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New Delhi, February 6, 2008: Compared to Beijing, which will host the 2008 Olympics, Delhi has done very little to clear its air before it showcases the Commonwealth Games in 2010, says a latest Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) assessment of air pollution control measures undertaken in the two capital cities before these high profile sporting events. The assessment has appeared in the current issue of Down To Earth, a science and environment fortnightly that the Centre helps publish.
Both the cities face serious pressures to clean up their air; both have unique challenges. The Chinese capital has promised clean air during the Olympic Games so that the public health in the city can benefit from these efforts in the longer term, and is working towards it. But Delhi seems to lack Beijing’s scale, stringency and frenetic pace of action, says Anumita Roychowdhury, the author of the study and head of CSE’s Right to Clean Air Campaign. If environmental sustainability is integrated in the Games-related planning and infrastructure investments, Delhi’s environment and public health can benefit in the longer term, she points out.
After seven years of consistent and aggressive efforts, Beijing still finds it difficult to ensure clean air throughout the year. But despite the odds, the city has succeeded in achieving 245 blue-sky days during 2007 and is on its way to meet a 256 blue-sky days target in 2008. On those days, all the key pollutants in the city’s air are expected to meet their national standards.
CSE’s assessment of Delhi’s air quality has found that in ITO, which is close to the Commonwealth Games hub, levels of particulate matter less than 2.5-micron size (PM 2.5) could meet the national benchmark on 111 days only out of the total 307 days monitored in 2007. Levels of nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, fared worse: meeting the national benchmark on 95 days out of the total 330 days monitored in the same year. The assessment points out that with every breath, athletes typically take in 10-20 times more air – and thus, pollutants – as sedentary people.
Already, the report of the Commonwealth Games Evaluation Commission, 2003, has stated that “mobility within Delhi is difficult and congested” and therefore, a “risk area”. It has further mentioned that the venues and the Games village will include “environmental considerations related to micro environment and other such parameters as air, water, and noise pollution”.
Beijing, on its part, has done a lot. The city government unleashed aggressive reforms after it won the bid for the Olympic Games in 2001. The first city in China and second in developing Asia to phase in Euro IV standards, Beijing does not allow diesel cars and two-wheelers, has relocated polluting industry, and has controlled fugitive dust.
These efforts have helped improve the number of blue-sky days, but Beijing can still not meet the air quality standards throughout the year. It finally had to pilot test removal of one million cars for four days during August 2007 to improve the air quality. The city may have to resort to this contingent plan during the Games.
Car control: challenge for both
Rapidly rising number of cars is one of the key pushers of pollution in both Beijing and Delhi. That controlling personal vehicles does make a huge difference is most starkly evident from the example set by Shanghai. This booming city of China has adopted a system of auctioning a limited number of car licenses per month. This has helped the city to cap car registration at not more than 7,500 cars per month -- or 250 cars per day. Beijing registers more than 1000 cars a day.
The Shanghai system has prevented entry of nearly 1.8 million additional cars. The impact is evident in its air quality – in 2007, Shanghai scored 328 “excellent and good air quality days” as opposed to 245 in Beijing.
Delhi has also taken action in nearly all sectors to control air pollution over the past decade. It has relocated polluting industries and introduced Euro II and Euro III standards. All its buses, three-wheelers and some of its taxis run on CNG; 15-year old commercial vehicles have been taken off the roads; transit freight traffic is restricted and controls on power plants are tighter. The city has also banned open burning of leaves, among other measures.
But stringency, scale and enforcement remain weak. Delhi, in fact, is even on the verge of losing the gains of its first phase of action. The city, till date, has only stabilised pollution levels; meeting clean air standards presents a very difficult challenge as Beijing’s experience shows. Today, the rapidly rising numbers of personal vehicles meeting weak emissions standards is one of the key hindrances for clean air action in Delhi.
“Soft options are all exhausted in Delhi.
The Report Cards
Beijing’s action plan
Beijing has done a lot, but is still away from its target
Action on vehicles
- Pre-Euro I vehicles phased out by June 2008.
- About 2,500 old buses and 5,000 old taxis taken off the road.
- Euro IV fuels introduced in January 2008; emissions standards to be introduced by July 2008.
- No personal diesel cars and two-wheelers allowed within city limits.
- Public transport scaled up and fares reduced to improve usage; GPS system in place.
- State-of-the-art testing facilities set up: Beijing now has 43 very advanced testing centres for in-use vehicles that are tested on sophisticated chassis rollers. Incoming vehicles from outside the city are tested for emissions. New vehicles are fitted with on-board diagnostic systems.
- Stringent action taken to seal oil vapour leakage from petrol refueling stations in the city.
- Contingent plan in place to remove a million cars from the roads during the Games.
Action on industries and other sources
- About 1,400 coal-fired boilers switched to natural gas; polluting units relocated.
- 10,000 households to change from coal to natural gas or electricity for heating.
- All power plants to have complete desulphurisation and NOx removal projects; two out of six power plants shifted to natural gas.
- Chemical and cement plants may have to cut production to reduce pollution.
- Fugitive emissions controlled from construction sites; green areas increased.
- Checks enforced on open burning.
- Forestry projects implemented to reduce dust.
- Heavy pollution alarm system implemented
- Surrounding provinces of Shanxi, Hebei etc to take stringent pollution control measures.
What has Delhi done?
Standards remain weak and enforcement poor
Action on vehicles
- Has moved to Euro III emissions standards.
- All buses and three-wheelers and a part of taxis run on CNG.
- 15-year-old commercial vehicles taken off the roads.
- In-coming freight traffic partially restricted.
- Simple in-use tests for vehicles implemented under the PUC programme.
- Numbers of three-wheelers frozen.
- Public transport augmentation plan begun.
Action on industry and other sources
- Polluting units relocated.
- Control on power plants made tighter with a mandate to use washed coal.
- Generator sets to meet standards.
- Open burning of leaves banned.
For reading the complete Down To Earth cover story, please visit
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/section.asp?sec_id=9&foldername=20080215
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