning
their crops in other states since the 1980s. About
80% of agriculturally used land is used for animal
agriculture, so animal agriculture can also be
attributed as a factor in Delhi's air pollution
problem. Initiatives such as a 1,600km long and
5km wide The Great Green Wall of Aravalli green
ecological corridor along Aravalli Range from
Gujarat to Delhi which will also connect to
the Sivalik Hills range is being considered with
planting of 1.35 billion (135 crores) new native
trees over 10 years to combat the pollution. In
December 2019, IIT Bombay, in partnership with
the McKelvey School of
Engineering of Washington University in St. Louis,
launched the Aerosol and Air Quality Research
Facility to study air pollution in India.
Particulate matter levels in
Delhi
Air quality or ambient/outdoor air pollution is
represented by the annual mean concentration
of particulate matter PM10 (particles smaller than
10 microns) and PM2.5 (particles smaller than 2.5
microns, about 25 to 100 times thinner than a
human hair). PM10 levels, for the period 2008 and
2013, based on data of 1600 cities in 91 countries,
range from 26 to 208 micrograms per cubic meter
of air (μg/m3), with the world average being
71 μg/m3. 13 of the 25 cities worldwide with the
highest levels of PM are in India.
In 2010, the year of the WHO survey, the average
PM10 level in Delhi was 286 μg/m3. In 2013, the
PM2.5 level was 153 μg/m3. These levels are
considered very unhealthy. In Gwalior, the city with
the worst air quality in India, the PM10 and
PM2.5 levels were 329 μg/m3 and
144 μg/m3 respectively. For comparison, the
PM10 and PM2.5 levels in London were
22 μg/m3 and 16 μg/m3 respectively. The PM
levels in Delhi have become worse since the WHO
survey. In December–January 2015, in Delhi, an
average PM2.5 level of 226 μg/m3 was noted by US
embassy monitors in Delhi. The average in Beijing
for the same period was 95. Delhi's air is twice as
bad as Beijing's air. As of October 2017, experts in
several monitoring stations have reportedly
measured an air quality index of 999. According to
said experts this is the equivalent of smoking 45 to
50 cigarettes a day. This has led to some
government officials, such as Arvind
Kejriwal calling the nation's capital a "gas
chamber".Safe levels for PM according to the
WHO's air quality guidelines are 20 μg/m3 (annual
mean) for PM10 and 10 μg/m3 (annual mean) for
PM2.5.
Causes of poor air quality
•
Motor vehicle emissions are one of the
causes of poor air quality.] Other causes
include wood-burning fires, cow dung cake
combustion, fires on agricultural land,
exhaust from diesel generators, dust from
construction sites, burning garbage and
illegal industrial activities in Delhi. Although
pollution is at its worst from November to
February, Delhi's air misses clean-air
standards by a wide margin for much of the
year. It is a noxious mix of emissions from
its 9 million vehicles, construction dust and
burning of waste. On the worst days, the air
quality index, a benchmark ranging from
zero (good) to 500 (hazardous), exceeds
400. The Badarpur Thermal Power Station,
a coal-fired power plant built in 1973, was
another major source of air pollution in
Delhi. Despite producing less than 8% of the
city's electric power, it produced 80 to 90%
of the particulate matter pollution from the
electric power sector in Delhi. During
the Great smog of Delhi in November 2016,
the Badarpur Power Plant was temporarily
shut down to alleviate the acute air pollution
but was allowed to restart on 1 February
2017. In view of the detrimental effect to the
environment, the power plant has been
permanently shut down since 15 October
2018
• The drift/mist emissions from the wet cooling
towers are also a source of particulate
matter as they are widely used in industry
and other sectors for dissipating heat in
cooling systems.
Although Delhi is kerosene free and 90% of
the households use LPG for cooking, the
remaining 10% uses wood, crop
residue, cow dung, and coal for cooking.
(Census-India, 2011)
• Fire in Bhalswa landfill is a major reason for
airborne particles in Delhi.
• Agricultural stubble burning in Haryana and
Punjab, coupled with north-westerly winds
also affects Delhi's air quality since the
1980s when crops are being harvested. This
is the biggest cause of air pollution in Delhi
and as can be seen from air pollution index
data, the air quality drastically deteriorated
in October, the season of crop burning in
Punjab and Haryana. During the cropburning season, the practice can account for
up to 45% of Delhi's pollution, according to
government meteorologists.
A study in 2016 measured the sources and
average levels of various types of air pollution in
Delhi. Of PM2.5 pollution, 38% came from road
dust, 20% to vehicles, 12% to domestic fuel
burning, and 11% to industrial point sources. Of
PM10 pollution, 56% came from road dust, 10%
from concrete batching, 10% from industrial point
sources, and 9% from vehicles. Of NOx emissions,
52% came from industrial point sources (mostly
from power plants and 36% from vehicles (but the
•
36% was potentially more damaging due to being
emitted close to people). Of SO2 emissions, 90%
came from industrial point sources. Of CO
emissions, 83% came from vehicles. The large
contributions of vehicles and road dust to air
pollution have been made worse by court-ordered
restrictions on bus service in Delhi, which had the
effect of accelerating the purchase of private cars
and the construction of roads to accommodate
them.
Smog in Delhi
Smog in Delhi is an ongoing severe air-pollution
event in New Delhi and adjoining areas in
the National Capital Territory of India. Air
pollution in 2016 peaked on both PM 2.5 and PM
10 levels. It has been reported as one of the worst
levels of air quality in Delhi since 1980.
Low visibility has resulted in accidents across the
city, notably a 24 vehicle pile-up on the Yamuna
Expressway.
"The Great Smog" also led to cancellation and
delay of public transport, primarily trains and
flights, causing many hindrances to the people.
Control measures
In 2016, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind
Kejriwal, proposed these measures to reduce air
pollution but didn't get any success due to the lack
of implementation in reality. The efficacy of any
individual step has been a matter of public debate.
All Delhi schools will remain shut for the next
few days.
• For the next five days, no construction and
demolition work will take place in Delhi.
• All diesel generator sets have been banned
for the next ten days, except at hospitals
and in emergencies.
• The Delhi government will supply power to
unauthorized colonies which use diesel
generators.
• The coal-based Badarpur power plant will be
shut down for ten days. There will be no-fly
ash transportation from the power plant.
• The Environment Department will launch an
app to monitor the burning of leaves.
• Vacuum cleaning of roads will start on 10
November.
• Water sprinkling will start on all roads from
the next following days.
•
People should stay at home as much as
they can and they should try working from
home.
• As per Faster Adoption and Manufacturing
of Electric Vehicles in India scheme it is
expected by 2030 all vehicles will be Battery
electric and Hybrid
• All combustion engined vehicles will be
upgraded to BS6 emission standards
• Any vehicle older than 10–15 years or below
BS6 emissions will be banned
• Smog towers will be installed in the city to
purify and clean the air
• The Pusa Bio-decomposer will help farmers
harvest crops to prevent stubble burning.
• By 2021, the entire Delhi Metro is expected
to be 100% powered by solar energy
• In 2022, the Punjab Government announced
they will purchase maize, sorghum, pearl
millet, sunflower and mung bean crops at
MSP, encouraging farmers to adopt less
water consuming options as a sustainable
alternative to paddy and wheat in the wake
of fast-depleting groundwater.
In October 2020, Delhi authorities established a
10-member air pollution control team working in a
dedicated conference room. They examine
complaints received through the "Green Delhi"
mobile app. As of 2020, they also regulate
•
construction dust and ban diesel generators. Air
pollution is an issue of special concern during
the COVID-19 pandemic because the virus can
damage people's lungs and make them less able
to cope with pollution.
Response
of expatriates and government
To contend with the poor air quality, embassies
and international businesses in Delhi are
considering reducing staff tenures, advising staff to
reconsider bringing their children to Delhi,
providing high-end air purifiers, and installing
expensive air purifiers in their offices.
On 14 November 2021 the air quality index
of Delhi reached 465 and in response to the
severe air quality index, the Delhi
government announced the closure of all
educational institutions for a week from November
15 after the Supreme Court raised concerns over
the deteriorating air quality index. On 17
November as there was no improvement of the
condition of the air quality index in Delhi. The
Commission for Air Quality Monitoring (CAQM)
directed that all schools, colleges and educational
institutions will be closed until further notice, in
Delhi and in NCR. Other than this the entries of
trucks have been banned in Delhi, all construction
activities have been halted until 21 November
2021 and 6 out of 11 thermal power plants in Delhi
in a radius of 300 km have been shut down until
30 November, in an effort to reduce pollution and
improve the air quality index.
The Delhi government said that to control the
pollution in Delhi they will also be adding 1000
extra CNG buses will be implemented. The Civil
Defense Unit will also be checking the
registrations and pollution certificates of the cars
randomly to curb the pollution. Diesel cars above
10 years and Petrol cars about 15 years are
banned in Delhi due to the pollution they cause.
The Supreme Court of India also suggested that
government officers living in government colonies
should either commute by car pooling together or
by public transport.
On 18 November Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control
Board announced that schools will no longer be
closed due to air pollution in Noida and
Ghaziabad.
In view of pollution, the demand for air purifiers
has increased significantly in Delhi-NCR.
According to the available data, out of the total
sales in the country, 70% of the demand is coming
from Delhi-NCR. However, companies say that the
demand for air purifiers has increased from other
parts of the country as well.
The Delhi Government on 27 November 2021,
banned the entry of commercial petrol and diesel
vehicles in Delhi in view of the increasing pollution
in Delhi.