The report by think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said Delhi's annual PM2.5 concentration increased to 104.7 microgrammes per cubic metre in 2024 -- a 3.4 per cent rise from the 2023 levels.
The annual PM2.5 concentration in the national capital touched 104.7 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) in 2024, more than double the accepted national standard of 40 µg/m³, according to a report released Monday by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). This is the second year in a row, since 2022, that Delhi’s annual air quality has gone down. During winters in 2024, Delhi’s peak PM2.5 level was 732 µg/m³, much higher than 2023’s peak of 580 µg/m³. All of this occurred at a time when the total number of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana, usually blamed for Delhi’s pollution, had reduced by 37 percent compared to 2023. “This cannot be seen as an annual aberration due to meteorological factors. It indicates the impact of growing pollution in the region,” Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, told ThePrint “Delhi seems to be losing its air pollution gains from the past.” These calculations are based on the CSE’s yearly assessment of air pollution based on PM2.5 levels, using data from 37 air quality monitoring stations spread across the city. The winter data was collected between 1 October and 31 December, showing the staggering 26 percent increase in peak PM2.5 levels compared to last year. Winter pollution trends Another concerning trend noticed this year by the CSE was the number and lengths of smog episodes this winter. More than three consecutive days of severe air quality is globally considered a smog episode, and this year Delhi had an 8-day-long episode from 13 to 20 November, and another for four days in December. Moreover, while the Commission for Air Quality Management lauded Delhi for 209 days of air quality index (AQI) below 200 in 2024, in reality, there were only 121 days this year that saw air quality meeting the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) of below 40 µg/m³. And while the number of good air days increased from 25 in 2023 to 29 in 2024, there were no days that saw ‘good’ air quality during the winters of 2024. In its analysis of the farm fires this year, the CSE report used NASA’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to find that there was a steep decline in farm fires in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, especially in the winters. While there were about 37,276 fires recorded in 2023 during the winter months of October to December, there were only 10,712 fires in 2024 which meant a 71 percent decline. The CSE’s analysis thus showed that reduction in farm fires does not necessarily mean a reduction in air pollution overall, and the report asks for more ‘systemic changes’ and reductions in year-long emissions. “Local and regional sources of pollution including vehicles, industries, open burning of waste, use of solid fuels, construction and dust sources have undermined Delhi’s longer term progress over the past decade,” said Roychowdhury, pointing that between 2018 and 2022, the AQI levels saw a downward trend.
For the second consecutive year, Delhi’s annual PM 2.5 levels rose in 2024 despite a drop in stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and the national capital, according to a new report. In its winter air quality analysis in Delhi released Monday, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) stated that the Capital’s annual PM 2.5 levels rose to 104.7 micrograms per cubic metre — a 3.4% increase compared to 2023. The concentration was also more than double the permitted national annual standard of 40 µg/m3. This is despite a 71.2% drop in stubble fire incidents during October-December 2024, the study noted. Another key finding of the study is the surge in pollution peak levels in 2024. Even as the PM 2.5 average for October to December months at 178.3 µg/m3 remained largely consistent with the average normally observed, the peak pollution levels soared from 580 µg/m3 to 732 µg/m3 — a 26% jump. The study, authored by Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, CSE, and Sharanjeet Kaur, was conducted using real-time data from functional air quality monitoring stations in Delhi-NCR. “The worst station-level peak this season was 9% lower than the highest ever recorded — at 806 µg/m3 during the 2018 winter,” noted the study. It further stated that two major smog episodes were observed. However, Roychowdhury said as per a statement: “This cannot be seen as an annual aberration due to meteorological factors. The consistent rise indicates the impact of growing pollution in the region. Delhi seems to be losing its air quality gains from past actions. Local and regional sources of pollution including vehicles, industries, open burning of waste, use of solid fuels, construction, and dust sources have offset the gains — undermining the longer term progress over the past decade.” The assessment mentioned that a stabilisation of annual PM 2.5 levels could have been possible since 2018, and even a declining trend could have been recorded with apt implementation of Supreme Court directives on energy transition in transport and industry sectors. According to a statement by the CSE, Roychowdhury said the action has to “move much beyond reactive emergency measures during winter. The fact that annual trends have risen for two consecutive years, despite the decline in farm fire incidents during winter, shows much deeper systemic changes are required to cut round-the-year emissions from a variety of sources in Delhi and the surrounding region.” The study also observed that the average PM 2.5 levels in October-December 2024 were 4.6% higher than the three-year winter average (2021-2023). ‘Good’ and ‘bad’ air days The study noted that approximately 121 days met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards last year. This was similar to 2019 when the second-worst annual average was recorded at 109.1 µg/m3.
Delhi in 2024 recorded a three-year high in terms of annual PM2.5 (particulate matter having a diameter of 2.5 microns or less) concentration, clocking a reading of 104.7 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) last year compared to 106.4µg/m3 in 2021, according to an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Monday. Delhi’s peak winter pollution also followed this trend, clocking 732µg/m3 on November 18,the highest since the city clocked a peak winter PM2.5 concentration of 776µg/m3 on November 13, 2021.While the PM2.5 levels were similar to 2019 levels—one of the worst-polluted winters when the AQI dipped to a low of 494 (severe plus) and 24 “severe” air days were recorded—Delhi fared better this winter on average, clocking PM2.5 average of 178.3µg/m3, compared to 182.1µg/m3 clocked last year. “A troubling trend has also emerged in the peak pollution levels. The citywide winter peak for 2024 soared to 732 µg/m³, marking a 26% jump compared to last year’s peak of 580 µg/m³,” the analysis said. To be sure, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has set a safe limit of 40µg/m3 for PM2.5, which is considered hazardous and worsens respiratory ailments, especially during winter. The study looked at PM2.5 concentration from Delhi’s 37 ambient air quality monitoring stations available from 2018 to 2024. For winter months, the period from October 1 to December 31 was used. The study said that the annual PM2.5 level was 3% higher than the three-year average of the 2021 to 2023 period, indicating a loss in air quality gains over the recent past. The study noted that 2024 winter average was 0.2% lower than the 2019 winter average, but 4.6% higher than the three-year winter average (2021-2023), based on data from 37 monitoring stations across the city. CSE said the annual average PM 2.5 concentration for 2021-23 was 102µg/m3 Sharanjeet Kaur, programme officer with CSE’s Urban Lab and part of the study, said real-time data between October 1 and December 31 showed alarming pollution levels when compared to 2022. “This was a 26% surge in peak pollution levels. The city also experienced 17 days of ‘severe’ or worse air quality, alongside two extended smog episodes with average smog intensity of 371µg/m³ and 324µg/m³, respectively. This kept the average levels elevated,” she said. Significant station-wise variations According to CSE’s analysis, in 2024 winter, only eight of 37 air quality stations showed an improvement in their seasonal averages when compared to the 2021-23 period. The most notable improvements were observed at DTU and NSIT Dwarka stations, which recorded an improvement of 26% and 22%, respectively, compared to the mean of the previous three winters. On the other hand, the North Campus, Okhla Phase 2 and Jahangirpuri stations showed no change in their seasonal averages.
Delhi’s air pollution worsened for the second consecutive year in 2024. The annual PM2.5 concentrations surged to 104.7 µg/m³ in 2024 — a 3.4 per cent rise from 2023 — following a significant fall and stabilisation between 2018 and 2022, said the New Delhi-based Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) in its latest assessment. This is more than double the national ambient air quality standard of 40 µg/m³, a worrying trend that could exacerbate the ongoing health emergency in one of the world’s most polluted cities. Alarmingly, the residents of Delhi only experienced 121 days in 2024 when the air quality met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. This was even less than 152 days in 2023. “This consistent increase cannot be seen as an annual aberration due to meteorological factors," remarked Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, CSE. “Local and regional sources of pollution, including vehicles, industries, open burning of waste, use of solid fuels, construction and dust sources, have offset the gains. Delhi cannot hide behind the smokescreen of farm fires anymore." Despite a remarkable drop in stubble fire incidents during October-December, the winter pollution remained elevated. According to the satellite data, the total annual fire counts in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana fell by 37.5 per cent from 63,721 in 2023 to 39,865 in 2024. The winter fire count showed an even more remarkable reduction of 71.2 per cent — from 37,376 in 2023 to 10,712. 26% SURGE IN PEAK POLLUTION LEVELS “There is a troubling 26 per cent surge in peak pollution levels compared to the previous year during the early phase of winter (October-December). The city has experienced 17 days of severe air quality, alongside two extended smog episodes, which kept the average levels elevated," said Sharanjeet Kaur, Programme Officer, CSE’s Urban Lab.
A new analysis of pollution in winter carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment says that Delhi is at risk of losing its long-term air quality gains. It pointed out that the annual pollution trend has risen for two consecutive years despite the decline in harvest stubble burning in the neighbouring states. The annual PM2.5 concentration increased to 104.7 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024 — a 3.4% rise from 2023. The PM2.5 levels has increased after consistently declining and stabilising between 2018 and 2022, says CSE. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, said, "This cannot be seen as an aberration due to meteorological factors. The consistent rise indicates the impact of the growing pollution in the region. Delhi seems to be losing its air quality gains from past action." She added that the capital could hide behind the smokescreen of farm fires anymore. Despite a 71.2% drop in stubble fires in Oct-Dec last year, the winter pollution has upset the annual trend. According to the analysis, the city-wide winter PM2.5 average for Oct-Dec 2024 was 178.3 micrograms per cubic metre, a level consistent with the average since large-scale monitoring began in 2018-19. This is 4.6% higher than the three-year 2021-23 winter average. Sharanjeet Kaur, programme officer at CSE's Urban Lab, said real-time data from Delhi's monitoring stations for the Oct 1-Dec 31 period revealed a troubling 26% surge in peak pollution levels compared with those in the previous year during the early phase of winter. Last year, 121 days met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, a trend similar to 2019, when the second-worst annual average was recorded at 109.1 micrograms per cubic metre. However, there has been a noticeable decline in the number of good air quality days, dropping from 152 days in 2023 to 121 in 2024. Even this winter, only eight out of 37 air quality monitoring stations logged improved seasonal averages compared with the last three years. The most notable improvements were observed at DTU and NSIT Dwarka, which recorded 26% and 22% lower seasonal averages, respectively, compared to the mean of the previous three winters. However, increased seasonal PM2.5 levels were recorded at CRRI Mathura Road (22% rise), Aya Nagar (17%), Ashok Vihar and Vivek Vihar (both 15%) and Pusa IMD (14%). CSE researchers said that Delhi could have stabilised the annual PM2.5 levels since 2018 (if the existing air quality monitors are considered) and could have even recorded a declining trend since 2013 (if the oldest five stations are considered) had the city implemented the directives of the Supreme Court on energy transition in transport and industry sectors. Roychowdhury said: "The fact that annual trends have risen for two consecutive years despite the decline in farm fires shows much deeper systemic changes are required to cut the round-the-year emissions from a variety of sources in Delhi and the surrounding region."
Delhi's annual PM2.5 levels rose in 2024 for the second consecutive year, despite a 37 per cent drop in stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and the national capital, according to a new report. The report by think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said Delhi's annual PM2.5 concentration increased to 104.7 microgrammes per cubic metre in 2024 -- a 3.4 per cent rise from the 2023 levels. This is also more than twice the national ambient air quality standard of 40 microgrammes per cubic metre. While the 2024 average is still 9.6 per cent lower than the 2018 peak of 115.8 microgrammes per cubic metre, it is 3 per cent higher than the three-year average of 2021-2023, indicating a gradual reversal of earlier gains made between 2018 and 2022, it said. The report highlighted that the total annual fire counts (on account of stubble burning) dropped by 37.5 per cent in 2024 in Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. Punjab recorded a 75 per cent decline, and Haryana, a 37 per cent decline. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, said the rise in PM2.5 levels cannot be seen as an annual aberration due to meteorological factors and consistent rise indicates the impact of growing pollution in the region. "Delhi seems to be losing its air quality gains from past action. Local and regional sources of pollution including vehicles, industries, open burning of waste, use of solid fuels, construction and dust sources have offset the gains -- undermining the longer-term progress over the past decade. "Delhi cannot hide behind the smoke screen of farm fires anymore. Despite a 71.2 per cent drop in stubble fire incidents during the October-December 2024, the winter pollution has remained elevated, upsetting the annual trend," she said. According to Sharanjeet Kaur, programme officer with CSE's Urban Lab, real-time data from Delhi's monitoring stations for the winter period (October 1-December 31) reveals a troubling 26 per cent surge in peak pollution levels compared to the previous year during the early phase of winter. The city experienced 17 days of severe or worse air quality, alongside two extended smog episodes with average smog intensity of 371 microgrammes per cubic metre and 324 microgrammes per cubic metre, respectively. This has kept the average levels elevated, Kaur said. Delhi recorded two major smog episodes this winter: from November 13-20 (about eight days) and from December 16-20 (about four days). The average daily intensity of this smog stood at 371 microgrammes per cubic metre and 324 microgrammes per cubic metre, respectively. At least three continuous days of severe AQI is considered a smog episode.
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Gurgaon: Around 100km of roads in Gurgaon and Faridabad, along with 50km in Sonipat, will be identified and marked for end-to-end paving as part of a clean air initiative. This drive will start from April 1. This scheme, with a budget of Rs 3,600 crore, is part of the World Bank's clean air programme. In addition to addressing road dust, the scheme will focus on construction and demolition (C&D) waste, vehicular pollution, industries, agriculture, and household emissions. Officials said the aid could increase to Rs 10,000 crore in subsequent phases. The Haryana Clean Air Project for Sustainable Development aims to undertake targeted initiatives to reduce emissions and strengthen air quality monitoring in the state by 2030. Rao Narbir Singh, the minister for environment, forests, and wildlife, said the project would focus on Gurgaon, Faridabad and Sonipat in the first phase, other NCR districts in the second and the rest of Delhi-NCR in the third-phase "Of the total funds, 10.9% will focus on strengthening state capabilities for air quality management, while 89% will be utilised for advancing sector-wise interventions and 0.1% is set out for IGP airshed cooperation," he said. On the basis of a source apportionment study published by TERI in 2018, a list of 16 sector-wise interventions were formulated under HCAPSD to reduce sector emissions by 2030. In 2023, PM2.5 levels in the city exceeded safe limits for 71% of the year, with only 105 days meeting the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Notably, 82 of these days occurred during the monsoon (June–Sept), with the rest split between March–May and winter. For the second consecutive year, no day met the stricter WHO standards. Gurgaon fared similarly, recording 103 NAAQS-compliant days in 2022. Cleaner air days were higher during pandemic lockdowns but dropped significantly in earlier years, with just 54 in 2018, 35 in 2017, and 37 in 2016. Even though roads may be in good condition, dust from nearby sources often tends to accumulate on the road. This dust is prone to re-suspension, primarily due to vehicular movement, the plan stated. To control road dust, these districts will utilize road sweeping and sprinkling machines, maintenance of curbsides and footpaths, increasing durability, quality of roads & overall metrics for operator performance. The plan is to design standard methodology and implementation technique C&D waste measurement at site and city level. Undertake measurement of total waste generated in the state (both legacy and ongoing). Introduction of a state buy-back policy mandating use of 10% recycled C&D waste among all construction agencies. It will also include installation of 500 CCTV cameras at potential dumping spots for continuous review and monitoring, levy environmental compensation on non-compliance to clean construction practices, formation of committee led by Chief Secretary, Haryana, including Dept of Environment, ULB, HSPCB, PWD, HSIIDC and MCs to ensure 100% utilisation of processing plant capacity. Apart from road dust, the city will be among four districts in the state where 10 air quality monitoring stations will be established by the end of 2025. Other than calculating air quality index (AQI), these stations will be equipped with equipment to study source apportionment – contribution of pollutants from different sources. Officials said that these stations will be set up in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat and Bahadurgarh – identified by the state pollution control board as the most polluted districts of Haryana. The procurement process to get equipment for these stations has commenced. Shubhansh Tiwari, a research associate at the Centre for Science and Environment stated that the HCAPSD is a significant step towards mitigating air pollution through targeted interventions across various sectors. By focusing on road dust, construction waste, vehicular emissions.
राष्ट्रीय राजधानी का औसत वायु प्रदूषण लगातार दूसरे साल बढ़ गया। वर्ष 2024 में वार्षिक पीएम 2.5 की सांद्रता बढ़कर 104.7 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति घन मीटर रही, जो 2023 के स्तर से 3.4% अधिक और राष्ट्रीय औसत से दोगुना है। वह भी तब, जबकि पंजाब, हरियाणा व दिल्ली में पराली जलाने की घटनाएं 37.5% कम हो गईं। थिंक टैंक सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) की 2024 की रिपोर्ट में दिल्ली की हवा में पार्टिकुलेट मैटर 2.5 (पीएम 2.5) के स्तर के वार्षिक रुझानों के विश्लेषण में यह निराशाजनक खुलासा हुआ। हालांकि 2024 का औसत अब भी 2018 के शिखर 115.8 माइक्रोग्राम/घन मीटर से 9.6% कम है, लेकिन यह 2021-2023 के तीन साल के औसत से 3 फीसदी अधिक है। सीएसई की अनुसंधान कार्यकारी निदेशक अनुमिता रॉय चौधरी के मुताबिक, पीएम2.5 में वृद्धि बढ़ते प्रदूषण का प्रभाव है। इससे निपटने के लिए तत्काल रणनीति बनाने की जरूरत है। पंजाब में 75, हरियाणा में 37 फीसदी कम जली पराली सीएसई रिपोर्ट में राहत की खबर यह है कि पिछले वर्ष पराली जलाने की घटनाओं में पंजाब में 75 फीसदी और हरियाणा में 37 फीसदी की गिरावट दर्ज की गई।
Climate change has is the single largest global health challenge in the 21st century. The Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate change as "a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere beyond the natural variations." A multi-country study has suggested that climate change is responsible for four lakh additional deaths each year and will contribute to seven lakh annual deaths by 2030. As per the UN, the world has endured a "decade of deadly heat", with 2024 capping 10 years of unprecedented temperatures. It is almost certain that it will exceed the Paris Agreement threshold of 1.5 degrees above the preindustrial levels of temperature for the first time. The World Meteorological Organisation has warned that the new year is likely to be worse, with the greenhouse gas levels growing to record highs. India also recorded its warmest year in 2024. It witnessed extreme weather on 255 of the 274 days of the year’s first nine months, according to the Centre for Science and Environment. The detrimental climatic factors for human health include an increase in the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, precipitation, floods and droughts. The floods in Spain, hurricanes in the US, drought in the Amazon and floods across Africa are just a few examples. In West Asia, 1,300 Haj pilgrims died due to extreme heat in 2024. High temperature is known to increase the 'ground level ozone' and 'climate altering pollutants' other than carbon dioxide. They exacerbate cardio-respiratory and allergic diseases and certain cancers. Between 2000-2004 and 2017-2021, heat-related deaths increased by 55 per cent in India. Due to heat exposure, it lost 167.2 billion potential labour hours in 2021, with income losses equivalent to 5.4 per cent of the GDP.
Hacking coughs, smogs hindering visibility, schools stopping physical classes, construction being halted for some days, private vehicles not permitted to ply on many others – residents of Delhi witnessed all this and more due to hazardous levels of air pollution in 2024. Now, a detailed analysis by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Monday (January 6) shows that the annual concentration of fine particulate matter – a major air pollutant – increased by 3.4% in 2024 in Delhi when compared to 2023. And alarmingly, this has occurred despite a huge decrease (by 71.2%) in the counts of stubble fires during the winter of 2024. This clearly points to local and regional sources of pollution, including vehicular emissions, open burning of waste and dust from construction and other sectors, causing air pollution in the national capital, the report said. Increase in levels of fine particulate matter Analysts at CSE assessed annual and seasonal trends in the concentration of fine particulate matter (or PM2.5, particulate matter that is less than 2.5 microns in diameter and is a major air pollutant that is released from sources including construction dust, emissions from thermal power plants and vehicles) between October 1 and December 31 across seven years – 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 – using real time data from 37 air quality monitoring stations in Delhi-NCR. The team found that in 2024, the annual concentration of PM2.5 increased to 104.7 µg/m3, up by 3.4% from 2023. This is more than twice the ideal levels prescribed by national standards. As per India’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 2019, the concentration of PM2.5 should ideally be no more than 40 µg/m3 annually. Delhi’s PM2.5 levels, therefore, have increased after a decline and stabilisation that the city witnessed between 2018 and 2022. The spike in the levels of PM2.5 in Delhi “cannot be seen as an annual aberration due to meteorological factors,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, in a press release on January 6. “Consistent rise indicates the impact of growing pollution in the region. Delhi seems to be losing its air quality gains from past action. Local and regional sources of pollution including vehicles, industries, open burning of waste, use of solid fuels, construction and dust sources have offset the gains – undermining the longer term progress over the past decade,” Roychowdhury said. The team also analysed fire count data sourced from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System. This revealed that farm fires – farmers setting fire to stubble after harvests in neighbouring areas including Punjab and Haryana – had declined drastically in 2024. In 2024, the total annual fire counts across Delhi, Punjab and Haryana numbered just 39,865, dropping from 63,721 in 2023 – a decline of 37.5%. Seasonal fires decreased in 2024 by an even larger margin. Between October and December, stubble fires dropped from 37,276 in 2023 to 10,712 in 2024 – a staggering 71.2% decrease. This means that the Union and Delhi governments cannot ascribe the rising pollution levels in the national capital to stubble burning anymore. article image ALSO READ Forest Cover Claims Mask Deeper Crisis: ISFR 2023 Reveals Large-Scale Forest Degradation View More “Delhi cannot hide behind the smoke screen of farm fires any more,” Roychowdhury said. “Despite a 71.2% drop in stubble fire incidents during October-December 2024, the winter pollution has remained elevated, upsetting the annual trend.” The government’s stand: 2024, a golden year for Delhi’s air Government statements, such as those made through press releases, however, paint a completely different picture. Just six days ago, a press release by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) said that air quality in Delhi has improved, as is “evident” from the “record” 209 days during the year when Delhi’s Air Quality Index remained below 200. This, as per India’s categories of air quality is ‘good’ to ‘moderate’. But first, some background to put this in perspective. What’s important to note here is that India has rather lax standards on what counts as acceptable PM2.5 levels: good (0-30 µg/m3 for a 24-hour period), satisfactory (31-60 µg/m3), moderate (61-90 µg/m3), poor (91-120 µg/m3), very poor (121-250 µg/m3) and severe (more than 250 µg/m3). As per 2019 NAAQS, the concentration of PM2.5 should ideally be no more than 60 µg/m3 for a 24-hour period (and 40 µg/m3 annually). Contrast this to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) standard that is four times more stringent: it recommends that levels of PM2.5 should be no more than 15 µg/m3 for a 24-hour period (and 5 µg/m3 annually). Now, back to the recent press release by the MoEFCC: “Continual, concerted and persistent efforts of all the stakeholders round the year also in 2024 have further helped to improve the general air quality in Delhi as is evident from a record 209 days during 2024 with the AQI falling below 200 i.e. in “good – moderate” air quality category,” the press note read. The note focused on how 2024 was seemingly a golden year for air quality in the national capital. The months of February and December witnessed the “best ever average AQI” in the city since 2018; as did the August of 2024 (except for 2020, during COVID-19 when a lot of restrictions had ensured that pollution levels were low). The city witnessed the “best ever average AQI” for the months of February and December during 2024, since 2018; and the month of August, 2024, also recorded this best ever average AQI since 2018 (barring the year of 2020). The months of March and April in 2024 also witnessed the “second best daily average AQI” since 2018 (again, barring the same months in the year 2020). “Based on gradation of the average AQI, the year 2024 witnessed the best ever “good to moderate” and the least ever “poor to severe” AQI days (barring COVID affected 2020),” the press note said. The press note blamed low wind speed conditions, as well as “exceptionally prolonged dry spells” and high-speed winds that carried fine dust and particulate matter from adjoining areas, for the “poor” AQI in the months of January, April, May and June. But despite this, the average AQI for 2024 was the second-best since 2018, barring the year 2020, the note said. What the note misses entirely, however, is the fact that even several of the government’s air quality monitors maxed out at an AQI of 500 in the month of November last year. So much so that the Central Pollution Control Board had to admit in its daily AQI bulletin on November 18 that Delhi’s AQI clocked 494 as of 4 pm on the day, with fine particulate matter being the prominent pollutant. Meanwhile, other private air quality monitoring equipment including readings by the Swiss real-time air monitoring agency IQAIR clocked AQI figures of 1113 and higher on the same day, which counts as “hazardous” air quality levels as per the US AQI levels (these, however, are calculated differently). article image ALSO READ Does Air Pollution Cause Deaths? Government Says ‘Yes’, Government Says 'No' View More The latest CSE analysis published on January 6 confirms this. Between October 1 and December 31 last year, real time data from monitoring stations in Delhi revealed a staggering 26% increase in peak pollution levels (from 580 µg/m3 in 2023 to 732 µg/m3 in 2024) when compared to the same time period in 2023, the report said. Day-wise, the city-wide peak in 2024 occurred on November 18, when pollution levels rose to 602 µg/m3. The CSE report also noted that between October and December this year, the city witnessed 17 days of severe or worse air quality which also included two extended smog incidents (defined as three consecutive days of “severe” air quality) between November 13-20 and December 16-20. This further kept the average pollution levels high in the city during the winter. “The fact, that the annual trends have risen for two consecutive years despite the decline in farm fire incidents during winter, shows much deeper systemic changes are required to cut the round the year emissions from explosive traffic, industry, open burning of waste and biomass, construction activities, use of solid fuels for cooking, and dust sources in Delhi and the surrounding region,” the report noted.
The year 2024 will mark the year when the world changed in more ways than one. Each day some part of the world was hit by extreme weather events; when a new record of heat or cold stress is made and then broken; when communities already living on the margins of survival are devastated to the point of being unable to recover from the frequent disasters. Scientists describe this as the “anthropocene epoch”, which in geological time is defined as the period when human activities have significant impacts on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. Everything that we have done for human progress — for increased well-being and wealth generation — has breached national as well as planetary boundaries. It is also the period of momentous change — in the way we behave with each other as human beings; in the global norms of what is right and what is wrong; and in the power of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, which will drive virtually everything in the next few years. We have changed the “nature” of public discourse so that we can say what we feel, even if it is vile, hateful, and destructive. We believe this is the freedom of speech that protects our democracy. But in all this, we have put our faith in the business of new-age technology. Today’s big-tech companies are all-controlling empires — they make the multinational corporations of the past look puny — as their scale of influence transcends countries and touches our lives like never before. Think of the way we consume news; the way we shop; and the way each part of our lives, wherever we live, is infused and firmly integrated into these businesses. Today, their leaders are driving change, not just in technologies and in media, but also in politics. They seek influence and as governments weaken, they get stronger. Most governments are under the illusion that they are deciding policies and that these are still in the public interest. The fact is, governments have ceded that space to big consultancies, investment banks, and private businesses. The public space is now privatised. It is not that democracy is dead, but that it has been fundamentally modified by this nexus of business and the consuming classes — you and me. Today our world is more insecure and more anxious as each super-cycle of cataclysmic change is feeding the other. We live in an increasingly inequitable world where the rich have gotten richer and the poor poorer. This, combined with bad governance, climate change, and resource squeeze, is leading to more migration, as desperate people seek new opportunities. All these add fuel to the anger and insecurity, which then make democracy prey to hateful and polarised rhetoric in this age of big technology, controlled by new business leaders with superpowers. This anger is not confined to the poor in the world. The rich feel betrayed — or at least this is how they perceive it. When the world moved to stitch up economies in the 1990s, it was the poor that were most worried about the loss of jobs. Today, the situation has reversed. It is the workers in the already rich world that have been left out of the new economies. They are turning against what they call the “educated elite and the experts”, who have benefited from the service and financial economy of this interconnected world. The worst outcome of this class war is the rejection of ideas. People see knowledge as tainted and compromised, and feeding private interests — also an outcome of the way we have organised the world’s information and business systems. This, then, means that what is in the public interest, like climate change, is also viewed with suspicion and, now with the second coming of Donald Trump, with rejection. This is also where economy, climate change, and politics intersect. When the world moved towards interconnected economies it was believed that it would lead to a prosperous and safer world order; countries would not attack one another because they would be driven by the self-interest of cooperation. But the real reason for moving industry was to reduce the cost of labour and environmental safeguards. It was too expensive to manufacture if these costs had to be paid. This meant that production moved and so did emission. We know that from the carbon dioxide balance sheet of countries as China became the world’s manufacturer with others joining it. Today, as the world needs a green transition, it faces new realities. The production of all things green is still cheaper in the “other” world, China in particular. Mr Trump has promised a trade war to bring back business to his country. But this will add costs, financial and environmental, as the world is just too integrated and interconnected on its trade to disengage easily. It will also derail the momentum for a low-carbon economy as what is green is foreign-made and so must be shunned. This is why at the beginning of the epoch of climate change when the world moved into a different reality, we must plan for a different tomorrow. We cannot be prisoners of yesterday. We must be vanguards of a new dawn, a new promise, but with the reality of the mistakes of our era. Otherwise, we will squander away coming decades to nothingness — all into a vortex of spiralling climate-change impacts. This is what we must change. The writer is at the Centre for Science and Environment sunita@cseindia.org, X: @sunitanar
Private tutor Dahlia Sen Joshi visits several houses daily in Vasant Kunj, an upscale neighbourhood in south Delhi, and relies on her trustworthy Renault Kiger, a small sport utility vehicle. But this comes with a nagging problem – finding a space to park her car. Vasant Kunj is mostly made up of gated compounds with multi-storey blocks of flats, but no designated space for residents to park their cars. They do so on internal roads and empty spaces – an informal “first-come-first-served” arrangement in a place where families often have more than one car. This makes it nearly impossible for visitors such as Mrs Sen Joshi, 50, to park their cars here. “The level of aggression of people has grown so much that if you park in their place, even for an hour, they’ll scratch your car, slash your tyres or smash your windows,” she told The Straits Times. Instead, she parks outside the compounds and walks several hundred metres to her students’ homes. It is a wise call in a city that has seen a spike in parking-related fights, a worrying trend that other big Indian cities have also witnessed in recent years. Rising private vehicle ownership, residential construction without the creation of adequate parking space and mismanagement of existing parking facilities have made parking in Indian cities a potential risk to one’s life and limb. Social media in India is replete with videos of Indians fighting over parking. In one of the most-watched clips from 2023, an elderly man wielding a stick in Delhi rains blows on another man in a parking dispute. In March 2024, a couple in Bengaluru were assaulted by a family for parking their car in an open space opposite the family’s house. And in Mumbai, India’s most densely populated city, even parking one’s two-wheelers can invite death. In December 2024, a 41-year-old man was beaten to death with iron rods after he parked his scooter in front of the assailant’s shop. Cities across the country have seen a surge in private vehicle ownership as public transport remains inadequate. As at March 2023, Delhi had 7.94 million vehicles, with 1,800 vehicles being added to the capital’s roads daily. “Delhi simply cannot sustain these many cars,” said Mr Shubham Srivastava, programme officer for sustainable mobility at Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based non-profit. “All these vehicles obviously need a parking space, and residents cannot park inside their own homes. So the cars are taking up scarce urban space, leading to fights.” It is common to find residents in Delhi barricading the space in front of their house on public streets – a spot that technically belongs to everyone – with flower pots or other objects to obstruct others from parking their vehicles there. Some even put up aggressive posters on their gates, threatening to deflate the tyres of cars parked outside their houses. According to the latest available data, the police in Delhi registered 7,328 calls reporting violent disputes over parking between Jan 1 and Oct 25, 2023, more than the total of such calls received in the previous two years. This problem of parking has become more acute in the last two decades as the populations of Delhi and other big cities have grown exponentially with people migrating from other parts of the country. In Delhi, the 2001 population was recorded at 13.85 million and is now estimated to be more than 20 million. This increase in population has led to a construction spree in the city that has unfolded with little foresight. Single-storey homes have been replaced with multi-storied flats on the same plot of land, each floor housing separate families that own at least a car or two each, with no parking space developed for additional cars. Mr Shiv Kumar Sharma, a 48-year-old finance professional, lived in one such congested neighbourhood of Delhi as a tenant, for over a decade. The first house did not have an allocated space for a tenant’s car, forcing him to park outside the gated compound on a public road. This proved unsafe as his small hatchback’s battery was stolen four times, a common occurrence, he said, with others as well. So when Mr Sharma bought a bigger car – a Toyota Camry – in 2021, he first changed his house to one that has parking earmarked for the tenant as well. “A safe parking spot was my main consideration when I was looking for my house,” he said. In 2011, Delhi made it mandatory for all new buildings with an area between 100 sq m and 1,000 sq m to have stilt parking, enabling cars to be parked on the ground floor, which is called first floor in Singapore. But Mr Atul Goyal, president of United Residents Joint Action of Delhi, a body that represents over 2,500 resident welfare associations in the city, said this rule is not fully enforced. It is time for “drastic action”, he told ST, including a rule that limits the number of vehicles per family in Delhi. The development of multi-level carparks in commercial areas has also been slow, and many existing ones are poorly maintained. Vehicle owners in Delhi mostly park their vehicles for free on roadsides and other public spots near their homes, encroaching space meant for pedestrians and other public uses. A 2018 proposal to charge residents who park on roadsides was removed because of public opposition. Ms Sonal Shah, executive director of the Centre for Sustainable and Equitable Cities, a not-for-profit that focuses on sustainable urban development, said there was “a big lack of political will to manage parking demand” in India. She suggested that cities begin “pricing of streets (including in residential areas) so that no one thinks that a public street is free to park on”. “We need to remove the idea from people’s minds that parking is free and that it is my birthright,” she told ST. Enforcement of parking rules, such as those that prevent encroachment of footpaths and other no-parking zones, is also very poor, she added, creating a culture where “parking is accommodated first and not pedestrian infrastructure and public transport infrastructure”. “Improving enforcement could really begin to change public behaviour as well, along with pricing,” added Ms Shah. Debarshi Dasgupta is The Straits Times’ India Correspondent, covering the country as well as other parts of South Asia for the paper.
As a new year begins, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has released an assessment of annual trends in levels of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the air of Delhi in 2024 – and the findings are dark. The assessment shows “persistent and consistent rise for a second consecutive year since 2022”. The annual PM2.5 concentration has increased to 104.7 microgramme per cubic metre (µg/m³) in 2024 — a 3.4 per cent rise from 2023 levels. This is also more than twice the national ambient air quality standard of 40 µg/m³. The PM2.5 levels have increased after consistent decline and stabilisation between 2018 and 2022, says the CSE assessment. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE says: “This cannot be seen as an annual aberration due to meteorological factors. Consistent rise indicates the impact of growing pollution in the region. Delhi seems to be losing its air quality gains from past action. Local and regional sources of pollution including vehicles, industries, open burning of waste, use of solid fuels, construction and dust sources have offset the gains — undermining the longer term progress over the past decade.” She adds: “Delhi cannot hide behind the smoke screen of farm fires any more. Despite a 71.2 per cent drop in stubble fire incidents during the October-December 2024, the winter pollution has remained elevated, upsetting the annual trend.” “Real-time data from Delhi’s monitoring stations for the winter period (October 1-December 31) reveals a troubling 26 per cent surge in peak pollution levels compared to the previous year during the early phase of winter. The city has experienced 17 days of severe or worse air quality, alongside two extended smog episodes with average smog intensity of 371 µg/m³ and 324 µg/m³, respectively. This has kept the average levels elevated,” says Sharanjeet Kaur, programme officer with CSE’s Urban Lab. The methodology This is an assessment of annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentrations for the period October 1 to December 31 for the seven years from 2018 till 2024. This analysis is based on the real time data available from the current working air quality monitoring stations in Delhi-NCR. A huge volume of data points have been cleaned and data gaps have been addressed for this analysis, based on the USEPA method. It covers 37 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi. Fire count data has been sourced from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System, specifically the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) product. Key highlights Delhi’s air quality worsens in 2024 — annual PM2.5 levels shows an upward trend: Delhi’s annual PM2.5 levels have shown fluctuations over the years, with 2020 standing out as an exceptionally clean year due to the pandemic-induced lockdown that caused significant reductions in emissions. However, this improvement has not been sustained, and 2024 marks a concerning trend. In 2024, the city’s annual PM2.5 levels rose to 104.7 µg/m³, marking a 3.4 per cent increase compared to 2023 and standing at 2.6 times higher than the national annual standard of 40 µg/m³. While the 2024 average is still 9.6 per cent lower than the 2018 peak of 115.8 µg/m³, it is 3 per cent higher than the three-year average of 2021-2023, indicating a gradual reversal of earlier gains. Delhi’s winter air pollution stagnates, peak levels surge by 26 per cent in 2024: Delhi’s city-wide winter PM2.5 average for the October-December 2024 stood at 178.3 µg/m³, a level consistent with the average since large-scale monitoring began in 2018-19. This season’s average was 0.2 per cent lower than the 2019 winter average, but 4.6 per cent higher than the three-year winter average (2021-2023), based on data from 37 monitoring stations across the city. However, a troubling trend emerges in peak pollution levels. The citywide winter peak for 2024 soared to 732 µg/m³, marking a 26 per cent jump compared to last year’s peak of 580 µg/m³. The city-wide peak this year stood at 602 µg/m³, recorded on November 18, 2024. The worst station-level peak this season was 9 per cent lower than the highest ever recorded — at 806 µg/m³ during the 2018 winter. Two major smog episodes this winter: As is the global practice, at least three continuous days of severe AQI is considered a smog episode. During previous winters such episodes have been recorded lasting six-10 days. This winter, two major smog episodes were recorded from November 13-20 – about eight days, and from December 16-20 – about four days. The average daily intensity of this smog stood at 371 µg/m³ and 324 µg/m3, respectively. Trends in good and bad air days: In 2024, approximately 121 days met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, a trend similar to 2019, when the second-worst annual average was recorded at 109.1 µg/m³. However, there has been a noticeable decline in the number of good air quality days, dropping from 152 days in 2023 to 121 this year. Annually, while the number of “good” air quality days increased slightly from 25 in 2023 to 29 in 2024, this improvement was overshadowed by a marginal rise in the combined numbers of overall “very poor” or worse category days including “severe” and “severe-plus” categories, which climbed from 107 in 2023 to 111 days this year. During the winter months (October to December), there were five days of “satisfactory” air quality — up from three days recorded in the previous two years; but there were no “good” air quality days. Meanwhile, the number of days categorised as “poor” and “very poor” remained unchanged at 57, reflecting no progress in air quality during this critical period. Variations in pollution level among city’s stations remain significant: This winter, only eight out of 37 CAAQMS (stations) showed improvement in their seasonal averages compared to the last three years. The most notable improvements were observed at DTU and NSIT Dwarka, which recorded 26 per cent and 22 per cent lower seasonal averages, respectively, compared to the mean of the previous three winters. On the other hand, three stations — North Campus, Okhla Phase 2 and Jahangirpuri — showed no change in their seasonal averages. CRRI Mathura Road (22 per cent), Aya Nagar (17 per cent), Ashok Vihar and Vivek Vihar (each 15 per cent) and Pusa IMD (14 per cent) were the top five stations that recorded an increase in seasonal PM2.5 levels compared to previous winters. The seasonal averages ranged from 97 µg/m³ at DTU to 226 µg/m³ at Wazirpur, with Anand Vihar emerging as the second most polluted location in the city, recording a seasonal average of 224 µg/m³. Farm stubble fires this winter about half of last winter: Farm stubble burning is widely regarded as a major contributor to elevated PM2.5 levels during the early winter months. However, this year a noticeable improvement has been reported, with the number of fire incidents in Punjab and Haryana declining significantly compared to previous years. Says Kaur: “VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) data reveals a significant decline in fire counts across Punjab and Haryana during the critical October-December period in 2024 compared to 2023. The overall annual fire counts in three states (Delhi, Punjab and Haryana) have also shown a notable reduction.” In 2024, the total annual fire counts (Delhi, Punjab and Haryana) dropped from 63,721 in 2023 to 39,865, marking a decline of 37.5 per cent. The seasonal fire activity during October-December saw an even steeper reduction, from 37,276 in 2023 to 10,712 in 2024 — a remarkable 71.2 per cent decrease. Punjab, a significant contributor to fire events, recorded a substantial 75 per cent decline in fire counts during the October-December period, dropping from 33,737 in 2023 to 8,449 in 2024. This improvement is reflected in the annual figures as well, which fell by 45.3 per cent, from 54,956 in 2023 to 30,081 in 2024. Haryana demonstrated a 37 per cent reduction in fire incidents during the October-December period, with fire counts decreasing from 3,479 in 2023 to 2,189 in 2024; but the annual fire counts increased slightly from 8,576 in 2023 to 9,532 in 2024. However, there have been observations from different authorities that the area affected by burning could have been large. The takeaways CSE researchers point out that this 2024 round-up assessment of annual PM2.5 trends has come as a resounding warning about the heightened risk from rising air pollution levels and loss of air quality gains from past action. Delhi could have stabilised annual PM2.5 levels since 2018 (if the existing air quality monitors are considered) and could have even recorded a declining trend since 2013 (if the oldest five stations are considered) if it would have implemented the directives of the Supreme Court on energy transition in transport and industry sectors. Roychowdhury says that the action has to “move much beyond reactive emergency measures during winter. The fact that annual trends have risen for two consecutive years despite the decline in farm fire incidents during winter, shows much deeper systemic changes are required to cut the round-the-year emissions from a variety of sources in Delhi and the surrounding region”. It is now more important for Delhi to provide the details with respect to the scale of the problem in each sector, gaps in action, targets to be achieved in each sector along with the strategies, and the resources to be mobilised to enable implementation with a strong compliance framework, says the CSE assessment.
Delhi's PM2.5 levels continue to rise, marking a second straight year of worsening air quality despite a significant reduction in stubble burning incidents across the northern regions of India, according to new findings from the Centre for Science and Environment. The think tank's report reveals a 3.4 percent increase in Delhi's annual PM2.5 concentration for 2024, reaching 104.7 microgrammes per cubic metre—more than doubling the national ambient air quality standard. This indicates that regional and urban pollution sources have offset earlier environmental improvements. Experts urge action, as Delhi recorded two major smog episodes this winter, displaying the ongoing pollution challenges despite a noteworthy 71.2 percent drop in stubble fires. The troubling trend suggests the impact of local emissions from vehicles, industries, and open burning.