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Tread Carefully: Draft Notification Wants Tyre Companies to Take Charge of Waste

Of the 1.5 billion+ waste tyres that are generated every year worldwide, 6% are in India. That, according to one estimate, is how many rubber tyres India discards every day. The Union environment ministry’s new draft notification, published on December 31, 2021, proposes to regulate the disposal of such waste tyres by enforcing the extended producer responsibility (EPR). This policy extends the responsibility of the producer, or importer, to include the disposal of waste tyres, and frees consumers from having to worry about responsible disposal. According to the notification, manufacturers and importers of tyres, including waste tyres, will have to ensure that all their products are recycled in line with the government’s standards, and they will have until 2024 to start complying. India is the world’s third largest producer and fourth largest consumer of natural rubber. Within the country, the automobile industry is the largest consumer, according to one report. Business Standard reported that India produces 6.5 lakh tyres every day. With the rate of growth of the automobile industry, this number is only set to increase. An “environmental research and action group” called Chintan reported in 2017 that by 2035, there will be around 80.1 million passenger vehicles (cars and utility vehicles) and 236.4 million two wheelers on the roads. Of the 1.5 billion+ waste tyres that are generated every year worldwide, 6% are in India. In addition, India also imports around three lakh tonnes of tyres to recycle every year. They are subject to thermochemical treatments in high temperature to produce industrial oil and other derivatives. Pollution from these sources is a big concern. In 2019, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) ordered 270 tyre pyrolysis units in 19 states to shut, after finding that the units were flouting environmental norms and were responsible for high levels of pollution. The same year, following a plea by an NGO, the National Green Tribunal asked the CPCB to create a comprehensive plan to address waste-tyre management in the country, and to look to restrict the import of waste tyres. The new EPR regime The environment ministry’s new draft notification, to extend EPR to include for waste tyres, aims to address these concerns. According to the notification, the ministry appointed an expert committee that included representatives of the NITI Aayog, CPCB and the All India Rubber and Tyre Recyclers Association, among others. The committee had been tasked with preparing a comprehensive action plan to manage the disposal of waste tyres. After meetings with stakeholders and inputs from the committee, the ministry developed a report on tyre scrap, which also included recommendations on EPR, and submitted it to the NITI Aayog in August 2021. According to the new draft notification, by 2024-2025, all manufacturers and importers of new tyres will need to recycle all their products, starting with recycling 35% and then 75% of their products for the first two years, and achieving 100% by 2024. The notification also bans the import of waste tyres for the sole purpose of producing pyrolysis oil or char. Additionally, all producers and importers will have to register with the CPCB and obtain an ‘EPR certificate’ in favour of a registered recycler for all the products they recycle. Recyclers, including facilities that engage in pyrolysis, will have to provide monthly updates to the CPCB on the quantity of waste tyres used, end products produced and EPR certificates sold in this regard. The CPCB has also been tasked with setting guidelines to impose and collect environmental compensation from producers and recyclers if they don’t comply with these regulations or use false EPR certificates. If approved – the draft notification will be open for comments for two months – the rules, as part of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, will be effective from the next financial year, 2022-2023. ‘Polluter pays’ A law to change the way tyre manufacturers operate has been in the works for a few years as well. The environment ministry considered a draft to this end in 2017, but it is unclear if anything has come of it. Legislation to tackle the issue of waste tyres would be a “step towards the right direction” for it makes the industry accountable to the environment, a director at J.K. Tyres had told Business Standard in 2017, when the ministry was still mulling the draft. According to a 2021 study, many countries have adopted the EPR system to make producers responsible for managing their products until the post-consumer stage. It is the most common tyre waste management system in the European Union, for example. Developing countries have adopted it as well: Ecuador established an EPR policy for waste tyres from cars, trucks and buses in 2013. One 2019 study found that introducing EPR to tackle waste tyres could reduce illegal stockpiling of waste tyres and increase resource efficiency by increasing recycling. However, it also maintained that an EPR system could be no guarantee for waste treatment in the most “environmentally sound way”, because an EPR system will only achieve its objectives if it is properly designed, implemented and enforced. Also in many developing countries, the EPR system has been mostly implemented to tackle electronic waste. In India, the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 introduced the concept of EPR – in which the polluter pays – to manage plastic waste in India, Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, deputy programme manager of municipal solid waste at the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, wrote in December 2021. This hasn’t translated into action on the ground, he added. In October 2021, the environment ministry also released a draft EPR policy to manage plastic waste in India. While this was an important move, it neglected several “basic elements of EPR for efficient waste management,” Singh wrote: it didn’t address minimising waste or include the informal waste management sector.

Zero the way to go

Over the past few years there has been a rapid shift in the strategy for waste management in the country India is rapidly evolving its policies to deal with garbage — the waste generated from the use of material at homes, institutions, and factories. The evolution must now reflect in our actions. Our “waste” must become a resource — to be reworked, reused, and upcycled. This will minimise the use of material in our world and mitigate environmental damage. It’s a win-win solution. We know that the “nature” of solid waste changes as societies get richer and urbanise. Instead of biodegradable (wet) waste, households generate more plastic, paper, metal, and other non-biodegradable (dry) waste. The quantity of waste generated on a per capita basis also increases. Many of the country’s urban areas are already on the trajectory where waste generation has risen exponentially. In 2000, when the first Municipal Solid Wastes Rules were notified, they were based on the idea — prevalent in most countries — that waste had to be collected, transported, and then disposed of in secure landfill sites. The objective was to “clean” cities by removing waste from our vicinity. But this policy failed to reflect in practice and the scourge of garbage grew in our cities. What could not be collected or transported because of paucity of municipal services fouled up our neighbourhoods. What was collected got dumped and is today visible as “mountains” of shame. Over the past few years there has been a rapid shift in the strategy for waste management in the country. Today’s policy, the Union government’s flagship Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 2.0, focuses on source segregation, processing waste (wet and dry), and minimising the waste sent to sanitary landfill sites. According to the guidelines of SBM 2.0, only the inert waste and process rejects, which in no case should exceed 20 per cent of the total waste and are not suitable for either dry or wet waste treatment, can be sent to landfill sites. Therefore, the premise of the guidelines is that cities must become zero-landfill — they must recover and reprocess all waste. The guidelines stress that waste-to-energy (WtE) projects are financially and operationally viable only with an assured minimum input of 150-200 tonnes per day of non-recyclable, segregated dry waste of high calorific value. This has also been our learning that WtE plants are not the silver bullets they promise to be — incinerating municipal waste to make energy. It is critical that the waste sent for incineration and energy generation is of high quality and this requires a high level of segregation — best done at source. Without this, the plants work below operational capacity and become defunct. The guidelines also provide an opportunity to reclaim the 3,000-odd landfill sites where, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), some 800 million tonnes of waste is dumped. This will not just free up valuable land, which can be greened and put to suitable use, but also help avert environmental disasters. This requires deliberately designed strategies to reuse the material that is bio-mined from these legacy landfills. Cities must also stop sending new waste to these landfills; otherwise they will get filled up again even while being remediated. The good news is that India’s solid waste management strategy is now being designed for material recovery and reuse. It is an approach aimed at a truly circular economy. As the strategy demands full reutilisation of materials and no waste, we will learn what we cannot recycle and work towards minimising its use. This will make policy and practice even more environment-friendly. That said, while the policy has evolved, our practice is still to catch up. Source segregation remains our Achilles’ heel — it does not happen at the scale and pace needed. Even if waste is segregated at household level, it does not get transported in a segregated manner to processing facilities. In fact, processing happens incidentally, only because there are people who need our waste for their livelihoods — ragpickers, as we call them. City managers are still working through the different options for processing this waste and to manage it effectively to generate revenue. Worse, plastic waste — particularly much of the packaging waste — is growing and filling our cities. We still do not acknowledge that much of the “plastic” we use cannot be recycled and so needs to be phased out. The current policy on “single-use” plastics — where certain products have been identified for eventual elimination — is just not good enough to deal with this gigantic problem. What is needed now is to learn the new practice of waste management — and this is best done by understanding what is working and why. This is why the Centre for Science and Environment has partnered the NITI Aayog to document the best practices of “waste-wise” cities as a textbook of new learning and teaching. It is what needs to be practised, and at scale. This is a real opportunity for change.

Pollution levels that dipped during 2020 lockdown threaten to bounce back: CSE

With the levels of pollution rising this year, the downward dip, induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020, will not persist, a new analysis of regional pollution trends done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed. "This analysis of real time air quality data for the period 2019-2021 shows that the downward dip in pollution that was induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020 is threatening to bounce back with the levels in 2021 already rising. But in many cases, the levels are still lower than 2019. This underscores the urgency of scaling up action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and to arrest the trend in this region," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at CSE. As a result, the eastern states of India i.e. Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha -- are now feeling the sting of increased winter air pollution, the study showed. As the winter smog that engulfs north India during early November begins to extend eastwards during late December and early January, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha are affected mostly during this time when winter inversion and the cool and calm conditions trap the local pollution that is already high. "Even though real time air quality monitoring has begun to expand in these states to provide more up to date and real time information on air quality, there are serious concerns around missing data and gaps that makes proper risk assessment difficult. In some stations of Bihar and Odisha, data availability is so low that the trend cannot be assessed. Quality control of data is necessary," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager at Urban Data Analytics Lab, CSE. This new analysis of real-time pollution data by the CSE is a part of the air quality tracker initiative of its Urban Data Analytics Lab, whose objective is to understand the trend and magnitude of pollution in different regions that have real-time air quality monitoring systems. This is an assessment of annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentration for the period January 1, 2019, to January 4, 2022, which covers 29 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 12 cities in the above mentioned three states.

Pollution levels that dipped during 2020 lockdown threaten to bounce back: CSE

With the levels of pollution rising this year, the downward dip, induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020, will not persist, a new analysis of regional pollution trends done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed. “This analysis of real time air quality data for the period 2019-2021 shows that the downward dip in pollution that was induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020 is threatening to bounce back with the levels in 2021 already rising. But in many cases, the levels are still lower than 2019. This underscores the urgency of scaling up action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and to arrest the trend in this region,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at CSE. As a result, the eastern states of India i.e. Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha — are now feeling the sting of increased winter air pollution, the study showed. As the winter smog that engulfs north India during early November begins to extend eastwards during late December and early January, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha are affected mostly during this time when winter inversion and the cool and calm conditions trap the local pollution that is already high. “Even though real time air quality monitoring has begun to expand in these states to provide more up to date and real time information on air quality, there are serious concerns around missing data and gaps that makes proper risk assessment difficult. In some stations of Bihar and Odisha, data availability is so low that the trend cannot be assessed. Quality control of data is necessary,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager at Urban Data Analytics Lab, CSE. This new analysis of real-time pollution data by the CSE is a part of the air quality tracker initiative of its Urban Data Analytics Lab, whose objective is to understand the trend and magnitude of pollution in different regions that have real-time air quality monitoring systems. This is an assessment of annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentration for the period January 1, 2019, to January 4, 2022, which covers 29 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 12 cities in the above mentioned three states.

पश्चिम बंगाल, बिहार और ओडिशा के प्रदूषण में वृद्धि -सीएसई नई दिल्ली द्वारा शीतकालीन वायु प्रदूषण का अध्ययन

विकास कुमार शर्मा, कोलकाता : जनवरी मास के आगमन के तुरंत बाद भारत के पूर्वी राज्यों पश्चिम बंगाल, बिहार एवं ओडिशा में शीतकालीन वायु प्रदूषण का दंश महसूस होने लगा है। विज्ञान और पर्यावरण (सीएसई)। नवंबर की शुरुआत में उत्तर भारत को घेरने वाला शीतकालीन स्मॉग जनवरी की शुरुआत में देश के पूर्वी हिस्से में बढ़ना शुरू कर देता है। इन तीनों राज्यों विशेषकर पश्चिम बंगाल एवं ओडिशा में पहले से मौजूद औद्योगिक प्रदूषण में खासा वृद्धि ठंड के मौसम में हो जाती है। देश की प्रतिष्ठित शोध संस्था सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट द्वारा क्षेत्रीय प्रदूषण को लेकर किये गए एक हालिया अध्ययन में उक्त तथ्य सामने आये हैं। उक्त विश्लेषण में तीन राज्यों के 12 शहरों में फैले 29 निरंतर कंटीन्यूअस एम्बिएंट एयर क्वालिटी मॉनिटरिंग स्टेशन (सीएएक्यूएमएस) को शामिल किया गया है। इनमें पश्चिम बंगाल के कोलकाता में सात, हावड़ा में तीन और आसनसोल, सिलीगुड़ी, दुर्गापुर, हल्दिया में एक-एक स्टेशन सहित बिहार के पटना में छह, गया में तीन, मुजफ्फरपुर में तीन तथा हाजीपुर में एक स्टेशन और ओडिशा के तालचेर और ब्रजराजनगर में एक-एक रीयल टाइम स्टेशन शामिल हैं। हालांकि इन राज्यों के कुछ अन्य शहरों में अधिक रीयल टाइम मॉनिटर हैं, लेकिन डेटा अंतराल और गुणवत्ता डेटा की कमी के कारण उन पर विचार नहीं किया जा सका। इसके अलावा, कई मामलों में रियल टाइम मॉनिटर हाल ही में स्थापित किए गए हैं और इसलिए दीर्घकालिक डेटा उपलब्ध नहीं है। बिहार के कई शहरों को जुलाई और नवंबर 2021 के बीच अपने रियल टाइम मॉनिटर मिल गए हैं। भागलपुर में दो स्टेशन और बेतिया, बिहारशरीफ, दरभंगा, मोतिहारी, अररिया, आरा, बक्सर, छपरा, कटिहार, किशनगंज, मंगुराहा में एक-एक स्टेशन हैं। मुंगेर, पूर्णिया, राजगीर, सहरसा, सासाराम और सीवान। लेकिन इन स्टेशनों से अत्यधिक मात्रा में लापता डेटा के कारण सार्थक विश्लेषण संभव नहीं हो पाया है। बिहार के हाजीपुर में दो साल से अधिक समय से डेटा उपलब्धता है। पश्चिम बंगाल में, दुर्गापुर और हल्दिया में रीयल टाइम मॉनिटर केवल 2020 के अंत में ही चालू हो गए, जो इन शहरों के लिए दीर्घकालिक प्रवृत्ति विश्लेषण करने की संभावना को सीमित करता है। ओडिशा में वास्तविक समय की निगरानी बहुत सीमित है। इसलिए डेटा मध्यम और छोटे शहरों में वायु गुणवत्ता की वर्तमान स्थिति और सूक्ष्म कण प्रदूषण में मौसमी बदलाव का संकेत है। सीइसई की अनुमिता रॉयचौधरी, कार्यकारी निदेशक, सीएसई की मानें तो 2019-2021 की अवधि के लिए वास्तविक समय वायु गुणवत्ता आंकड़ों के इस विश्लेषण से पता चलता है कि प्रदूषण में गिरावट जो 2020 में महामारी के कठिन लॉकडाउन चरणों से प्रेरित थी, वर्ष 2021 में पहले से ही बढ़ रहे स्तरों के साथ वापस उछाल के संकेत दे रही है। साथ ही कई मामलों में, स्तर अभी भी 2019 साल से नीचे हैं। सुश्री रॉय चौधरी ने आगे बताया कि बिहार और ओडिशा के कुछ स्टेशनों में डेटा उपलब्धता की इतनी कमी है कि ट्रेंड्स का सटीक आंकलन संभव नहीं है। उन्होंने कहा कि पश्चिम बंगाल के अधिकांश स्टेशनों का प्रदर्शन बेहतर है क्योंकि उनके पास डेटा उपलब्धता 95 प्रतिशत से अधिक है।ओडिशा के तालचेर और बिहार के गया में कलेक्ट्रेट के स्टेशन न्यूनतम 80 प्रतिशत डेटा उपलब्ध कराटे हैं वहीँ ठीक इसके विपरीत पटना के राजवंशी नगर में सीएएक्यूएमएस स्टेशनों पर 100 प्रतिशत डेटा उपलब्धता है। पश्चिम बंगाल में कोलकाता, हावड़ा, सिलीगुड़ी और दुर्गापुर में कई अन्य स्टेशन तथा बिहार के पटना, गया और मुजफ्फरपुर में कुछ भिन्नता के साथ 95-100 प्रतिशत डाटा उपलब्ध दिखता हैं। बिहार एवं ओडिशा के ख़राब डेटा मुहैया करवाने वाले स्टेशनों का कारण उक्त क्षेत्र में खराब बिजली और इंटरनेट कनेक्टिविटी से जोड़ा जा सकता है।

Pollution levels that dipped during 2020 lockdown threaten to bounce back: CSE

New Delhi, Jan 10 With the levels of pollution rising this year, the downward dip, induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020, will not persist, a new analysis of regional pollution trends done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed.</p><div id="div-ub-lokmat"><script> window.unibots = window.unibots || { cmd: [] }; unibots.cmd.push(()=>{ unibotsPlayer('lokmat'); });</script> </div><p>"This analysis of real time air quality data for the period 2019-2021 shows that the downward dip in pollution that was induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020 is threatening to bounce back with the levels in 2021 already rising. But in many cases, the levels are still lower than 2019. This underscores the urgency of scaling up action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and to arrest the trend in this region," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at CSE. </p>

Air panel to check public suggestions

New Delhi: The central government panel on air quality, CAQM, has constituted an expert group to examine the public suggestions it had received before finalising a policy to curb air pollution in NCR. The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), in an order dated January 7, stated that it had formed a nine-member expert group headed by P Raghavendra, chairman, Haryana State Pollution Control Board. The group also has experts from CAQM, IIT-Kanpur, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Centre for Science and Environment, Central Pollution Control Board, Maulana Azad Medical College and Council for Energy Environment and Water. The expert group, CAQM stated, will examine the suggestions it received from public and thereby work on a policy to finalise a “permanent solution” for the pollution woes of NCR. The step was taken following directions from the Supreme Court, which on December 16 asked CAQM to consider the public suggestions, following which CAQM on December 24, 2021 invited suggestions.

Climate change: Cleaning up India's energy systems

Expert Sunita Narain writes that in the fight against climate change, India's real challenge will not be building infrastructure, but ensuring that even the poorest can pay the cost of this 'clean' energy When it comes to climate change, three truths must define the way the world, and India, act to combat this challenge. First, we must recognise the urgent reality of extreme weather, attributed to emissions from burning of fossil fuels, that is devasting the entire world. Therefore, the world must act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fast and drastically. There should be no arguments on this.

Will 2022 bridge the yawning gaps in national and state level clean air action?

n 2022, as many as 132 cities that are currently implementing clean air action plans under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), will have only two years left to meet the 2024 target of 20-30% cut in annual average particulate pollution from 2017 levels. While these generic targets are common for all cities, the city-wise target for meeting the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for both particulate matter of size less than 10 micron and 2.5 micron (PM10 and PM2.5) are significantly tighter for some. Especially those in the Indo Gangetic Plain, where the reduction needed is 50-60% or more. But even before cities could come closer to meeting their minimal air quality targets, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has started the process of further tightening of air quality standards. The World Health Organisation (WHO) too has raised the bar to protect public health. The new WHO guidelines for particulate matter are eight to four times more stringent than the current Indian standards. his raises questions about the effectiveness of the action initiated under two funding streams that are currently available to support clean air action in cities. Under NCAP, about Rs 460 core were earmarked out of which about Rs 375.44 crore (81%), has been disbursed, with allocation varying between Rs 10-20 crore per city. The other is a bigger kitty of Rs 4,400 crore for urban local bodies in 42 cities with more than a million population (ULB Funding) for air pollution mitigation, sanctioned by the 15th Finance Commission. Poor fund utilisation The recent status update on NCAP funding by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change shows poor utilization — a mere 33.53% at the end of three years of NCAP implementation. While Bihar and Chandigarh have shown high utilization, 76.98% and 81.55% respectively, it is just 7.92% in Maharashtra. North eastern states like Assam, Nagaland and other and the hill states like Himachal Pradesh also show very low utilisation. Other comparatively better performers include West Bengal (57.63%), Rajasthan (57.24%), Uttarakhand (53.17%) and Jharkhand (50%). Southern states of Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh indicate utilisation of 34.35%, 16.90% and 9.61%, respectively. If funding of clean air action has to become more performance-oriented in the coming years, it is necessary to understand the scope and nature of funding for verifiable improvement in air quality. Low fund utilisation indicates shortfall in targeted action. But what ultimately matters is not only the full implementation of the plans but the effectiveness of the actions. Currently, the NCAP funding is largely designed to improve air quality monitoring and support emissions source inventory and source apportionment studies. While this technical support for air quality management is important, direct mitigation action is not the core focus of the NCAP funding yet. The available funding for mitigation is largely limited to road dust control (mechanical sweeping and water sprinkling); it is not designed for deep, multi-sector action identified under NCAP. Addressing capacity gaps There is an expectation that state governments will also provide funding support. But there is little clarity about the scope of funding on pollution mitigation related to industry, vehicles, transport, waste management, clean fuel access, among others. There is largely no additional committed funding at the state level except the existing line funding which is quite status quo in its approach. There is also not enough evidence on ground to demonstrate the level of reduction that has been possible with the current effort to reduce pollution towards air quality targets. Similar assessment of the spending pattern of ULB Funding under the 15th Finance Commission is not yet available. As this is a new line of funding, most cities are either preparing or have just started implementing the micro-action plans to utilize this fund. However, these plans have created opportunities for more granular planning in each sector requiring sector-wise and indicator-wise target setting and earmarking of funds. Delhi air quality File pic of Smog in Delhi. Every winter, air quality in Delhi touch hazardous levels. Pic: Wikimedia Commons This has, for the first time, pushed the concerned sectoral departments in cities to align their programmes and budget to deliver on clean air targets. CPCB has defined more than 250 indicators covering all sectors for planning and reporting. If action, compliance and progress can be tracked for each indicator every quarter, more systemic changes are possible for clean air gains. Read more: Delhi’s toxic air: From emergency measures to sustained action However, a review of this process in a few states by the Centre for Science and Environment shows that while this is a useful exercise to align inter-departmental work, a lot more is needed to build capacity for planning and compliance at the city level. Even though plans have taken shape, the scope of action for effective mitigation is often not clear to the agencies. Therefore, planning for adequate infrastructure, system change and regulatory and administrative measures to support action remains limited. For instance, action on industrial pollution is largely in status quo in terms of monitoring, inspection and issuance of consent to operate or closure notices. Focus on targeted introduction of clean fuels, adoption of emissions control technologies in big and small scale units, enforcement of new standards and advanced monitoring for compliance have not been adequately addressed. Similarly, while action on public transport, walking and cycling are included in the plans, there is little clarity about designing these strategies for effective increase in their mode share and to reduce traffic volume and vehicular kilometers travelled. On the contrary, inappropriate approaches like road widening, flyovers and increasing parking supply that increases traffic intensity and emissions, have qualified for funding. Data collection and analysis gaps This exercise has also shown how unprepared the departments are in tracking data for reporting progress on all sectoral indicators. It is often not well-understood how to record and use data for reporting progress. Often several other actions under way, which have a bearing on air quality improvement, remain underreported because of this lack of clarity. Scope of action also remains narrow. For instance, control of road dust is largely limited to sweeping of roads and sprinkling water and ignores paving and greening. Not enough connection is made with plantation and protection of forests and water bodies, green walling and soil stabilisation techniques in agriculture to control dust. Nearly all cities have found it challenging to set targets for future action as comprehensive policy planning aligning with the clean air indicators have not been carried out at the state and departmental levels. Nearly every action requires standard operating procedures and management information systems within departments. This needs comprehensive mapping of enforcement strategy, strengthening of regulatory and administrative measures, and building infrastructure and skills to provide targeted support and set targets. Finally, the NCAP is also preparing to come up with state level action plans to address the problem at a regional scale and not remain confined to city limits. It is not yet clear how this will operate to include both urban and rural sources within an accountability framework and as shared responsibility between different jurisdictions. The bottom line is that 2022 has to be about measurable and verifiable improvement in air quality across all regions.

From the Editor-in-Chief

India Today Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie on India's big concerns through insights from a panel of experts in their particular fields We entered 2022 with a sense of déjà vu because the new year seems a lot like the year gone by. Covid-19 cases are rising again and a far more contagious strain of the novel coronavirus is spreading across the globe. The good thing, though, is that two years on, Covid-19 is no longer an unknown unknown. We know the nature of the beast and experienced the worst of it last year when the Delta variant tore across India, triggering the second wave of infections, aggravated by an acute medical oxygen crisis and black fungus cases, all of which collectively killed over 200,000 people in the country. We are now far better prepared with vaccine stocks and the government’s booster dose programme. Covid-19 has claimed 5.4 globally, just a tenth of the estimated 50 million deaths from the 1918 influenza pandemic, also referred to as the ‘Spanish flu’. The outbreak raged for about two years and infected a third of humanity. The new Omicron strain of Covid, from all available evidence, is milder than Delta. That’s a relief. Although we are still in the midst of the pandemic, we seem to be much better off. But this should not breed complacency. Viruses seldom behave the way you want them to. The world today has four times the population it had a century ago and is far more interconnected. One study finds that the global economy could lose almost $3 trillion (Rs 223 lakh crore) due to Covid-19. It is projected to grow at 4.3 per cent in 2022, slightly below the 5.8 per cent it achieved last year (after -3.3 per cent in 2020). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates global GDP losses could rise to $5.3 trillion (Rs 393 lakh crore) over five years with several million lives lost. Strong economic growth is a key imperative for India if it is to pull more people out of poverty. The pandemic’s trajectory, particularly its linkage with the wellness of people, will be the most important factor determining global economic recovery in 2022. In addition to these two intertwined concerns, India has a third sharp end of a threat triangle to deal with— China. In May 2020, a belligerent Beijing shredded three decades of peace and tranquillity protocols when it moved heavy military units to the boundary in eastern Ladakh, where both sides remain entrenched. Apart from concerns of health, economy and security, several other factors will weigh on the minds of the political establishment in 2022. This year, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our independence. There will be elections to the office of the President and Vice-President and to seven state assemblies. The BJP is in power in six of these states, including Prime Minister Modi’s home state of Gujarat. The party’s strategy to fight anti-incumbency will be closely watched. There are, however, more long-term concerns in the year ahead and beyond. Our special issue, ‘2022: Hope & Fear’, put together by Editor (Features) Kai Friese, looks at these concerns through insights from a panel of experts in their particular fields. For instance, virologist Gangandeep Kang says science and public health, supported by policy, need to be at the forefront of our control endeavours because the threat from global waves of SARS-CoV-2 variants is not going away. China watcher Andrew Small explains that Beijing now has a greater appetite for escalating crises than it did in the past and thinks it can live with antagonistic relationships on multiple fronts. Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran believes 2022 will be more unpredictable and hopes for it to be India’s year of a revitalised Act East policy and engagement with economic blocs, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Financial strategist Neelkanth Mishra feels India should seize the opportunity and focus on increasing its share of global trade, both in services and merchandise. Economist Jahangir Aziz outlines five broad trends to watch for—Covid-19 turning endemic, the impact of COP26 commitments on future energy sources, a policy regime change in China, the permanent damage caused by the Covid pandemic, and global electoral cycles in the next few years. Environmentalist Sunita Narain says it is time for India to reinvent growth without pollution by designing a more resource efficient, affordable and sustainable climate change model. Former agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain and researcher Shweta Saini write about how the farmers’ agitation against the central farm laws should not be seen as the end of the road for agri- cultural reforms. For technologist Rohan Murty, a major theme of 2022 will be deploying tech to improve people’s experience at work. The RSS, the BJP’s ideological parent, will celebrate 100 years of its existence in 2025. According to RSS ideologue Ram Madhav, the challenge for the organisation will be to find a balance between pride and anger, ensuring that neither spills over. Author and Trinamool Congress leader Pavan K. Varma, however, argues that Hindutva aims to overturn the inclusiveness and eclecticism of Hinduism. Group Editorial Director (Publishing) Raj Chengappa writes about the need for the Modi government to stay the course on economic reforms. Senior advocate Arvind P. Datar says India must nurture the institutional independence of courts and tribunals if it wants to be treated on par with the great western democracies, while globalisation specialist Parag Khanna sees the waves of migrating Indians as reshaping the world. Finally, sports writer Sharda Ugra predicts that the new year will be one of a resurgence of Indian athletes across all sport. This is truly a galaxy of fine writers and if you want to know the direction the country and the world are taking, or ought to be taking, this special issue is a must read. Enjoy.

Delhi plans mesh of sensors to monitor pollution air hot spots

Pollution is one of the biggest problems dogging Delhi, and the city experiences a public health emergency every winter with the air quality deteriorating to hazardous levels The national capital’s 40 real-time ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) account for a network that roughly covers every 37 sq km of Delhi’s 1,484 sq km area, if these stations were spread out at equal distance from each other across the city. While this network is considerably denser than the four stations functional each in Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida and Faridabad, and the two stations in Greater Noida, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) is now considering deploying multiple low-cost sensors to enhance the coverage further. The idea is to install these sensors at the neighbourhood level to create a spatial grid alerting the anti-pollution body of changes in air quality levels in different parts of the same area, to enable local interventions in places where spikes are reported, DPCC officials aware of the matter said. If approved, the plan is start by using these sensors in Delhi’s 13 pollution hot spots, where urgent corrective action in needed, they added. “These sensors function in a similar way to an automatic real-time stations present in Delhi, but they will also be able to identify local sources of pollution, which otherwise cannot be detected by a real-time station as it covers a substantially larger area. Depending on which sensor is showing high-levels of pollution, we can take corrective action, for example acting on dust in its vicinity or any kind of garbage burning,” said a senior DPCC official who asked not to be named. Pollution is one of the biggest problems dogging the national capital, and the city experiences a public health emergency every winter with the air quality deteriorating to hazardous levels. Between November and December last year, for example, the city witnessed 17 “severe” days, and even “very poor” and “poor” days on the Air Quality Index (AQI) rating scale are considered periods of respite. To be sure, this problem is not restricted to winter. Delhi’s average PM2.5 level in 2021 was 87 micrograms per cubic metre, 17 times higher than safety levels prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2018, DPCC identified 13 pollution hot spots, which have a substantially higher annual PM 2.5 concentration than the city’s mean average. These are Jahangirpuri, Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Wazirpur, Punjabi Bagh, Dwarka Sector 8, Rohini Sector 16, RK Puram, Bawana, Mundka, Narela, Okhla Phase II and Vivek Vihar. Initially, it is these areas that DPCC wants to target with the network of low-cost sensors. While an automatic monitoring station costs around ₹1-1.5 crore, a low-cost sensor costs only ₹50,000, if it is to measure both PM 2.5 and PM 10 particulate matter. For each additional sensor to measure gases such as SO2, O3 and NOx, the cost goes up by ₹25,000 per filter. In Delhi, the 40 real-time stations have been installed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and DPCC, each measuring PM 10, PM 2.5, SO2, NOx, NH3, CO, O3 and benzene. The low-cost sensors are relatively less accurate but experts said that the data can be used very effectively for analysis and intervention. Ronak Sutaria, founder, Respirer Living Sciences, who specialises in gathering local-level data from low-cost sensors, says while a real-time station influences area of 3-5 sq km, low-cost sensors could cover a radius of 1 sq km easily, creating both a spatial and temporal grid that can be analysed by DPCC. “If we have to assume each pollution hot spot in Delhi is spread over an area of 5 sq km, five such low-cost sensors can be installed covering a kilometre each and you can then identify in which grid the pollution levels are higher. The denser the grid, the more accurate the readings will be,” he says, stating while costing nearly 30-40 times lesser than an ambient air quality station, these low-cost sensors still have an accuracy that is only around 10-15% apart from a real-time station. “If the real-time station is showing “severe” air, then these sensors will show”severe” air too, and the actual concentration may be 10-20 micrograms apart, but it will still give a good idea of the concentration levels in the area,” he added, pointing out that local data also gives a better idea of spike of bad air spikes during different times of the day. Professor SN Tripathi from IIT Kanpur, who is part of a committee formed by CPCB to look at ways to utilise both low-cost sensors and ambient air quality monitoring stations together, says Delhi could benefit with a low-cost network in addition to the existing stations. “While the existing network of 40 stations in Delhi is good enough for policy-level decisions, low-cost sensors will be able to give an idea of certain locations at the neighbourhood-level which have a higher concentration level. Based on this, you could strategically act on the sources of pollution around that sensor,” he said, adding that Beijing is uses a network of over 3,000 low-cost sensors. Anumita Roychowdhury says the approach to use low-cost sensors to tackle hots pot pollution can help coordinate ground-level action better. “Only once we know the source, can we act on it. Ground-level action such as high readings from burning of waste or dust can be easily captured,” she said.

New rules on fly ash disposal a ‘positive step’, but experts say health, ecology risks remain

Fly ash is the residue of coal combustion, which, if disposed of improperly, is hazardous. New govt rules include a system of environmental compensation based on polluter-pays principle. New Delhi: Thermal power plants and lignite plants that do not utilise 100 per cent of the fly ash they generate in an “eco-friendly” way will now face penalties, under a new set of rules notified by the Narendra Modi government. Fly ash is the residue of coal combustion, which, if disposed of improperly, is hazardous for health and the environment due to the concentrated presence of heavy metals. The notification from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change intends to “bring out a comprehensive framework for ash utilisation including a system of environmental compensation based on polluter-pays principle”. This is a first in the country. Thermal power plants must utilise 100 per cent of their yearly fly ash output within a three-year cycle to avoid penalties, the 31 December notification says, adding that “at no point” should utilisation fall below 80 per cent. The plants that fail to have 100 per cent utilisation levels within this period will be forced to pay the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Rs 1,000 per tonne of unutilised ash. VDO.AI The notification acknowledges “legacy ash”, or the build-up of fly ash by thermal power plants over decades, saying that this must be utilised over a period of 10 years from the time the notification is applicable, from 1 April 2022 onwards. Legacy ash must be dealt with “over and above” the yearly ash output by power plants, the notification says. India has over 200 coal power plants that generate an enormous amount of fly ash. According to the Central Electricity Authority, India’s coal plants generated 232.56 million tonnes of fly ash in 2020-2021. Although 93 per cent of it was utilised, millions of tonnes accumulated over the years lie unused. A study by think tank Centre for Science and Environment in March 2021 found that over half of India’s power plants failed to fully utilise their fly ash and fell behind previous government targets. The new notification will replace the 1999 notification that had originally set up rules for fly ash utilisation. It will also supersede the various amendments to the 1999 notification made in 2003, 2009 and 2016, which have all sought to manage the generation of fly ash. ‘Eco-friendly’ utilisation The latest notification is largely similar to the draft that had been released for public comments in April 2021. Dumping fly ash on land needs to be prevented, and it should be dealt with in an “eco-friendly” manner, the new notification says. It lists “the only” ways in which the fly ash can be utilised, which include the manufacturing of bricks, tiles, cement, construction of roads, and export to other countries. It also allows for the “filling of low-lying areas”, filling of empty mines, and “agriculture in a controlled manner based on soil testing”. The notification adds that the compensation money collected by the CPCB for ash that hasn’t been utilised will be used “towards the safe disposal of the unutilised ash” as well as research on ash-based products. What experts say According to experts, the introduction of a penalty for non-compliance and acknowledgement of legacy ash is a step in the right direction, but there are other facets that the notification doesn’t adequately address. “The notification calls the filling of low-lying areas an eco-friendly method of utilising fly ash, but more often than not, this is a euphemism for irresponsibly dumping ash. Dumping ash in low-lying areas can lead to severe ecological consequences,” said Sehr Raheja, a researcher with Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, a civil society organisation that wrote to the government in April last year, when comments on the draft notification had been invited. A report co-authored by Manthan found that there were eight major fly ash breaches between 2019 and 2021, leading to destruction and contamination. While the notification says that all yearly and legacy ash must be utilised, it also makes a provision for ash stored in dykes and ponds — structures built for large amounts of ash disposal — saying that as long as such storage is “stabilised” or reclaimed by growing plantations, coal power plants certified with the CPCB can be excluded from the 10-year deadline. “We also worry that this will create a loophole for coal power plants not to utilise their legacy ash,” Raheja added. Think tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) had also submitted comments in April last year, saying a 10-year deadline to comply with 100 per cent utilisation of legacy ash “eases the legal burden of compliance but allows for illegal dumps of overloaded ash dykes to continue” despite risks of accidents and contamination. The CPR also said the draft notification didn’t address the issue of fly ash generation, which is the underlying cause for build-up and environmental damage. It also urged the government to recognise that fly ash is a public health hazard. “It is critical to take policy measures to link fly ash utilisation with steps being taken by the government to prevent diseases and deaths and provide health services. The environmental regulation that emerges from this approach of ‘fly ash as a health risk’ has the potential to identify remedies to address legacy impact and prevent future legal breaches,” CPR wrote in its comments. However, the final notification does not incorporate this point.

Corona पर बड़ी लापरवाही: एक तरफ बढ़ते केस, दूसरी तरफ बेपरवाह जनता

नेशनल डेस्क: कोरोना महामारी की दूसरी लहर थमने के बाद शायद अब जनता दो साल बीता भयावह दौर नहीं देखना और न ही इसकी कल्पना करना चाहती है। जनता वैसे ही जीना चाहती है जैसे दो साल पहले महामारी से पहले जिया करती थी। इसमें भी कोई दोराय नहीं है कि नए साल ने पूरे विश्व में इस बार कोरोना के नए वेरिएंट ओमीक्रॉन के साथ दस्तक दी है और यह पूरे विश्व में तेजी से फैल रहा है। जबकि अब जनता बेरपवाह होकर जीना चाहती है, सड़कों पर मास्क लगा कर चलना छोड़ दिया है, दो गज की दूरी भूल गई है। जो लॉकडाउन झेला उसे दोबारा नहीं देखना चाहती है। समाजिक तौर पर इसकी वजह यह है कि भारत ही नहीं पूरे विश्व में लोगों के गुजरे हुए दो साल एक भयानक सपने की तरह गुजरे हैं। साल 2020 में जब कोरोना महामारी ने जब लोगों की दुनिया की रफ्तार को जाम कर दिया तो उन्हें अपनी जिंदगी किसी राजा के शाही फरमान के मुताबिक जीने को मजबूर होना पड़ा। वजह लाजमी थी कोरोना से निपटने के लिए दवाओं का पता नहीं था वैक्सीन थी नहीं ऐसे में लोगों ने अपनी जान बचाने के लिए वह सब किया जो उन्हें कभी पसंद नहीं था। खौफ से सरकारी फरमानों के मुताबिक लोगों ने घरों से बाहर निकलना बंद कर दिया। दो गज दूरी के चक्कर में एक दूसरे से मिलना ही बंद कर दिया। मास्क को अपने रोजमर्रा के कपड़ों का हिस्सा बनाया। ऑफिस छोड़ घरों से ऑनलाइन काम करना शुरु कर दिया। बच्चों के शिक्षण संस्थान बंद हो गए ऑनलाइन शिक्षा के चक्कर में विश्व के करोड़ों गरीब छात्र पढ़ाई से महरूम हो गए। भारत में सड़कों पर प्रवासी मजदूरों की भीड़ शहरों से गांव पलायन करने लगी। क्या अब वह भयावह दौर गुजर चुका है यह एक ऐसा भयावह मंजर था जिसे अमीर से अमीर और गरीब से गरीब व्यक्ति को झेलना पड़ा। करीब एक साल पहले जब कोरोना रोधी वैक्सीन उपलब्ध हुई तो दुनिया भर के देशों को लग रहा था कि अब हम कोरोना महामारी की चपेट से बाहर आ जाएंगे। कुछ हद तक भारत सहित कई देश इस बात को लेकर आश्वस्त होने लगे कि सब ठीक हो जाएगा। महामारी की भारत में दूसरी लहर धीमी पड़ने पर हमने भी मान लिया था कि अब वह भयावह दौर गुजर चुका है और हम अब वापिस मुड़ कर नहीं देखने वाले हैं। ऐसी हकीकत की कल्पना दोबारा कोई भी नहीं करना चाहेगा जब गंगा में शव लावारिस हो गए और कब्रिस्तान शवों को दफनाने के लिए कम पड़ने लगे थे। श्मशान में शवों की कतारें लगी थी और अस्थियों से भरी बोरियों के भी ढेर जमा हो गए थे। कारोना की रफ्तार थमने के बाद यह भी दावा किया जाता है कि 2022 के अंत तक लोगों को कोरोना से निजात मिल जाएगी। यह दावा वैक्सीनेशन पर आधारित है, ये माना जा रहा है कि विश्व में 70 फीसदी लोगों के टीकाकरण के बाद स्थिति काबू में आ जाएगी। जब तक सब सुरक्षित नहीं होंगे, तब तक कोई भी सुरक्षित नहीं सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) की महानिदेशक सुनीता नारायण अपने एक लेख में कहती है कि महामारी से जंग में वायरस और इसके वेरिएट्स की वैक्सीनेशन के साथ रेस थी। कहा गया कि ‘जब तक सब सुरक्षित नहीं होंगे, तब तक कोई भी सुरक्षित नहीं है’। यह स्लोगन हमें फिर से आश्वासन दिलाता था कि हम जीत की ओर बढ़ रहे हैं। हमने जी-7 में दुनिया के नेताओं से इसके बारे में तफसील से सुना। वह लिखती है कि जब हम नए साल में आने को तैयार थे और उम्मीद कर रहे थे कि सामान्य दिन वापस आ जाएंगे, कोरोना के नए वेरिएंट- ओमीक्रान ने दुनिया को झटका दिया। अगर 2020 नोवेल कोरोना वायरस का और 2021 इसके डेल्टा वेरिएंट का साल था तो 2022 में ओमीक्रान हमें डराने जा रहा है। अब इकलौता विकल्प बूस्टर देने का सुनीता नारायण ने उल्लेख किया है कि हमें नहीं पता कि यह कितना खतरनाक होगा। हम बस इतना जानते हैं कि इसके उत्परिवर्तन करने की दर काफी ज्यादा है और इसका संक्रमण बहुत तेज है। यह उस प्रतिरोधक क्षमता को नष्ट कर डालता है, जो हमने वैक्सीन से हासिल की है, यानी कि अब इकलौता विकल्प बचता है- बूस्टर देने का। उन सारे लोगों को बूस्टर देने का, जो वैक्सीन की पहली दोनों डोज ले चुके हैं ताकि वे ओमीक्रान के संक्रमण से कम प्रभावित हों। विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन जो हाल- फिलहाल तक अमीर देशों से कह रहा था कि वे कोरोना वायरस को रोकने के लिए अपने यहां सभी को बूस्टर डोज देने की बजाय गरीब देशों को वैक्सीन उपलब्ध कराएं, अब चिल्ला-चिल्लाकर बूस्टर, बूस्टर, बूस्टर कर रहा है। हम वाकई थक चुके हैं।

CSE finds early signs of rising air pollution in MP, Chhattisgarh

The CSE analysis of air quality status in cities of MP and Chhattisgarh is an assessment of annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentration for the period January 1, 2019 to December 12, 2021 It is not only the northern part of India that is in the grip of severe winter pollution but several cities in other regions -- including in the central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- are experiencing a worsening of winter pollution, finds a latest analysis from Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The analysis shows that air pollution during winter is a problem in all the cities in these two states, with Gwalior and Singrauli having the worst air quality -- as bad as the winter air quality of cities in the National Capital Region and Uttar Pradesh. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution is also high in these cities, with Indore recording the highest for the region. Singrauli, a small town in eastern Madhya Pradesh, but designated as a critically polluted area by the Central Pollution Control Board, has the most polluted air in the region with a 2021 average of 81 micrograms per metre cube. It is followed by Gwalior and Katni that have 2021 averages of 56 micrograms per metre cube and 54 micrograms per metre cube, respectively. The 2021 average has bypassed the 2020 average in all the major cities -- Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Ujjain -- and it does not meet the annual standard as well. "Satna has the lowest 2021 average value, but the quality of data from the city's only station is suspect. Bilaspur, Bhilai and Maihar do not have adequate data for computation of annual values," a release from the CSE said on Monday. "Even though real time air quality data is extremely limited in this region, whatever real time data is emerging from only 17 cities of these two big states indicate a growing crisis and vulnerability to winter smog. This demands early and stronger multi-sector action at a regional scale to meet the clean air targets," said executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, Anumita Roychowdhury. "Gaps in air quality data and lack of quality control of data makes it difficult to construct reliable air quality trends and do proper risk assessment," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager, Urban Lab, CSE. "The worsening of air quality in the region has not drawn adequate public attention. In winter, air quality of cities such as Singrauli, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Katni could get nearly three times worse than their annual average levels." The CSE analysis of air quality status in cities of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh is an assessment of annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentration for the period January 1, 2019 to December 12, 2021. This analysis is based on real time data available from the current working air quality monitoring stations in central India. The analysis covers 18 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 17 cities in the two states -- two stations in Gwalior and one station each at Bhopal, Damoh, Dewas, Indore, Jabalpur, Katni, Maihar, Mandideep, Pithampur, Ratlam, Sagar, Satna, Singrauli, Ujjain, Bhilai and Bilaspur. Air quality monitoring is still very limited in the central region. Cities in MP have data available for over two years; but real time monitors in Chhattisgarh became operational only in the latter half of 2021, which limits the possibility of assessing long term trends. Therefore, the data is indicative of the current status of air quality and seasonal variations in particulate pollution in medium and smaller cities in the region, the CSE release said.

CSE Finds First Signs of Rising Air Pollution in MP, Chhattisgarh

Not only is northern India gripped by heavy winter pollution, but several cities in other regions, including the central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, are experiencing worsening winter pollution. analysis from the Center for Science and the Environment (CSE). Analysis shows that winter air pollution is a problem for all cities in these two states, with Gwalior and Singrawi having the worst air quality – as bad as winter air quality in cities in the National Capital Region and Uttar Pradesh. These cities also have high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution, with the highest in the region in Indore. Singrauli, a small town in the east of Madhya Pradesh, which has been designated as a Critically Polluted Area by the Central Pollution Control Board, has the most polluted air in the region, with an average of 81 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021. It is followed by Gwalior and Katney, who averaged 56 micrograms per cubic meter and 54 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021, respectively. The 2021 average surpassed the 2020 average for all major cities – Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Ujjain – and it also falls short of the annual standard. “Satna has the lowest average in 2021, but the quality of the data from the city’s only station is suspicious. Bilaspur, Bhilai and Mayhar do not have adequate data to calculate annual values, ”the CSE said in a statement on Monday. “While real-time air quality data for the region is extremely limited, any real-time data coming from just 17 cities in these two large states indicates a growing crisis and vulnerability to winter smog. regionally to achieve clean air targets, ”said Anumita Roychowdhuri, executive director of research and advocacy at CSE. “Gaps in air quality data and lack of quality control make it difficult to build reliable air quality trends and conduct proper risk assessments,” said Avikal Somvanshi, Program Manager, Urban Lab, CSE. “The deteriorating air quality in the region has not received enough public attention. In winter, the air quality in cities such as Singrawi, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Katni can be almost three times worse than their average levels. ” The CSE analysis of the air quality status in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh is an estimate of the annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentrations from 1 January 2019 to 12 December 2021. This analysis is based on real-time data available from operational air quality monitoring stations in central India. The analysis covers 18 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (CAAQMS) stations located in 17 cities in two states – two stations in Gwalior and one station each in Bhopal, Damokh, Dewas, Indore, Jabalpur, Katni, Mayhar, Mandidipa, Pithampur and others. Ratlam , Sagar, Satna, Singrawi, Ujjain, Bhilai and Bilaspur. Air quality monitoring in the central region is still very limited. For cities, the MP has data for more than two years; but real-time monitors in Chhattisgarh only started working in the second half of 2021, limiting the ability to assess long-term trends. Thus, the data indicate the current state of air quality and seasonal fluctuations in particulate matter pollution in medium and small cities in the region, the CSE said.

CSE finds early signs of rising air pollution in MP, Chhattisgarh – New Delhi News

The evaluation reveals that air air pollution throughout winter is an issue in all of the cities in these two states, with Gwalior and Singrauli having the worst air high quality — as unhealthy because the winter air high quality of cities within the National Capital Region and Uttar Pradesh. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution can be excessive in these cities, with Indore recording the very best for the area. Join Our Telegram Group Get Free Free Fire Redeem Codes Daily Singrauli, a small city in japanese Madhya Pradesh, however designated as a critically polluted space by the Central Pollution Control Board, has probably the most polluted air within the area with a 2021 common of 81 micrograms per metre dice. It is adopted by Gwalior and Katni which have 2021 averages of 56 micrograms per metre dice and 54 micrograms per metre dice, respectively. The 2021 common has bypassed the 2020 common in all the key cities — Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Ujjain — and it doesn’t meet the annual customary as nicely. “Satna has the lowest 2021 average value, but the quality of data from the city’s only station is suspect. Bilaspur, Bhilai and Maihar do not have adequate data for computation of annual values,” a launch from the CSE stated on Monday. “Even though real time air quality data is extremely limited in this region, whatever real time data is emerging from only 17 cities of these two big states indicate a growing crisis and vulnerability to winter smog. This demands early and stronger multi-sector action at a regional scale to meet the clean air targets,” stated government director, analysis and advocacy, CSE, Anumita Roychowdhury. “Gaps in air quality data and lack of quality control of data makes it difficult to construct reliable air quality trends and do proper risk assessment,” stated Avikal Somvanshi, programme supervisor, Urban Lab, CSE. “The worsening of air quality in the region has not drawn adequate public attention. In winter, air quality of cities such as Singrauli, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Katni could get nearly three times worse than their annual average levels.” The CSE evaluation of air high quality standing in cities of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh is an evaluation of annual and seasonal tendencies in PM2.5 focus for the interval January 1, 2019 to December 12, 2021. This evaluation is predicated on actual time information accessible from the present working air high quality monitoring stations in central India. The evaluation covers 18 steady ambient air high quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) unfold throughout 17 cities within the two states — two stations in Gwalior and one station every at Bhopal, Damoh, Dewas, Indore, Jabalpur, Katni, Maihar, Mandideep, Pithampur, Ratlam, Sagar, Satna, Singrauli, Ujjain, Bhilai and Bilaspur. Air high quality monitoring remains to be very restricted within the central area. Cities in MP have information accessible for over two years; however actual time screens in Chhattisgarh grew to become operational solely within the latter half of 2021, which limits the potential for assessing long run tendencies. Therefore, the information is indicative of the present standing of air high quality and differences due to the season in particulate air pollution in medium and smaller cities within the area, the CSE launch stated.