• Climate Change and Green Economy

At UN climate summit, India to flex its negotiating muscles

The key priority for India at the upcoming U.N. climate conference will be how to pay for the transition away from fossil fuels for energy and industries to meet temperature limit targets, according to a senior official who'll be part of the negotiations. As countries gathered in Scotland were crystallizing their pledges at last year's United Nations climate conference, India used its might to intervene. Along with China, India took issue with the draft deal's suggestion to “phase out” coal, preferring the wording, “phase down." After much back and forth and hurried discussions between leaders, Bhupendra Yadav, India’s minister for environment, forests, and climate change, read out the final version. It said that nations should work toward a “phase down” of coal power. The intervention was, for India's government, a success. Now the country is expected to exercise its influence yet again to look out for its own interests at the upcoming U.N. climate conference in Egypt, known as COP27. “India has always played a key role in climate negotiations and I think Egypt will be the same,” said Navroz Dubash, a lead author of various U.N. climate reports and a long-time observer of climate policy and governance. Indian leaders say the nation requires billions of dollars to enable its clean energy transition and will push for better financing for developing countries at the summit. India has made many of its carbon emission goals conditional on receiving this financial help. Being both a climate vulnerable as well as a high emitting country, experts say India occupies a unique position on the global climate policy negotiating table. About 80% of India’s population live in regions highly vulnerable to extreme disasters like severe flooding or heat waves, according to a 2021 study by the climate think-tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water based in New Delhi. Meanwhile, the nation is currently the world's third biggest emitter of carbon dioxide behind China and the U.S., according to latest estimates. A key issue for India at COP27 will be how to finance both adapting to climate change and limiting fossil fuel emissions, according to a senior Indian government official who will be involved in the negotiations. The official, from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, responded to written questions from The Associated Press. The official was not named, keeping in line with ministry protocols. India wants the $100 billion-a-year pledge of climate funds for developing countries, a promise made in 2009 that hasn’t yet been fulfilled despite being two years past its deadline, to be assessed, according to the official. Other questions around financing, such as what happens to climate funding in the long term, what contributions rich countries will make to poorer ones and how to make finance flows consistent with global temperature limit goals, also need to be addressed, they added. No other country will see a bigger increase in energy demand than India in the coming years, and it is estimated that the nation will need $223 billion to meet its 2030 clean energy targets. “India has made it adequately clear that it is the historical responsibility of rich countries to provide the necessary climate funding,” said the senior Indian government official. Historically, it is the U.S. and European nations that have contributed the most carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. Estimates for how much it will cost to move to clean energy and industry practices globally and help vulnerable communities adapt vary, but are in the trillions of dollars. Leading up to COP27, India had announced its new climate plan saying the country will aim to achieve half of its energy requirements from non-fossil fuel-based energy sources by the year 2030. Currently, about 42% of the total electricity of the country is generated from non-fossil fuel sources. “The investments in renewable energy, though on an upward trend, need significant scaling up. There is a funding gap. This gap needs to met by international climate public financing to attract investors in the renewable energy domain,” said the Indian government official. "The raised ambitions and new goals for tackling climate change could all be in vain if adequate financial support is not provided to developing countries.” Despite their ambitious climate plans, India is also investing more in coal, at least in the short-term. In the last two years alone, the Indian government has announced around $50 billion in forthcoming public and private investment in coal. Compensation for poor countries from rich, high-polluting nations for the destruction caused by climate change, known as “loss and damage” in climate negotiations will be a key agenda item for many developing countries, including India. According to the World Bank, 750 million people in South Asia have been affected by at least one natural disaster in the past two decades. These disasters are expected to become more frequent and intense, potentially creating immense loss and damage in the region. The NGO Germanwatch has ranked India seventh among countries most affected by extreme weather in 2019, noting that massive floods that year caused damage of around $10 billion, claiming 1,800 lives and displacing around 1.8 million people. "I think it’s a real challenge for India to position itself” on loss and damage, said Dubash, who's also a professor at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. “I think it would be an important moment for India to signal its allegiance with vulnerable countries,” Long term observers of climate diplomacy say India, like many other countries, is straddling climate goals and boosting standards of living. “There are some groups of countries which tend to think that all the financing for fossil fuels should be stopped and should be restricted. The problem with this, among other things, is that it ignores the efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals that many countries are making," said RR Rashmi, a distinguished fellow at The Energy Research Institute in New Delhi. He added that moving away from fossil fuels “has to be a country driven process. It is best left to them to decide which sectors to address first rather than addressing it globally.” Many observers say this year's conference will be "in-between COP," as many of the deadlines set for climate change goals have either passed or are not due until later years. This makes the conference "a good moment to push forward the issues that the developed world typically sideline, like loss and damage, climate finance and adaptation,” said Avantika Goswami, a climate policy researcher at the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi. For the most part, experts say India is keeping its cards close to its chest. India will have to balance “what the country is willing to put on the table in terms of pledges, policies, and commitments” and how much they are willing to spend, said Dubash. “So we (India) don’t want to do something that would lock ourselves into something costly unless there’s a promise of finance.”

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Delhi CM visits Ghazipur garbage dump, lashes out at civic body

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday lashed out at municipal authorities over towering mountains of garbage that scar the city and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) controlled bodies of failing to clean up the Capital, indicating that the festering garbage problem will be a key electoral issue in the upcoming civic polls. Speaking at the foot of the Ghazipur landfill site, Kejriwal also promised that if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the next civic polls, it will clean up the city in five years. “People living several kilometres around these mountains have to suffer due to the stench. The situation is similar in every nook and corner of the city; there is garbage everywhere. Over the last 15 years, this is the BJP’s real achievement,” said Kejriwal, flanked by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and other AAP legislators. The BJP, in response, accused Kejriwal of making baseless allegations to divert attention from its “poor record” of controlling air and water pollution in Delhi. Spokespersons from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) did not respond to requests seeking comment. Kejriwal also countered Union home minister Amit Shah’s allegations – made during inaugurating a waste-to-energy plant in Tughlaqabad last week -- that the Delhi government was withholding ₹40,000 crore from the civic body. Kejriwal said the civic body spent ₹2 lakh crore in 15 years. Of this, he said, ₹1 lakh crore came from the Delhi government. “Whose money was it?...They should give us an account of those funds first,” he said. The dispute over funds allocation for the MCDs stems from the unique constitutional position of Delhi which is a Union Territory with a legislative assembly, the trifurcation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in 2012 and the flow of grants from the Centre to the Delhi government. While the Delhi government consistently claims that it had paid all dues to the erstwhile three BJP-ruled MCDs, the municipal functionaries have held protests and dharnas blaming the AAP dispensation for owning corporation owes thousands of crores to the civic bodies. “Shah abused me and alleged that the Delhi government did not give money to MCD but I want to ask him how much they have given to the civic bodies since the BJP formed government at the Centre,” he said. Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said Kejriwal was trying to divert attention. “He should tell people what he has done to clean landfill sites, Yamuna, or the city’s air. If everything has to be done by courts and NGT, then what is the Delhi government’s role,” he asked. Elections to the newly constituted Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are likely to be held later this year or early next year.The delimitation process for the exercise is already complete and notified. The AAP is looking to wrest power from the BJP after 15 years has focused on management of sanitation, waste and cleanliness as key issues. The BJP, which controlled all three of the erstwhile civic bodies in Delhi, has stressed its record on advancements made in processing garbage. A particularly fractious issue is that of garbage. The Capital generates around 11,000 tonnes of garbage every day, over 40% of which is dumped at overflowing landfill sites in Ghazipur (the biggest of the three), Bhalswa and Okhla. Deadlines set by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for the civic body to flatten the three waste mountains, which pose several health risks such as nausea, eye irritation and are major eyesores, have been extended and missed multiple times.Delhi has constantly fared poorly on annual sanitation rankings.The low levels of waste segregation in households remains a major concern as well. During his visit to Ghazipur, Kejriwal said the BJP’s “misgovernance” was at fault for the rise of the landfills. “In cities like London, Paris, Tokyo, you visit tourist places and enjoy the clean environment. But in the case of our city, people have to bear these garbage mountains. BJP has shamed us. They have provided nothing but garbage in these last 15 years,” he added. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor pointed out that NGT earlier this month fined the state government ₹900 crore for failing to remediate and manage its municipal solid waste at the three landfills. QUOTE The CM’s visit was preceded by a protest by BJP supporters and a counter demonstration by AAP members, which culminated in a tussle between the two groups. Even as the police attempted to keep the two groups apart, the row led to a snarl on the NH-24. Referring to the protests, the CM said the BJP was “ashamed” of its work. “While I was trying to come to this site, BJP workers tried to stop me by protesting. We will not protest if BJP leaders come to see our schools and hospitals, then why are you ashamed to showcase your work?” he added. He implored BJP supporters to vote for the AAP in the civic elections. “All they do is abuse me. They are only concerned about money. We have to win hearts. I am a magician and I know how to win hearts. We will work through the happiness and sorrows of the people and will win their hearts. The Congress has been reduced to zero in Delhi and soon there a day will come when BJP will become zero too. In future all BJP supporters will come to join the AAP,” he said. Kejriwal also reiterated his party’s allegation that BJP plans to create 16 more landfill sites -- a charge that the MCD and BJP have denied. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor accused him of spreading falsehoods. “Either they should prove the allegation that MCD is proposing to build 16 new landfill sites in Delhi or apologise to the people of Delhi,” he said. The AAP and BJP have clashed on the issue of sanitation before. On October 20, Shah accused the AAP of “second-class behaviour” towards the municipal corporation by withholding funds worth ₹40,000 crore to render it dysfunctional. “They were unified because you (Kejriwal) stopped funds of ₹40,000 crore by meting out second-class behaviour. Was it not the Delhi government’s responsibility to provide these funds,” Shah said. At the landfill, Sisodia said, “BJP’s only achievement over the last 15 years is to crush Delhi under three large landfill sites. They have filled Delhi with garbage. People’s lives have been turned into hell due to insanitation and diseases.” Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary said that neither the AAP nor BJP have solutions to Delhi’s problems. Commenting on Delhi’s poor performance on sanitation parameters, Siddharth Singh, programme manager of Environmental Governance and Solid Waste Management at Centre for Science and Environment, said, “Besides some pockets where source segregation of waste is taking place, it has not been adopted at wider level. Segregation is mostly done by informal sector and even the door-to-door collection is not up to the mark. Half of the 11,500 tons of waste Delhi generates ends up in dumpsites. Delhi needs to work on its basics. Burning waste in waste to energy plants and sending it to dumpsites is not waste processing,” Singh said.

• Rural Water-Waste Management

Explained: Why Yamuna froths with toxic foam year after year

The Yamuna on Thursday was seen frothing with thick, white foam. Ahead of this year’s Chhath Puja celebrations, let’s examine why it remains one of India’s most polluted rivers The Yamuna is frothing over again with toxic foam covering sections of the river near Kalindi Kunj. The development comes ahead of Chhath Puja which will be celebrated on 30 and 31 October and which involves the offering of ‘arghya’ to the Sun god by fasting women in knee-deep water. On Wednesday, Delhi lieutenant-governor Vinai Kumar Saxena gave his nod to hold Chhath Puja at designated ghats on the Yamuna and urged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to ensure clean ghats and water for devotees. “Chhath Puja will be celebrated like before on the ghats of Yamuna. Orders have been given to all the officers that all arrangements be made to ensure that Yamuna is not polluted,” Kejriwal said. Kejriwal visited the Ghazipur on Thursday and said the upcoming MCD polls will be fought on the garbage issue as he promised to clean Delhi in five years if his AAP wins the civic body election. Let’s take a look at what causes it and why this is a recurring problem: According to Weather.com, it is triggered by industries discharging effluents containing a high concentration of ammonia and phosphate. Some illegal jeans-making units even dump chemical waste — mainly the substances used to dye denim — in the holy river. As per IndiaTimes, domestic wastewater, idol immersion, pesticide residue, untreated sewage are some of the other sources of pollution. While only two per cent of the river flows through Delhi, the city is responsible for about 76 per cent of its total pollution. Lead, plaster of paris (POP) and chrome paints used in making the idols also pollute the water. Polythene bags, decoration items, metal polishes also add to the pollution, The frothing itself is formed by phosphates in the river, Sushmita Sengupta, Senior Programme Manager of the Water Programme at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) told Indian Express. Surfactants and phosphates from detergents in households and industrial laundry find their way into the river, as all the sewage is not treated, Sengupta said. According to the newspaper, an August 2020 report noted that foam forms downstream of the ITO and Okhla barrages. The water falling after discharge from the Okhla barrage causes the surfactants and foaming agents present in the wastewater or in the sludge on the river bed to get agitated, thus forming foam, as per the website. The Centre had earlier this month set up a joint committee of stakeholders, including NMCG, Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB), UP Irrigation Department, Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Irrigation and Flood Control, Delhi and Delhi Pollution Control Committee to oversee and coordinate efforts to control and minimize the froth formation downstream of Okhla Barrage in Yamuna during Chhat Puja. Why does it froth around this time? The frothing is at its peak around this time every year because of a combination of the around 3,500 million litres of untreated effluents released into the river every year and the river flow dropping below minimum levels from November to March, as per Weather.com. As per the website, exposure to this toxic foam could cause skin allergies, irritation, and different types of skin pigmentation, including vitiligo and autoimmune diseases. It could even cause skin cancer and contagious viral warts in severe cases. Ingesting this foam could result in gastrointestinal problems and diseases such as typhoid, tuberculosis, neurological issues and hormonal imbalance. Last year, pictures and videos showing devotees offering prayers in the froth-filled Yamuna on Chhath Puja had triggered a political slugfest between the AAP and the BJP, prompting the Delhi government to take measures like installing bamboo nets and sprinkling water to dissipate froth. Last June, the DPCC banned the sale, storage and transportation of soaps and detergents not conforming to the quality standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), as per Indian Express.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Delhi saw cleanest air quality post-Deepavali in seven years: CPCB

The national capital on Tuesday witnessed the cleanest air quality on the day after Deepavali in the past seven years, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. Though people across the city violated a ban and burst firecrackers on Deepavali night, leading to a main pollutant rising up to 10-17 times, the permissible limit in different parts of the city, the air quality improved with time due to favourable meteorological conditions, according to experts. Better air quality this year is also because the air quality on the day before Deepavali (Sunday) this year was the cleanest recorded in Delhi a day before Deepavali in the last seven years. Flourish logoA Flourish chart Every year, Delhi experiences extreme air pollution during winter due to internal and external factors, including stubble burning in neighbouring States. Rise and fall As people burst firecrackers, the level of PM2.5 — a major pollutant — on Monday night and early hours of Tuesday rose, but it gradually fell as the day progressed, shows Delhi Pollution Control Board (DPCB) data. PM2.5 (Particulate matter 2.5) are fine inhalable particles, which can get into lungs and bloodstream and lead to a range of respiratory and other diseases. For instance, the PM2.5 level in Okhla at 12 a.m. on Tuesday was 1,042 ug/m3 — 17 times the permissible value of 60 ug/m3. It was 964 ug/m3 in Jahangirpuri at 11 p.m. on Monday and 616 ug/m3 at Anand Vihar at 12 a.m. on Tuesday. But they all fell as the day progressed. Why better? Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, said the air quality was better as Deepavali happened early this year, when conditions are comparatively warmer and windier, which aid dispersion of pollutants. “Generally, as temperature drops, wind speed also drops. As wind speed drops, pollutants are not effectively dispersed and this leads to accumulation of pollutants,” she said. Also Read Delhi saw cleanest air quality post-Deepavali in seven years: CPCB As temperature drops, the mixing height also tends to reduce. Mixing depth is the height, measured from the surface of the earth, up to which pollutants can be dispersed in the atmosphere. During summers, the mixing height is generally higher. “When wind speed falls and mixing height lowers at the same time, air gets trapped and this leads to a higher pollution. But this year as it was warmer, the wind speed was better and mixing height was also not so low. That is why though firecrackers were burst, there was dispersion of pollutants and it did not lead to a build up,” she said. A DPCB analysis also stated that the better air quality was due to faster winds and higher temperature among other factors. Stubble burning Also, the effect of stubble burning in neighbouring States on the air quality of Delhi was “meagre” on Tuesday, according to the Central government-run monitoring agency SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research). Also Read Delhiites working hard but still a long way to go: Kejriwal on Delhi pollution The expert said the spike in PM2.5 levels at night had a direct connection with firecrackers being burst on Monday. About possible spikes in air pollution this winter, she said, “We could now see a spike in air pollution when stubble burning spikes and also in December-January when temperature drops drastically.” The air quality is likely to get better on Wednesday and Thursday, as per SAFAR.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Spike in Delhi pollution as winter spiral begins

The air quality in Delhi plummeted to its worst levels since January as smoke from smouldering paddy fields in Punjab and Haryana drifted in, marking the beginning of what has been an annual environmental blight that is only predicted to worsen, with more farm fires likely and unhelpful meteorological conditions predicted to persist. The air quality index (AQI) slumped from an uncharacteristically clean 271 on Wednesday to 354 on Thursday, according to the 4pm bulletins released on both days by the Central Pollution Control Board. An AQI above 300 is considered “very poor” – the second worst band on the AQI scale. At least two regions in the city, Anand Vihar and Ashok Vihar, had an AQI above 400, which lies in the worst “severe” band. “Wind speeds have dropped significantly from October 26 onwards and we are seeing calm wind conditions at night time. Delhi saw calm wind conditions for nearly seven hours between 4.30am to 11.30am on Thursday, with this spell playing a significant role in accumulation of pollutants,” said RK Jenamani, scientist at IMD. This was Delhi’s highest AQI in over 10 months; on January 21, it was 365. Forecasts show similar calm conditions are expected to prevail until the end of the month now, largely keeping Delhi’s air quality in the “very poor” category. According to officials in Punjab, roughly about 8,100 farm fires have been recorded till now – 20% higher than what was recorded until October 27 last year, indicating a failure on the part of the state government to stem the tide – and a sharper spike is expected in the coming weeks since farmers in the south Malwa belt of the state, where farm fires are widespread, are only now beginning to clear their fields. Major rice-producing districts such Bathinda, Moga, Mansa, Muktsar and Faridkot have recorded only 20-40% harvesting, said an official of the state agriculture department on Thursday. In the last four of the five years, the number of fires in south Malwa accounted for close to 50% of the fires recorded in Punjab. Behind the deterioration in Delhi’s air quality was the perfect storm of conditions: the direction of winds changed to northwesterly that fed in a stream of smoke from fires, the number of fires itself spiked in recent days, local winds weakened that help blow away dust and tailpipe gases died down, and the temperature dipped, creating an “inversion” effect that causes pollutants to settle closer to the ground, instead of being dispersed higher into the sky. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said when the farm fire impact begins to be felt more strongly, “the AQI could considerably worsen. Till now, Delhi was seeing good wind speed, which was controlling the pollution levels. As soon as winds become calm, local emissions are enough to cause the AQI to reach ‘very poor’,” she said.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

What is thermal inversion and how does it affect air pollution in Delhi?

During thermal or temperature inversion, cool air gets trapped closer to the surface under a layer of warm air. This phenomenon along with reduced wind speeds in winter leads to the concentration of pollutants in the air Winter in Delhi is known for bad air quality, often leading to a surge in health issues. After recording the cleanest day post-Diwali in years, the National Capital’s air quality again deteriorated to “very poor” on Thursday (27 October) with an air quality index (AQI) of 354, which is the worst since January this year. As the wind direction has changed to northwesterly, Delhi is expected to log “very poor” AQI in the coming days, say weather experts. “The winds had been mostly calm, so pollutants have accumulated in the atmosphere. The current pollution is mostly from local emissions, but fire counts in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana are increasing significantly. Over the last two days, there have been more than 1,200 fire counts,” said VK Soni, senior weather scientist at India Meteorological Department (IMD), told Times of India (TOI). Soni also said that even though its share is less, farm fires are expected to account for around 10 per cent of Delhi’s pollution. While stubble burning, vehicular emissions and dust contribute to the toxic air in Delhi, factors such as change in weather conditions, temperature inversion, and wind direction also play a major role in the surge in pollution levels during winter. What is the temperature or thermal inversion that affects Delhi in winter? How does it cause pollution in the National Capital? Let’s take a look. Thermal inversion Under normal conditions, the higher the altitude the lesser the temperature. But this phenomenon can change due to changes in weather and even topography. Temperature or thermal inversion is when the temperature increases along with the higher altitude. The cool air gets “capped” close to the surface under a layer of a warm layer. The cap is a layer of relatively warm air aloft (above the inversion). Air parcels rising into this layer become cooler than the surrounding environment, which inhibits their ability to ascend,” says US’ National Weather Service. The phenomenon mostly occurs in winter when “mist and fog become trapped in the cooler air low down”, but inversions can happen throughout the year, says Met Office, United Kingdom’s national weather service. How thermal inversion affects pollution? As warm air rises, the air under the inversion cannot escape as it is cooler, and thus, it traps the pollutants closer to the ground, instead of dispersing them higher in the atmosphere. It usually happens when the sky is clear and the wind is light and calm. With a dip in temperature, the inversion height– the layer beyond which pollutants cannot diffuse into the upper layer of the atmosphere – is lowered, as per Indian Express. The layer with “higher temperature acts as a cover on the colder air that is in contact with the ground and in which pollutants concentrate. This situation gives rise to the smog or “pollution beret”, visible from several kilometers around and that usually takes prepared with a descent in the levels of air quality,” as per Envira IOT website. This temperature inversion affects the pollution levels in Delhi every year during winter. Additional Director General of India Meteorological Department (IMD) Anand Sharma, told India Today that as temperature declines in Delhi, thermal inversion will make air quality worse as then “the pollutants will refuse to disperse and the mixing height also comes down”. Besides temperature inversion in the National Capital, the dip in wind speed during winter also leads to the concentration of pollutants in the air. “There’s nothing new about the winter pollution situation of Delhi, NCR and entire northern India at this time because North India is land-locked and every year this mix of weather conditions and pollution results in smog,” Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), told Outlook last year.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Diwali was cleaner but there’s no reason to celebrate, say experts

The poor air quality in the National Capital Region this year, as opposed to the severe air quality in previous years, is little reason to celebrate as the tide could turn any moment, especially if farm fires, which had a low count in the runup to Diwali, go up. Favourable weather conditions spared Delhi-NCR of the worst of the post-Diwali smog this year but there’s no reason to cheer, warn environmental experts. The pollution menace is very much alive and kicking, and only long-term measures and proper execution of rules can help alleviate the annual air-quality emergency, experts say. The reasons behind Delhi-NCR’s pollution — now a pan-north India issue that leaves people gasping for fresh air every winter — are now known to all. The triggers include post-harvest stubble burning by farmers; vehicular pollution; biomass, solid fuel and waste burning; industrial emissions; dust from construction sites and degraded land; firecracker bursting during Diwali, etc. While most factors exist even in summers, adverse weather conditions in winters, such as falling temperatures, moisture in the air that traps ultra-fine and hazardous particles, as well as the calm wind, aggravate the problem. “Delhi has its own higher emission load because of high vehicle population, traffic congestion, road and construction dust, and industries in the periphery,” said VK Soni, head of the Environment Monitoring & Research Centre, India Meteorological Department (IMD). “Combined with stubble fires, this additional load leads to extreme pollution events not only in Delhi but the entire Indo-Gangetic plain,” he said. The story so far This year, favourable meteorological conditions have ensured the region was spared of a severe pollution episode thus far. Last month, the air quality index (AQI) stayed mostly in the satisfactory and moderate range owing to a rain spell from September 14 to 25. On October 5, the AQI entered the poor category for the first time since June 25. But yet another rain spell from October 7 helped the air stay in the moderate zone till October 16, when the AQI once again entered the poor category. The air quality continued in the poor zone till October 24, Diwali, when it entered the very poor category for the first time this season, recording an AQI of 312. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. A cleaner Diwali The day after Diwali did not turn out to be as bad as feared, mainly on account of the relatively warm weather as the festival was celebrated earlier than usual and thanks to a constant wind speed that prevented the remnants from settling down. Last year, Diwali was celebrated on November 4 and on November 14 in 2020, when the temperatures were lower, and the winds calm. On November 24, Diwali day, Delhi’s AQI was recorded at 312. On November 25 morning, the AQI was 325 at 6 am and 302 at 4 pm, the lowest for the day after Diwali since 2015, Central Pollution Control Board data showed. Last year, an AQI of 382 (very poor) was recorded on Diwali, which shot up to 462 (severe) a day later. The year before, the AQI on Diwali was 414, which rose to 435 a day later. An AQI of 360 was recorded a day after Diwali in 2015, 445 in 2016, 403 in 2017, 390 in 2018 and 368 in 2019. Delhi’s neighbours more or less followed a similar pattern. This year, on November 25, Ghaziabad’s AQI was 266, Noida 299, Greater Noida 272, Gurugram 292 and Faridabad 289 — all in the poor category. Fewer farm fires The rains also postponed the harvest season, which delayed stubble burning by farmers. So, on Diwali day, farm fires were lower than usual. Farm fires rise sharply in winters — mostly from mid-September till November end, after the harvesting of the kharif crop — when farmers clear the fields for the rabi crop. This year, there were 1,484 farm fires in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh on October 24. Punjab reported 1,019 cases, Haryana: 250 and UP: 215, according Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) data. Smoke from these states affects Delhi-NCR the most. In comparison, in 2021, there were 3,383 farm fires across Punjab (3,032), Haryana (228), and UP (123) on Diwali day on November 4. This season’s total in the three states from September 15 to October 25 was 7,731 cases — 5,798 in Punjab, 1,372 in Haryana, and 561 in UP. In 2021, during the same period, 8,564 cases were reported from Punjab (6,058), Haryana (1,835) and UP (671). But from September 15 to November 4, 2021, when Diwali was celebrated, the total number of farm fires in the three states rose to 28,769 — a huge spike. Punjab recorded 23,610 cases in this period, Haryana 3,666 and UP 1,493 cases, the IARI data showed. But experts say the decline this year is little reason to celebrate as the tide could turn any moment. “The weather was warm and a wind speed of about 9 km per hour ensured the pollutants didn’t stagnate. The farm fire count was low. The scene would have been entirely different had Diwali been celebrated after 15 days,” Gufran Beig, founder project director of SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research), told Moneycontrol. The wind direction is working in our favour at the moment but it may reverse, he warned. Chandra Bhushan, CEO of the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology, said nature should be credited more than anything else. “Remember that the AQI may have been lower but it is still more than 250 at most places, which is not good news.” Forecast-based action plan This year, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas, which oversees and implements decisions related to pollution, introduced a revised graded response action plan (GRAP). The GRAP comprises anti-air-pollution measures executed depending on how the air quality deteriorates. The restrictions get stricter as AQI worsens. The steps include a ban on diesel generators, an odd-even road rationing policy, a ban on construction, closure of brick kilns, stone crushers and hot mix plants, sprinkling of water, etc., depending on the category of the air pollution. Stage 1 of the restrictions is imposed when the AQI turns poor, stage 2 when it is very poor, stage 3 when it is severe and stage 4 when it is severe plus. The restrictions were earlier imposed only when the PM2.5 and PM10 levels reached a certain threshold. But now, they are based on forecasts released by the early warning system (EWS) and a more comprehensive AQI. The EWS was developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology – Pune, IMD and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting. The department issues an air quality forecast for three days and a further outlook for seven days so that pollution control authorities can initiate action in advance, Soni said. CAQM and other agencies initiated early action this season to curb the emissions, he said. “The AQI was expected to reach the very poor category before Diwali but it did not deteriorate to that level. This proved the control measures are very effective,” Soni said. Stronger execution Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment, while welcoming the forecast-based GRAP, noted that the severity of the smog episodes would be determined by the effectiveness and scale of implementation of measures across Delhi-NCR. “It will also depend on the strength of the long-term action taken to build infrastructure and systems in all the sectors, including transport, industry, power plants, waste management, construction and household fuels,” she said. Bhushan wondered if all the GRAP actions combined would be enough to combat and reduce pollution, which has reached alarming levels in the region. Stressing on proper enforcement, he said there is a need to drastically cut down on biomass burning, which spikes during winters as many people use wood and other solid fuels to keep warm. Better alternatives such as LPG and clean fuel to the poor would help, Bhushan said, adding that a massive boost to public transport could go a long way to reduce personal vehicle use and cut automobile pollution. “Look at China. They removed coal-based industries, took strict action on industrial pollution, reduced solid fuel burning, boosted public transport and invested in green cover,” he said. Economic issue, long-term plan Air pollution is a complex issue and addressing it cannot be reduced to just discussing bad air in the “air pollution” season, cautioned Prarthana Borah, director of CDP India, a not-for-profit that recommends how organisations can lessen their environmental impact. Borah said multiple measures have been suggested and implemented but we need to introspect if these have been effective or not. Difficult questions need to be asked in terms of policy implementation, she said, adding there is a need to question if the mechanism tracking implementation of measures vis-à-vis the impact on air pollution is adequate. “Is there a target year for a pollution-free Delhi and if so what is the science-based mechanism we are adopting to achieve it? Which sectors are involved and what targets and implementation strategies are being adopted?” Air needs to be translated from just an environmental and health issue to an economic issue and the private sector, especially the industry, needs to be involved if this has to be the case. “This is a complex area but needs to be done,” Borah said. For example, the number of work days lost due to air pollution-related health issues can be factored in so that companies take the initiative to address it. People's engagement is crucial to addressing air pollution, most experts said. “Despite the ban, cracker burning could not be stopped. I saw a father teaching a child to burn a cracker because it is the ‘essence of Diwali’. Unless this narrative changes to telling each and every one that cracker burning is hazardous, no amount of policy or mitigation measures can help,” Borah said. This goes for other topics such as using public transport over using a car and reusing and recycling instead of burning or dumping. Other experts focused on a long-term, regional and a multi-sectoral plan to meet the challenge as multiple states and agencies are involved. According to Beig, to clean Delhi, the impact of the measures should be long-term and felt at least 150 km from the capital. “During the nationwide lockdown, the air got cleaner across India. But when Delhi remained locked down and nearby areas opened up, it didn’t help as air knows no boundaries.” Roychowdhury said the fully opened economy and unrestricted travel post-pandemic will add to the challenge. “The concern over winter pollution has to catalyse deeper and uniform systemic changes across the entire region. This means all state governments need to implement an aligned multi-sector action,” she said.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Pregnancy Alert: 3 महीने के गर्भस्थ शिशु के लिवर-लंग्स और मस्तिष्क तक पहुंचा पॉल्यूशन का कचरा, खतरनाक हो रहा वायु प्रदूषण

पॉल्यूशन का बेहद खतरनाक असर पहली बार गर्भ में पल रहे शिशु पर पाया गया है. गर्भस्थ शिशु के लिवर, फेफड़े और मस्तिष्क पर इसका असर वैज्ञानिकों ने पाया है. एबरडीन विश्वविद्यालय की एक रिसर्च में पहली तिमाही में अजन्मे भ्रूण के लिवर, लंग्स और मस्तिष्क में प्रदूषण के सूक्ष्म कण पाए गए हैं. वैज्ञानिकों का मानना ​​है कि गर्भावस्था की पहली तिमाही में वायु प्रदूषण के कण प्लेसेंटा को पार कर गर्भ में पल रहे बच्चे के शरीर में प्रवेश कर रहे हैं और ये गर्भ में बच्चे के मरने या जन्मजात बीमारियों कारण बन सकते हैं. वैज्ञानिकों ने रिपोर्ट में बताया है कि भ्रूण के जिगर, फेफड़े और मस्तिष्क में वायु प्रदूषण के कण मां द्वारा लिए गए सांस से पहुंच रहा है. अजन्मे बच्चे के अंगों में कालिख के नैनो कण पाए गए हैं. गौरतलब है कि इससे पहले भी किए गए अध्ययनों में इस बात की पुष्टि हो चुकी है पर्यावरण प्रदूषक अजन्में बच्चे को अपना निशाना बना सकते हैं. गर्भावस्था के दौरान सिगरेट के धुंए आदि से भी बच्चे में दिक्कत की जानकारी दी जा चुकी है. इसी तरह गर्भावस्था के दौरान अन्य प्रदूषकों जैसे लीडए कीटनाशकों और वायु प्रदूषण के संपर्क में आने से बच्चे के स्वास्थ्य पर असर पड़ रहा है. स्कॉटलैंड के एबरडीन विश्वविद्यालय और हैसेल्ट विश्वविद्यालयए बेल्जियम के शोधकर्ताओं के अध्ययन में अजन्मे बच्चों के फेफड़ों, जिगर और मस्तिष्क में वायु प्रदूषण के कणों का पाया जाना बेहद खतरनाक माना गया है. वैज्ञानिकों का मानना ​​है कि गर्भावस्था की पहले तिमाही में वायु प्रदूषण के कण प्लेसेंटा को पार कर गर्भ में पल रहे बच्चे के शरीर में प्रवेश कर सकते हैं. इस अध्ययन के नतीजे अंतराष्ट्रीय जर्नल लैंसेट प्लैनेटरी हेल्थ में प्रकाशित हुए हैं. इस बारे में शोधकर्ताओं का कहना है कि अजन्में बच्चे में वायु प्रदूषण का पाया जाना बहुत चिंताजनक है क्योंकि गर्भधारण की यह अवधि मानव विकास का सबसे कमजोर चरण है. इस अवधि में ही बच्चे का विकास शुरू होता है. शोधकर्ताओं को अध्ययन के दौरान प्रत्येक क्यूबिक मिलीमीटर ऊतक में हजारों ब्लैक कार्बन के कण मिले हैं जो गर्भावस्था के दौरान मां की सांस के जरिए रक्तप्रवाह और फिर प्लेसेंटा से भ्रूण में चले गए थे. अपने इस अध्ययन में शोधकर्ताओं ने 36 भ्रूणों के ऊतकों से लिए नमूनों का भी विश्लेषण किया है, जिनका गर्भपात सात से 20 सप्ताह के बीच किया गया था. शोधकर्ताओं के अनुसार ब्लैक कार्बन पार्टिकल्स जिसे कालिख के कणों के रूप में भी जाना जाता है उनका गर्भनाल के रक्त में पाया जाना इस बात को दर्शाता है कि यह कण प्लेसेंटा की सुरक्षा को पार कर सकते हैं. इस बारे में स्कॉटलैंड के एबरडीन विश्वविद्यालय में प्रोफेसर और शोध से जुड़े पॉल फाउलर का कहना है कि यह पहली बार सामने आया है कि ब्लैक कार्बन के नैनोपार्टिकल्स न केवल गर्भावस्था की पहली और दूसरी तिमाही में प्लेसेंटा में प्रवेश कर सकते हैं, बल्कि विकसित हो रहे भ्रूण के अंगों में भी अपनी जगह बना रहे हैं. उनके अनुसार इससे भी ज्यादा चिंता की बात यह यही कि यह कण बच्चे के मस्तिष्क में भी प्रवेश कर सकते हैं. इसका मतलब है कि इन सूक्ष्मकणों के लिए मानव भ्रूण के अंगों और कोशिकाओं के भीतर नियंत्रण प्रणालियों को सीधे प्रभावित करना संभव है. बता दें कि इस अध्ययन में शोधकर्ताओं ने स्कॉटलैंड और बेल्जियम में गर्भवती महिलाओं और उनके बच्चों की जांच की है, जो धूम्रपान नहीं करती थीं और जहां वायु प्रदूषण का स्तर अपेक्षाकृत रूप से कम था. लेकिन इसके नतीजे पूरी दुनिया में बढ़ते प्रदूषण के असर को इंगित करते हैं. भारत जैसे देशों में तो यह समस्या कहीं ज्यादा गंभीर हो सकती है क्योंकि यहां वायु प्रदूषण का स्तर स्कॉटलैंड और बेल्जियम से कहीं ज्यादा है. देश में अजन्मों के लिए बढ़ा खतरा जर्नल लैंसेट प्लैनेटरी हेल्थ में प्रकाशित एक अन्य अध्ययन से पता चला है कि वायु प्रदूषण के चलते दक्षिण एशिया में हर साल साल 349,681 महिलाएं मातृत्व के सुख से वंचित रह जाती हैं, जोकि इस क्षेत्र में गर्भावस्था को होने वाले नुकसान का करीब 7.1 फीसदी है. यदि सिर्फ भारत से जुड़े आंकड़ों को देखें तो हेल्थ इफेक्ट्स इंस्टीट्यूट (एचईआई) द्वारा प्रकाशित आंकड़ों से पता चला है कि भारत में बढ़ता वायु प्रदूषण हर साल 1.2 लाख नवजातों की जान ले रहा है. वहीं नाइजीरिया में हर साल 67,869, पाकिस्तान में 56,519, इथियोपिया में 22,857, कांगों में 11,100, तंजानिया में 12,662 और बांग्लादेश में 10,496 नवजातों की मौत की वजह वायु प्रदूषण था. भारत में वायु प्रदूषण एक बड़ी समस्या है, देश की करीब सारी आबादी दूषित हवा में सांस लेने को मजबूर है. हर साल भारत में होने वाली करीब 17 लाख असमय मौतों के लिए जिम्मेवार है. इसके चलते हर साल तकरीबन 3.5 लाख बच्चे अस्थमा का शिकार हो जाते हैं. वहीं 24 लाख लोगों को हर साल इसके कारण होने वाली सांस की बीमारियों के चलते अस्पताल के चक्कर लगाने पड़ते हैं. साथ ही इसके कारण देश में हर साल 49 करोड़ काम के दिनों का नुकसान हो जाता है. यदि भारतीय अर्थव्यवस्था पर पड़ने वाले असर की बात करें तो इसके चलते हर साल भारतीय अर्थव्यवस्था को करीब 1.05 लाख करोड़ रुपए (15,000 करोड़ डॉलर) का अतिरिक्त बोझ उठाना पड़ रहा है. सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) द्वारा जारी नए विश्लेषण से पता चला है कि पीएम2.5 का बढ़ता स्तर न केवल कुछ बड़े और खास शहरों तक ही सीमित है बल्कि अब वो एक राष्ट्रव्यापी समस्या बन चुका है. उदाहरण के लिए इस साल गर्मियों में बिहार शरीफ में पीएम2.5 का दैनिक औसत 285 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति घन मीटर तक पहुंच गया था. वहीं रोहतक में यह 258, कटिहार में 245 और पटना में 200 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति घन मीटर तक दर्ज किया गया था. जो स्पष्ट तौर पर दर्शाता है कि देश में बढ़ते वायु प्रदूषण की समस्या केवल दिल्ली, मुंबई जैसे बड़े शहरों तक ही सीमित नहीं है.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Spike in Delhi pollution as winter spiral begins

The air quality in Delhi plummeted to its worst levels since January as smoke from smouldering paddy fields in Punjab and Haryana drifted in, marking the beginning of what has been an annual environmental blight that is only predicted to worsen, with more farm fires likely and unhelpful meteorological conditions predicted to persist. The air quality index (AQI) slumped from an uncharacteristically clean 271 on Wednesday to 354 on Thursday, according to the 4pm bulletins released on both days by the Central Pollution Control Board. An AQI above 300 is considered “very poor” – the second worst band on the AQI scale. At least two regions in the city, Anand Vihar and Ashok Vihar, had an AQI above 400, which lies in the worst “severe” band. “Wind speeds have dropped significantly from October 26 onwards and we are seeing calm wind conditions at night time. Delhi saw calm wind conditions for nearly seven hours between 4.30am to 11.30am on Thursday, with this spell playing a significant role in accumulation of pollutants,” said RK Jenamani, scientist at IMD. This was Delhi’s highest AQI in over 10 months; on January 21, it was 365. Forecasts show similar calm conditions are expected to prevail until the end of the month now, largely keeping Delhi’s air quality in the “very poor” category. According to officials in Punjab, roughly about 8,100 farm fires have been recorded till now – 20% higher than what was recorded until October 27 last year, indicating a failure on the part of the state government to stem the tide – and a sharper spike is expected in the coming weeks since farmers in the south Malwa belt of the state, where farm fires are widespread, are only now beginning to clear their fields. Major rice-producing districts such Bathinda, Moga, Mansa, Muktsar and Faridkot have recorded only 20-40% harvesting, said an official of the state agriculture department on Thursday. In the last four of the five years, the number of fires in south Malwa accounted for close to 50% of the fires recorded in Punjab. Behind the deterioration in Delhi’s air quality was the perfect storm of conditions: the direction of winds changed to northwesterly that fed in a stream of smoke from fires, the number of fires itself spiked in recent days, local winds weakened that help blow away dust and tailpipe gases died down, and the temperature dipped, creating an “inversion” effect that causes pollutants to settle closer to the ground, instead of being dispersed higher into the sky. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said when the farm fire impact begins to be felt more strongly, “the AQI could considerably worsen. Till now, Delhi was seeing good wind speed, which was controlling the pollution levels. As soon as winds become calm, local emissions are enough to cause the AQI to reach ‘very poor’,” she said.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Why was this Diwali in Delhi the cleanest in years?

In Delhi and NCR, cracker ban went up into smoke this Diwali. But, the air quality around this time was cleanest in the last seven years. So what changed this time? Let's find out The Delhi government’s ban on firecrackers was of little help on Monday, the day of Diwali, as many residents chose to defy the prohibition. Opposition BJP and Congress on Tuesday hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party government, alleging it had failed to implement the ban. To fight extreme winter pollution, Delhi government had in September announced a complete ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers till January 1, including on Diwali, a practice it has been following for the past two years. Even as Delhiites flouted the ban with impunity on Diwali evening, they woke up to a pleasant surprise the next morning. The dip in air quality wasn’t as bad as recent years. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index at 4 pm on Tuesday stood at 303, the lowest for the day after Diwali since 2015, when the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) started maintaining air quality data. On Monday, the city recorded an Air Quality Index, or AQI of 312, the second best for Diwali in seven years. The city had recorded an AQI of 281 on Diwali in 2018. An AQI between 301 and 400 still falls under the ‘very poor’ category and can cause respiratory illness on prolonged exposure. The concentration of poisonous PM2.5 particulate matter was 15 times more than safe limits in the 24-hour period starting Monday, according to data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. Last year, Delhi woke up to a blanket of smog, enveloping the city on the day after Diwali. Why was it different this time? Gufran Beig, Founder Project Director, IITM-SAFAR says, change in wind direction was unfavourable for stubble smoke. Warmth, winds helped prevent the accumulation of pollutants. Winds did not become stagnant like usual the morning after Diwali. Delhi is the world’s most polluted capital and its air becomes particularly bad from mid-December to February as heavy, cold air traps dust, vehicle emissions and smoke from burning crop stubble in states like Punjab and Haryana. Emissions from firecrackers and farm fires have contributed significantly to Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution on Diwali over the years. The contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s pollution on Diwali increased to around 10%, the highest this year so far, according to SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences. The share of farm-fires in Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution was 25% on Diwali in 2021, 32% in 2020 and 19% in 2019. Stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab peaks in October-end and November. While its contribution to air pollution on Diwali was not significant, it is likely to rise sharply in the upcoming days. Since Diwali was observed early in the season this year, moderately warm and windier conditions prevented rapid accumulation of pollutants from firecrackers bursting and reduced the effect of stubble burning. Video byte in> Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment says, it’s a warmer Diwali, usual winter conditions yet to build up. Festival did not coincide with intense crop fire. Smog episodes occurring in later winter show pollution is high. And, certain factors were favourable this year. During winters, when Delhi experiences temperature inversion, cold air at the surface mixed with pollutants gets trapped under a layer of warmer air that acts as a lid. But an early Diwali, warm weather, windy conditions, a delay in withdrawal of monsoon, excessive October rains, a delayed paddy harvesting and in turn stubble burning meant that pollution did not get trapped near the ground. This led to relatively better air quality than previous years in the capital this Diwali.

• Urban Lab

Heat-related deaths rose 55% in India during 2017-2021: Lancet report

On an average, from 2012-2021, each infant experienced an additional 0.9 heat-wave days per year while adults over 65 experienced an additional 3.7 per person, compared to 1986-2021, the Lancet countdown India data said. Heat-related deaths in India from climate change have increased by 55 percent during 2017-2021 from 2000-2004, according to an annual Lancet report. The report for 2022 is called the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels. According to the report, the various impacts of climate change on health are aggravating and are leading to an increased risk of food insecurity, infectious disease transmission, heat-related diseases, and deaths from exposure to air pollution. No country is safe Persistent fossil fuel over-dependence is rapidly worsening climate change, leading to dangerous health impacts around the world. The data shows that no country is safe,” the report said. The Lancet report comes ahead of the 27th UN Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Egypt from November 6 to 18. The report analysed over 40 indicators across five key domains: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. Also read: Recombinant COVID variant detected in three states; Govt says no association with case rise in India “On an average, from 2012-2021, each infant experienced an additional 0.9 heat-wave days per year while adults over 65 experienced an additional 3.7 per person, compared to 1986-2021,” the Lancet countdown India data said. Crop seasons also affected Highlighting that climate change is amplifying the health impacts of multiple crises in India, the report said that the growth season for maize has decreased by two percent, while rice and winter wheat have each decreased by one percent, compared to the 1981-2010 baseline. “Our report this year reveals we are at a critical juncture. We see how climate change is driving severe health impacts all around the world. Persistent global fossil fuel dependence compounds these health harms amidst multiple global crises, keeping households vulnerable to volatile fossil fuel markets, and exposed to energy poverty, and dangerous levels of air pollution,” Dr Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown at the University College, London, said. Indians lose 167.2 billion potential labour hours The dependence on fossil fuels is compounding the health impacts of these crises, according to the report. It states that, in 2021, Indians lost 167.2 billion potential labour hours due to heat exposure, with income losses equivalent to about 5.4 percent of national GDP. “From 1951-1960 to 2012-2021, the number of months suitable for dengue transmission by Aedes aegypti (the yellow fever mosquito that can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses) rose by 1.69 percent, reaching 5.6 months each year,” the report said. Also read: Dengue cases rise pan-India, Kerala sees most deaths The Lancet report has said that during March-April 2022, India and Pakistan experienced a heat wave which was caused 30 times more likely by climate change. The report states that improvements in air quality will help prevent deaths resulting from exposure to fossil fuel-derived particulate matters. “In 2020, over 330,000 people died in India due to exposure to particulate matter from fossil fuel combustion,” the report added. “The Lancet report rightly points out that heat stress is becoming a public health crisis in India, but sadly it is not being dealt as one, as of now,” said Avikal Somvanshi, senior programme manager, Air Pollution, at a Delhi-based think tank, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). “There are multiple heat emergency plans in the country now, but they are not enough. We need to develop and implement heat mitigation and resilience plans that will ensure that waste-heat generation in cities is minimised and waste heat generated is not trapped inside the city itself,” he added.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Plastic pollution from landfills poses severe risk in Mumbai

The usual suspects blamed for plastic pollution are littering, slums and a dysfunctional garbage collection system. But contrary to popular belief, even when waste makes it to landfills, it’s not all that secure. Pollution from landfills accounts for 45% of the plastic – a whopping 4.1 million metric tonnes in 2015 – lost in the environment. Mumbai’s landfills are terrible offenders. A recent study, titled ‘Risk of plastics losses to the environment from Indian landfills’, and published in the Elsevier Journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling assessed the risk of plastic pollution posed by landfills in 496 urban Indian cities. Mumbai topped the charts. It took the lead of the 18 cities that pose a severe risk of plastic losses – increasing the likelihood of plastic escaping to the environment, and from the ecosystem into the food chain. “The major contributor of plastics in the environment is mismanaged waste, which comes predominantly from open dumps,” says Vinay Yadav, lead author of the study and assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur. Climatic factors So what makes the risk of pollution from landfills in Mumbai so severe? Mumbai is a triple threat, scoring high on hazard, exposure and vulnerability. This is due to a mix of climatic and manmade factors, making it likelier for plastics to escape from the landfill and end up in the environment. “Plastics from landfills enter the environment through various pathways, namely via the influences of wind blowing, precipitation and runoff, flooding, and the intervention of stray animals and humans,” reads the study. Climatic factors make up most of the hazards to a landfill, especially in a coastal city like Mumbai. Human and animal interference, from stray dogs and waste pickers who expose lighter plastics to the hazards, play only a minimal role at this stage. Yet differently, the location of the landfills determines the amount of havoc the risks can cause. Proximity to a water body means plastic pollution is reaching the marine environment quickly, thus entering the food chain in a quick hop, skip and jump. To Mumbai’s disfavour, all three of Mumbai’s landfills – Mulund, Deonar and Kanjurmarg – are close to the sea. A wheel showing the different factors that went into calculating risk of pollution in the study Different factors play a varied role in causing pollution from landfills, as shown in this chart from the study. Pic: Elsevier Journal/CC BY-NC 4.0 Mumbai’s landfills This leaves vulnerability, which is the product of the population, the number and condition of landfills and the share of plastics in municipal solid waste (MSW). Mumbai’s 12 million population speaks for itself. In the data used by a study from 2016, Mumbai was generating 10,000 tonnes of waste every day. The fraction of plastic waste was 8% by weight and 20% by volume. “We have a low per capita generation of plastic waste compared to developed countries. But since overall waste generation is high, plastic waste is also high,” says Vinay. Yet another factor that leads to more plastic pollution than in developed countries is the condition of the landfills. “In India, we mainly have unscientific landfills, also called dumpsites,” says Richa Singh, deputy programme manager of the MSW team at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a non-profit research organisation. Of the three landfills in Mumbai, the almost century-old Deonar and closed Mulund are unscientific. “These are not provided with any protective mechanisms to minimize the pollution due to waste,” says Richa, referring to a base layer to absorb impurities and protect the ground, vertical wells to capture methane and other gasses emitted, fencing, etc. Only Kanjurmarg is a scientific landfill with a bio-reactor for biodegradable waste, although Vinay adds it lacks fencing. Maps of India showing the graded risk of pollution from landfills in cities analysed in the study on different parameters A ranking of the overall risk, hazard, vulnerability and exposure posed by the landfills in the cities analysed in the study. Pic: Elsevier Journal/CC BY-NC 4.0 Harms of plastic pollution Such rampant plastic pollution bodes serious harm to the ecosystem and marine life, and ultimately, human health. “Plastics break down into microplastics, of sizes less than five millimetres, in landfills,” explains Vinay. “When it rains, they mix with the thick leachate that collects, seeping out and contaminating groundwater.” The chemicals in this contaminated groundwater can cause irreversible damage to human health, says Richa. In coastal cities, marine animals feed on plastic which is then consumed by humans, indirectly consuming plastic. But these harms are not contained locally; they spread far and wide. Vinay brings up a 2021 study that found plastics in salt from Gujurat and Tamil Nadu, both major producers of salt. Small microplastics particles of different colours Microplastics have also been found in human breast milk for the first time in October 2022. Pic: 5Gyres / Oregon State University, Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0) Solutions To reduce the pollution from landfills – not restricted to plastic – both Vinay and Richa bring up reducing the dependence on plastic and landfills. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) can claim improvement in this regard; the amount of waste collected has reduced from over 10,000 tonnes to 6,300-6,500 tonnes in 2022. Waste segregation rules and the state-wide and central ban on single-use plastic are in place, although implementation is weak. The BMC is also in the process of closing the Deonar landfill by building a waste-to-energy plant at the site, another method also notorious for causing pollution. “Anything which can be composted, recycled and recovered should not be disposed of in the landfills,” says Richa, backed by the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. “Only the inerts, street sweepings and drain silt should be landfilled.” When it comes to improving the landfills currently present in Mumbai, Vinay recommends fencing the landfill at Kanjurmarg, which would stop microplastics from leaching out into the environment. Read more: Explainer: Segregating waste manually to minimise the burden on landfills Landfill laws The rules, however, go even further. “As per the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 operational guidelines,” says Richa, “all legacy waste dumpsites (containing mixed waste including plastics) need to be reclaimed by 31st March 2024. The legacy plastics reclaimed from landfills should be disposed of in an environmentally sustainable manner. They can be used in road construction or cement kilns co-processing units as an alternative fuel and secondary raw material,” says Richa. Only the waste which cannot be treated should be disposed of in landfills, constructed and operated scientifically to minimise pollution into the environment. The CPCB norms for such a landfill include, says Richa, “a barrier layer (high-density polyethene layer), leachate collection and treatment system, and a landfill gas collection and treatment system.” The share of plastics in MSW is expected to increase by 266% by 2014. All signs point to plastic pollution increasing, adding to the burden already faced by cities and upgrading the risk level of other cities. A proper waste management and disposal system has never been more important.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Cleanest day-after-Diwali air in Delhi since 2015: how did this happen?

Delhi air pollution: Essentially the fact that it was windy; also that Diwali came early this year, and it wasn't cool enough. Both these are important factors; also, stubble-burning had a lower impact this year. The day-after-Diwali air quality in Delhi was the best in the last seven years on Tuesday (October 25). This includes 2020 and 2021, the two pandemic years. How was Delhi’s air on Tuesday? The AQI (air quality index) was 303 on Tuesday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It was 312 on Monday, Diwali day. This means the air was in the ‘very poor’ category on both days. AQI between 301 and 400 is considered to be ‘very poor’. Still, the AQI this Diwali was the best the city has had since 2019. And the day-after AQI was the best since 2015. According to CPCB data, the worst post-Diwali air quality in Delhi since 2015 was seen last year, when an AQI of 462 was recorded on the day after Diwali. This placed the air pollution in the ‘severe’ category. The AQI on Diwali day last year was 382. In four of the eight years since 2015, air quality has fallen to ‘severe’ the day after Diwali in Delhi. Why was the air cleaner on Tuesday? Meteorological conditions, essentially. It was windy on Diwali day, and Gufran Beig, founder project director, SAFAR, said that wind speed helped prevent the accumulation of pollutants. Also, an early Diwali this year has meant that it is not yet cool enough for the air to trap pollutants in the lower layers. “Wind speed picked up around 2 am on Tuesday. In the early hours of the morning, pollutants would have normally accumulated, when the temperature is cooler and the boundary layer comes down and winds become slower. But the wind speed picked up, aiding dispersion. The highest AQI levels were recorded around midnight, after which it improved and settled at 323 in the morning,” Beig said. And what about pollution from stubble-burning in Punjab? The contribution of crop residue burning in Punjab and Haryana has also been low so far this year. The wind direction, which has been from the westerly-southwesterly direction of Delhi since Monday, has not been favourable to transport stubble burning smoke from the northwest, Beig said. According to an update issued by the SAFAR forecasting system, the share of stubble burning to PM2.5 levels in Delhi was around 5.6% on Tuesday. In contrast, the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s air on Diwali day (November 4) last year was 25%, and 36% on the day after Diwali, according to data from SAFAR. According to data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, 5,798 crop residue burning events have been recorded in Punjab from September 15 to October 25. This is lower than the figure of 6,134 recorded till October 25 last year. Is it that people also burnt fewer crackers this year? It could be — even though anecdotal evidence suggests this may not have been true in many parts of the capital and the NCR. Beig said: “It appears that there may have been a reduction in firecracker emissions compared to last year. The air quality did not deteriorate as much as it could have. But the contribution of firecrackers to the emission load is still unknown and could take a few days to determine.” He said that some control measures may have worked. “It may be that people opted for firecrackers which release fewer toxic fumes though they produce sound.” What do other experts say? Sachchida Nand Tripathi, Professor at IIT Kanpur, said: “Crop residue burning has also not intensified compared to previous years. Additionally, lower temperatures would make the boundary layer thinner and would not allow particulate matter to disperse quickly. But the strong wind has offset this.” Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment, pointed to a combination of factors. “Diwali has happened early, with warmer weather and much before the intense inversion conditions set in. Comparatively, there have been better wind speeds and crop fires have also not been as intense. It’s difficult to assess if there were reduced firecracker emissions,” she said.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Strong winds, lower farm fires help Delhi avert air disaster

Strong winds, coupled with fewer farm fires than usual in Punjab and Haryana, kept Delhi from plunging into its annual post-Diwali pollution disaster, experts said, adding that the unfettered use of firecrackers throughout the city would otherwise have pushed the air quality to noxious levels. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) worsened from 259 (poor) at 4pm a day before Diwali to 312 (very poor) on Monday, but then fell to 303 on Tuesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily bulletin. In fact, the air cleared up even further later in the evening, with pollution levels falling out of the “very poor” zone and clocking a reading of 299 at 5pm. An AQI from 201-300 is categorised as poor, and 301-400 very poor. Winds slowed down in the build-up to Diwali and local emissions started to accumulate, steadily driving up pollution levels, said experts, with central agencies predicting that the AQI could tip into the deep end of the “very poor” zone on Diwali. However, steady winds and sunny days came to the rescue. “While we were seeing calm winds at evening and late night, this changed on Diwali evening, and winds remained between 5-10 kmph throughout the evening and night,” said VK Soni, a scientist at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) who is part of the panel on the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap). “This meant pollutants were able to disperse simultaneously and pollution levels largely remained in check overnight,” he said. Wind speeds increased to 15-20kmph on October 25 during the day, with the visibility improving to 4,000 metres in parts of Delhi, said RK Jenamani, another scientist at IMD. “Normally, the day after Diwali has pollutants in the air and visibility is less than half of this,” he said. The lower air pollution levels were also a result of fewer farm fires in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh -- late rains in October have pushed the peak period of stubble burning to November, with farm fire figures relatively low in the week leading up to Diwali. Stubble burning is yet to peak, with the daily fire count in Punjab touching 1,484 on Diwali night. In comparison, the number last year on the night before Diwali was 3,383 fires. The contribution of stubble burning in Delhi’s air was 10% on Monday, but dropped to 5-6% on Tuesday as the wind direction changed from north-westly to westerly. In comparison, the contribution of stubble burning on Diwali last year was 36%, official data showed. “This was down to two factors. Wind direction changed to westerly on Monday evening and the contribution of farm fires has therefore come down. It was expected to touch 15-18% the day after Diwali, but the change in wind direction has brought it down by two-thirds,” said Gufran Beig, project director at Safar, a forecasting body under the ministry of earth sciences. A delay in the farm fire season has helped Delhi, said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment, an advocacy group. The problem, however, is that tough days may lie ahead as the count goes up. “Normally, Diwali and the stubble burning season coincide, but farm fires are very low so far. Any contribution that came on Diwali was able to quickly disperse due to strong winds,” Roychowdhury said, adding that other factors such as a low mixing height were also missing at this time of the year. The mixing height or boundary layer is an invisible layer in the atmosphere within which particulate matter gets trapped. The lower the mixing height, the more pollution rises, as pollutants are closer to the surface and are unable to disperse. “Ventilation is a lot better at the moment, even with mercury dropping below 15 degrees. The mixing height is currently around 1,800 metres, while it was less than 1,000 metres last Diwali,” Soni said.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Delhi's Post-Diwali 'Very Poor' Air Best in 7 Years. Thank Cyclone Sitrang Effect

While Delhi recorded “very poor" air quality the morning after Diwali, it is, as per data, the least polluted Diwali that the city has seen in seven years. While the Aam Aadmi Party-led government credited its efforts along with that of the people, weather conditions played a key role in clearing Delhi pollution despite the firecracker-ban flouted in many areas. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the results of efforts made by Delhi residents to curb pollution in the city are encouraging but there is still a long way to go. His remarks came a day after Diwali when the Air Quality Index in the national capital stood at the ‘very poor’ category. The situation, however, was relatively better than previous years due to favourable meteorological conditions which diluted the effect of many residents flouting a firecracker ban and stubble burning. Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said there was 30 per cent less pollution on Diwali in Delhi as compared to last year. The air quality index (AQI) stood at 323 on Tuesday (the day after Diwali) as compared to 462 last year, he said. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi on Wednesday morning stood in the ‘very poor’ category at 349-mark, as per SAFAR-India. Noida’s AQI was recorded at 360, while Gurugram’s was at 319. -How Cyclone Sitrang Helped Improve Delhi’s Air Quality on Diwali A change in the direction of Cyclone Sitrang on Sunday played a big role taming Diwali pollution over Delhi-NCR, and much of North India, resulting in clearer skies and relatively cleaner air quality the morning after Diwali as compared to the last few years, weather experts said. Cyclone Sitrang crossed the Bangladesh coast on Monday. Since the system moved in a direction (north-northeasterly) away from the northern plains of India, it pulled winds and moisture towards it. This led to moderately strong westerly wind flows and dry conditions, both of which enabled dispersal of pollutants, a TOI report cited experts. “A cyclone is a low-pressure system, with winds blowing towards the centre of the cyclone. When Sitrang moved towards Bangladesh, winds from north India moved in that direction. Therefore, it exacerbated the air flow in north India. It also drained out moisture from the region,” the report quoted India Meteorological Department chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra as saying. Mohapatra said that a deep trough in the mid and upper atmosphere over east Uttar Pradesh also reinforced the westerly wind flows in the region. As per Centre’s air quality monitoring body SAFAR, Delhi and NCR saw west-moving winds at “moderate" speeds of 8-16kmph on Tuesday. Dry and westerly winds at moderate to high speeds usually help clear up pollution over North India. Under calmer conditions, however, these winds transport the pollution triggered by farm fires from Punjab and Haryana. High moisture in the air too raises pollution levels. A cocktail of all these meteorological conditions played a crucial role played in either trapping or dispersing pollutants from sources such as Diwali fireworks or stubble-burning. Advertisement “Had the cyclone hit the Odisha coast and moved northwestwards towards Chhattisgarh, the situation in north India would have been very different. A cyclone moving towards the region would have led to an incursion of moist, easterly winds, which would have led to cloudy skies. Under such conditions, pollution levels may have shot up,” Mohapatra added. -Thank Cyclone Sitrang Effect for Delhi’s Improved Post-Diwali Air Quality While relatively lesser use of firecrackers after a ban helped, meteorological conditions played a big role in Delhi’s improved air quality on Diwali this year. Experts attributed the improvement to weather conditions, particularly the effect of Cyclone Sitrang that crossed Bangladesh on Monday and warmer temperatures on account of Diwali coming relatively early this year. Dry westerly winds at speeds of 4-10kmph on Monday night, and 8-16kmph on Tuesday, helped drain out pollutants from the region. The visibility during the day was recorded at 3,000-4,000 metres and officials of the weather department said such visibility a day after Diwali was “rare". Advertisement “As expected, the combination of warmer climate, favourable meteorological conditions with higher wind speed, lesser stubble burning created conducive atmosphere and prevented trapping of smoke and pollutants," TOI quoted Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment, as saying, -There Was 30% Less Pollution on Diwali in Delhi as Compared to Last Year: Gopal Rai There was 30 per cent less pollution on Diwali in Delhi as compared to last year and the city recorded its best air quality for the day after the festival in several years, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday. “People of Delhi were very thoughtful on Diwali this year and I want to thank them. Today, the pollution level is the lowest in five years," Rai told reporters on the sidelines of an event where he launched 150 mobile anti-smog guns. He said the anti-smog guns will be deployed at 40 spots across the capital where air pollution is high. The minister said that there has been a decline of 30 per cent in pollution level as compared to the previous year but added that the AQI is still worrying.. “The AQI of 323 is still worrying and tells us that air pollution will increase in the coming days," he said. Rai further claimed the Punjab government controlled stubble burning in the state without support from the Centre. “Punjab reported 1,019 incidents of stubble burning on Diwali day (Monday) as compared to 3,032 on Diwali last year. “On the other hand, farm fires have increased in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh," he said. -Still a Long Way to Go: CM Kejriwal on Delhi Pollution Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the results of efforts made by Delhi residents to curb pollution in the city are encouraging but there is still a long way to go. His remarks came a day after Diwali when the air quality in the national capital was recorded in the ‘very poor’ category. The situation, however, was relatively better than previous years due to favourable meteorological conditions which diluted the effect of many residents flouting a firecracker ban and stubble burning. Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 326 at 8 am. “Delhiites are working hard in the field of pollution. There have been very encouraging results but there is still a long way to go. We will make Delhi the best city in the world," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi. Emissions from firecrackers and farm fires have contributed significantly to Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution on Diwali over the years. Their share this year was relatively less than previous years due to reduced bursting of firecrackers and moderately warm and windier conditions which prevented rapid accumulation of pollutants. Delhi had recorded an AQI of 382 on Diwali last year, 414 in 2020, 337 in 2019, 281 in 2018, 319 in 2017, and 431 in 2016, according to Central Pollution Control Board data. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. -Delhi Records ‘Very Poor’ AQI the Morning After Diwali Delhi recorded “very poor" air quality on Tuesday, a day after Diwali, as residents flouted the ban on firecrackers in many parts of the capital on Diwali night, but the pollution levels for the next day were the lowest since 2015 thanks to favourable meteorological conditions that diluted the effect of the fireworks and stubble burning. However, the neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad (266), Noida (299), Greater Noida (272), Gurugram (292) and Faridabad (289) reported “poor" air quality. An air quality index (AQI) between zero and 50 is considered “good", 51 and 100 “satisfactory", 101 and 200 “moderate", 201 and 300 “poor", 301 and 400 “very poor", and 401 and 500 “severe".

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’: Why Delhi commuters should turn off vehicles while waiting for green signal

Smoke-belching vehicles contribute to air pollution in a big way. It has also been revealed that pollution from vehicles can be reduced by 15-20 per cent if all the engines are switched off while waiting for the green light. The Delhi government’s campaign aims at prodding commuters to make the air cleaner. Don’t be amazed if you're in Delhi and a person hands out a rose and urges you to put off your vehicle’s ignition while you wait at an intersection for the red signal to turn green. The unmistakable Gandhigiri is part of the Delhi government’s ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign. Are you familiar with it? Well, in a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the Kejriwal government is carrying out a 15-point action plan and ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ comes under it. First launched on October 16, 2020 in Delhi, Phase-I of the drive will start this time from October 28 and continue till November 28. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai recently said pollution levels may increase in Delhi after Diwali if the wind direction changes. The Air Quality Index (AQI) had already reached 342 in Noida and 323 in Delhi on the morning after Diwali. What is ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’? As the name suggests, the campaign is meant to persuade people to switch off their vehicles' engines as they wait for the traffic light to turn green. The campaign has roped in civil defence volunteers who will egg on commuters to turn their vehicles off. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai recently said, "We are strictly implementing all the directions of the Commission for Air Quality Management. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has reviewed the implementation of the 15-point action plan to curb air pollution in winter." In 2021, ahead of the campaign rollout, Kejriwal had tweeted: "Please contribute to this fight against pollution. Whenever you stop at a red light, please turn off your car’s engine. This will save fuel and also help reduce pollution. All Delhiites will work together to reduce pollution in Delhi." That year, Rai had visited the ITO crossing—a prominent and busy traffic junction in Delhi—in the morning and offered roses to commuters, asking them to turn off their cars' engines at red signals. How it will work this year As many as 2,500 civil defence volunteers will be deployed in different parts of the city to make the operation a success. They will make people aware of how switching off their vehicles can go a long way in reducing air pollution. These volunteers will be deployed in 100 important four-ways. 10 volunteers will be deployed to each four-way intersection in two different shifts in a day. The campaign will be carried out for 12 hours daily in two shifts. The first shift will be from 8 am to 2 pm and the second from 2 pm to 8 pm. Rai said, "Moreover, Traffic Police will run this campaign by focusing on 10 major four-ways of Delhi which face high traffic. Instead of 10, 20 Civil Defence volunteers will be deployed in each shift in such four-ways." "The volunteers will raise public awareness through placards and banners. Last year, we observed that there were a lot of drivers who did not switch off their engines at red lights. We will present them with flowers and request that they switch off their engines." Paryavaran Mitra, resident welfare bodies, market associations, eco-clubs, and NGOs will also play a crucial role in the campaign. Public representatives and officials will also actively join the campaign. Why this campaign? It is a well-established fact that, along with dust and biomass burning, vehicular emissions are one of the major contributors to Delhi's local pollution. Some time back, an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said that vehicles were the biggest contributor to local particulate matter in Delhi. A survey by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association has revealed that vehicle pollution can be reduced by 15–20 per cent if all the engines are switched off at the red light. "When someone steps out of their house with a vehicle, they cross 8–10 four-ways during their journey. If the duration of the red light is 2 minutes and we do not switch off our engine, we are burning fuel unnecessarily for 25–30 minutes. So, the success of the entire campaign will depend on our mindset and attitude," pointed out Rai.