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Experts call for 'round the year action' to tackle New Delhi air pollution

Severe air pollution aggravates problems in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, they say Health experts in India urged greater efforts to deal with several air pollution problems in New Delhi which further complicates problems for patients with respiratory ailments. The national capital is in the middle of a severe air pollution problem, forcing authorities to take emergency measures. In conjunction with World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day that was observed earlier this week, health experts say pollution aggravates respiratory ailments, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, and more efforts are needed to tackle the problem. "When one suffers from this ailment, it means the lungs are already compromised -- whatever be the reason that led to lung problems,” said pulmonologist Jalil Parkar. “When you have pollution, be it in any city, this pollution aggravates the compromised lungs. So the person starts coughing, getting an infection, and the person starts becoming more breathless. When there is the problem of breathless, it triggers underlying asthma ... one has to use a nebulizer or oxygen or the patient may also need hospitalization," Parkar told Anadolu Agency. He said authorities should work on the issues that are creating pollution. "You need to see it, the pollution which is triggering all the respiratory illness, during the period such as winter. Those factors, which are contributing to pollution -- they are tackled rather than just treating the patients," he said. "Patients will become better, but we will keep on getting this as and when the pollution rises. You need to tackle these issues, which are creating pollution," Parkar noted. Air pollution has become a regular problem in the capital during the last few years. This week, authorities extended the closure of educational institutions and work from home in government offices. - Rise in hospital admissions Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, at the Centre for Science and Environment told Anadolu Agency that sudden spikes in pollution have an immediate trigger effect on vulnerable populations who are already suffering from respiratory conditions, asthma and cardiac conditions and the problem increases the number of patients in hospitals. "The available data in Delhi shows that emergency hospital admissions due to these symptoms increase during winter due to elevated pollution. Also, children and the elderly are vulnerable. Long-term exposure to pollution weakens lungs and impacts other organs of the body which also reduces life expectancy and increases premature deaths. Several studies are pointing in that direction," she said. Roychowdhury said while the Delhi government has taken several important steps to control the problem, that has not yet been rolled out in other regions, but more action is needed. "More action is needed to scale up public transport systems, walking and cycling infrastructure, electrification of vehicle fleet and complete processing of wastes to stop waste burning and strong action on construction and construction dust. Moreover, comprehensive and integrated action is needed not only in Delhi but across the national capital region to clean up the entire air-shed," she said. "Only temporary emergency measures that have just been implemented to control smog-like shutting down schools, stopping of construction and coal-based industry and power plants among others can at best prevent worsening of the current situation. But more systematic round the year action is needed to sustain the change," according to Roychowdhury. Delhi-based pulmonologist Richa Sareen believes the government and the public need to work harder to combat the problem. "We need more efforts not just from the government, but from ourselves as well.We have to be cautious, we shouldn't be going out during the smog hours, we should be wearing N95 masks as well. We should be using an air purifier indoor. We should not exercise outdoors in such conditions," she told Anadolu Agency. "We should use our prescribed inhalers and medicines regularly and get in touch with the doctor if any symptoms emerge," Sareen said.

Until next year? Stubble burning season nears end

NEW DELHI: The farm stubble burning season is drawing to a close, with fire counts in Punjab and Haryana starting to decline. The daily farm fire count came down from over a 1,000 a few days ago to 285 in Punjab and 67 in Haryana on Thursday, according to images from Nasa’s VIIRS-SNPP satellite. Delhi’s air quality, however, remained “very poor” for the third consecutive day on Friday with the air quality index at 380. A late monsoon withdrawal and frequent rain had kept the farm fires low in the first few weeks of October, but the number saw a steep rise in November and even surpassed the figures of the past few years. An analysis by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) on the trend of farm fires in 2021 as against 2020 shows that the combined daily count of Punjab and Haryana crossed 3,000-mark in the last week of October last year. This year, it touched 3,000 in the first week of November. L S Kurinji, programme associate of CEEW, said, “This year, Punjab and Haryana reported over 84,000 farm fires, the highest since 2016. The cumulative number of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana observed a marked spike from just 20,723 until October 31 to 84,513 till November 18. However, he added, the fire count “has started to decrease as we approach the Kharif season’s end”. Over the past two days, the cumulative daily count stood at less than 1,000 farm fires as opposed to the daily peak of 3,000-6,000 at the start of November, Kurinji pointed out. The share of stubble burning to Delhi’s PM2.5 was 3% on Friday. “While the farm fires usually subside by mid-November, a delay of four-five days is noted, especially in Punjab, this year. This slight shift in the trend can be attributed to the delayed harvest on account of late monsoon withdrawal,” he observed. Gufran Beig, founder project director of System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), said, “If the wind direction and transport-level wind speed are favourable, the low fire counts can also impact Delhi’s air.” However, experts emphasised the focus should now be on controlling other sources of pollution. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director research and advocacy at Centre for Science and Environment, said, “Farm fire is an episodic problem around this time of the year. The daily fire count will become negligible soon. Now the focus has to be on aggressive control of local pollution in the entire NCR to prevent more smog episodes this winter. Also roll out the strategies for round-the-year action.” According to SAFAR, Delhi’s air quality is likely to improve to the lower end of “very poor” or “poor” from Sunday.

SC to smog tower to AAP-Centre data slugfest – Delhi’s air pollution is a no-brainer

Govt proposals to reduce air pollution, such as Graded Action Plan or lockdown, come either just before the smog season or when cities are already choking. This week’s newsmaker is no surprise. It’s been a topic of discussion on every primetime show, been fought about in the Supreme Court of India, and is pretty much something you can’t – and therefore haven’t been able to – get away from if you live in north India: air pollution. Predictably, the Air Quality Index (AQI) levels have gone through the roof – hitting record levels after Diwali – and politicians from the Congress, Bharaitya Janata Party, and Aam Aadmi Party have been pointing fingers at each other the last fortnight. Every year, history repeats itself, with no resolution in sight. Even though it feels like Delhi is the worst affected, the truth is that air pollution affects the whole Indo-Gangetic plain, with millions of people breathing in air that is at least 30 times worse than what the World Health Organization (WHO) stipulates is safe. A quick Google search will yield several results of government proposals to reduce air pollution, like implementing the Graded Action Plan and a ‘pollution-induced’ lockdown. But all these suggestions are made either just before the smog season sets in, or when cities are already choking. According to the medical journal Lancet, air pollution caused over 16.7 lakh deaths in 2019. If 2019 pollution levels persist, nearly half of those living in the Indo-Gangetic plain – including Delhi – will lose 8.5 years of their lives. All this is why air pollution is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week. Interventions by Supreme Court Since the turn of the century, the Supreme Court has taken an interest in matters concerning air pollution. Today’s alarming AQI levels – between 270 and 340 in Delhi – show that it has been somewhat in vain. Until recently, the Supreme Court liaisoned with the erstwhile Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), which prepared reports monitoring pollution levels in the National Capital Region (including parts of Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh). Even though the EPCA was bestowed with the power to file criminal complaints against non-compliant polluters, RTI reports show it never did so in its 20 years of existence. The EPCA’s most notable contribution to curbing air pollution was its role in ensuring all DTDC busses switched to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in 2002. But that was it. The lack of interest in solving the air pollution crisis brewed steadily over those two decades. Government officials, off the record, have said the EPCA’s demise was inevitable, given only two people – chairperson Bhure Lal and the Centre for Science and Environment’s Sunita Narain – “called the shots.” All other members of what should have been a 20-people commission, rarely showed up for meetings. The EPCA was replaced last year with the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a four-member committee that initially generated a lot of excitement, before quickly fizzling out. The Commission was dissolved, to the surprise of its members, five months after its launch due to an ordinance lapse. The Commission was promptly resurrected, and has since made 43 directives and issued seven advisories this smog season. Results won’t be immediate, but whether the CAQM will remember the pollution problem throughout the year – and not only when the smog season approaches – is something yet to be seen. Gimmicks and misleading data Among the latest gimmicks in combatting Delhi’s air pollution are smog towers. And here, the Supreme Court is culpable too. In 2019, the apex court ordered the central government to build smog towers in Delhi, and then demanded last year in September that this be done within 10 months. The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government decided to compete, and took on the task of building one of the smog towers, in Connaught Place. Now, Delhi has two functional smog towers, each worth Rs 20 crore, but there’s little hope they will work. Besides the evidence outside our windows, experts have been warning against the installation of these expensive, ineffective machines for a while. If this wasn’t bad enough, the Narendra Modi government submitted what experts describe as “misleading” data to the Supreme Court on the causes of air pollution. In an affidavit, the Centre said farm fires contributed just 4 per cent to Delhi’s air pollution levels. This may be true as a year-long average, but during peak stubble burning season, from mid-October to mid-November, open fires (including farm fires) account for around 30 per cent of pollution. According to a 2019 study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a public policy think tank, the other big contributor to pollution is heating and cooking. Misleading data could have massive ramifications on how the sources of air pollution are addressed, but the slugfest between the Centre and the AAP over the data continues.

Clean Yamuna: Not lacking for effort, Delhi has spent over Rs 1,500 crore, but cleanup battle is far from won

NEW DELHI: An analysis done by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) says Delhi has already spent over Rs 1,500 crore on cleaning the Yamuna, excluding the cost of the common effluent treatment plants built in the city. CSE says this is possibly the highest amount spent on river cleaning in the country, but it has not worked as is evident from pollution data. CSE had analysed the data received from Yamuna Action Plan (YAP), which was launched to reduce the pollution load in the river with the first phase being started in 1993. image (25) In 2005, the Rs 380-crore YAP-II was sanctioned for Delhi. About 50% of this was to be used to rehabilitate 30.2km of defunct sewers by 2008. In 2006-07, Delhi Jal Board introduced its interceptor plan to lay over 60km of sewers along Najafgarh, supplementary and Shahdara drains. “This massive hardware programme, however, has not proved effective in terms of controlling pollution. An analysis of biological oxygen demand (BOD) indicates that nothing has changed in terms of pollution load in the river,” said the CSE analysis, which added that BOD load had gone up from about 129 tonnes per day in 1982-83 to over 261 tonnes per day in 2019. Explaining the issue of pollution in Yamuna, CSE said, “Delhi has already built 17 sewage treatment plants (STP), which together add up to 40% of the total installed sewage treatment capacity in India. But these plants remain grossly underutilised. The city does not have the drainage to convey all its excreta to the treatment plants. The untreated sewage from unauthorised colonies, which are unconnected to drainage, flows into open drains crisscrossing the city. But these are the same drains, flowing past colonies, in which the STPs dispose of their treated effluent. Hence, the illegal unconnected waste of the majority is being mixed with treated waste of the minority.” The report said the Yamuna could be cleaned when all sewage in the city was treated. It would require providing drainage to all colonies and sewage treatment for all. As Yamuna’s water quality could improve if there was more water for dilution of waste, CSE said, “Delhi can demand more water from Haryana, but this will be difficult. The second option is that Delhi can begin to reduce its own water demand and build harvesting for capturing rainwater for discharge in the lean season, so that it can allow water to flow in the river.” Sushmita Sengupta, senior programme manager, water and sanitation programme, CSE, said, “The treated effluent should not be put back into the same open drain that carries the untreated waste of the majority. We spend huge money first pumping sewage long distances for treatment and then waste this effort by dumping the cleaned water in unclean drains.” Among other measures suggested by CSE included treating sewage directly in open drains, building STPs close to the river banks to treat whatever waste remained in the drains and recycling and reusing treated waste to reduce the cost of pumping. The report also suggested treating all sewage by intercepting from open drains, not by building interceptors on existing drains and pumping waste to existing STPs. Yamuna conservationists said the river’s water quality had not seen much change. Manoj Mishra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan said, “Over the years, the Yamuna has gone from bad to worse. The only improvement seen in the Yamuna was in April 2020 due to the lockdown when industrial pollution was zero and there was good flow in the river. Yamuna then spoke what it actually required.”

Delhi: Treat before you dump, let Yamuna breathe, say experts

The dissolved oxygen levels, an indicator of the river’s capacity to sustain aquatic life, remain zero while the bio-chemical oxygen demand load has gone up from about 129 tonnes per day in 1982-83 to over 261 tonnes per day in 2019. River watchers and experts said Delhi needs to address its unplanned urban growth and work towards restoring the natural ecological flow of the river to allow dilution of waste water. (Amal KS/Hindustan Times) Despite spending hundreds of crores on Yamuna cleaning projects over the past three decades, several manifesto promises and schemes, a large part of river stretch within Delhi continues to resemble a sewage canal. he dissolved oxygen levels, an indicator of the river’s capacity to sustain aquatic life, remain zero while the bio-chemical oxygen demand or the BOD load has gone up from about 129 tonnes per day in 1982-83 to over 261 tonnes per day in 2019, show several scientific analysis of the river’s water over several years. The decay of organic matter in water is measured as biochemical or chemical oxygen demand. The river watchers and experts point out that unless Delhi addresses its unplanned urban growth and works towards restoring the natural ecological flow of the river to allow the dilution of waste water between Wazirabad and Okhla, the chances of the situation getting better over next four years appear to be slim. Professor Vikram Soni, a conservationist and emeritus professor at JNU, who has been working on issues related to Yamuna, pollution, said the political parties have been ad nauseam announcing projects about cleaning Yamuna over the last decades but nothing seems to change on ground. “The population of the city continues to grow in an unplanned manner and leading to increase wastewater generated by these settlements is going up. Several claims have been made in last 20 years but the river remains severely polluted. Removing industrial pollutants should be our immediate priority and all states need to pitch in,” he added. He said the annual phenomenon of foaming in parts of Yamuna shows that the industrial pollutants, which should have been tackled long back, continue to flow freely in river. Last week, a thick layer of foam was formed over the river section flowing near the Okhla Barrage, and in some portion near ITO. Under a six-point programme, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that the sewage treatment capacity of STPs will be increased from existing 600MGD (million gallons per day) to 850 MGD, and new plants will be added to enhance capacity. Delhi currently has a shortfall of around 151 MGD (million gallons a day) sewage treatment capacity while it is estimated that an additional 155 MGD wastewater comes from neighbouring states. The Centre for Science and Environment has argued that Delhi has possibly spent the highest amount of money on river cleaning in the country, but the pollution data indicates that little has changed in terms of water quality in the river. Diwan Singh, an environmental activist who organised Yamuna Satyagrah for the river rejuvenation in 2007, said that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had promised to clean the Yamuna within five years of coming to power in its first term (2013) but the situation has only worsened. “The technical approach of all the governments has been the same. On the one hand, the city is growing at an abrupt pace in unplanned fashion. The target to tackle wastewater from unplanned areas and industries keeps changing. The same thing happened with the interceptor sewer project which continues to miss deadlines as new sources of sewage keep getting added,” Singh said. Both central and state government as well as green tribunal and Supreme Court have ordered several projects to clean the river over the years. Yamuna Action Plan-1, which was one of the largest river restoration projects in India under the National River Conservation Plan, was launched in 1993 to increase the sewage treatment capacity and it lasted till 2003. The Yamuna Action Plan -2 was initiated in 2003 while the interceptor sewer project was launched in 2006 on the directions of the Supreme Court. The basic idea behind the interceptor sewer lines is that a trunk sewer line running along the large drains would be able to intercept the smaller sewers and block them from meeting the main drains while diverting the raw sewage to treatment plants. Besides YAP-1, YAP-2, projects under Namami Gange and Nirmal Yamuna Revitalisation Project (2017), several schemes have been announced with the aim of curbing pollution levels in the river. Manoj Misra, the convener of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan a consortium of NGOs and individuals concerned for the river Yamuna which has been working for its revival for more than a decade, said while a multi-pronged approach is require to revitalise Yamuna, industrial pollution should be the immediate priority for the government. “The river has itself spoken about the solution during the 2020 lockdown, when the water quality improved as the industries were shut and the flow in the river had increased due to good rainfall. Unless there is ecological flow in the river, no programmes will help,” he added. Misra advocated zero liquid discharge policy for industries. Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) is wastewater management system that to ensure that there is no discharge of industrial wastewater into the environment. It is achieved by treating wastewater through recycling, recovery and reuse for industrial purpose. A Delhi government official who asked not to be named said out of 33 industrial clusters in Delhi, 17 are connected to 13 CETPs (treatment plants). “Those drains whose wastewater does not go to a CETP will be tapped in the sewer line. If any industry does not properly dispose off its waste, it will be shut,” the official added. The government has announced that the STP treatment capacity will be increased to 850MGD and the 19 existing plants will be upgraded to meet 10:10 (BOD:TSS) levels, but experts say that the solution for increasing the utilization of existing capacity should be the focus area. Jyoti Sharma, head of FORCE- a Delhi based a water conservation and sanitation organization said that the under-utilization of STPs emphasizes that unplanned areas are not tapped and effluents are not reaching the treatment plants. “The action plan focuses on treatment. Decentralized STP should be our focus in JJ clusters and unauthorized colonies,” she added. A senior Delhi Jal Board (DJB) official said a lot of progress has been made in the last five years and there was an urgent focus on Yamuna cleaning projects now. “DJB CEO Udit Prakash has visited all the 18 drain points in Yamuna in the last couple of days and individual localised solutions are being formulated for each site,” the official added. He said the sewer network has been extended from 255 to 561 colonies in the past five years, and the number of sewer connections has also increased from 1.38 million to 2 million between 2016 and 2021. “Three new STPs have been added to raise the treatment capacity by 55 MGD and over 158 MGD of waste water has been tapped by partial commissioning of interceptor project,” the official said. An action plan formulated by DJB stated that the water utility aims to increase the sewage network coverage to 986 unauthorised colonies by December 2022, 1,625 colonies by December 2023 and all 1,799 colonies by December 2024. Prof Soni opined that tackling untreated sewage would take much longer time and investment worth tens of thousands of crores. “A large part of city’s unauthorized colonies are still not covered by sewage network. A large quantum of sewage from these areas still ends up in drains and river,” he added. Soni says the “clean” Yamuna may be a pipe dream. “Let’s take the example of Rhine river in Germany. The Rhine has been cleaned, but the water still remains non-potable after five decades. Perhaps we should focus on achieving a less polluted Yamuna by 2025,” Prof Soni remarked. Dr Suresh Kumar Rohilla, senior director-water programme, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said that the Delhi government needs to decentralise wastewater management and local reuse, as well as mainstreaming septage management as by the time they cover existing unsewered areas, new, unauthorised development will come up. “This catch-up game will continue unless we recognise this problem and plan citywide sanitation, moving away from sewage and centralised systems to sanitation for all,” Dr Rohilla said.

City’s air quality remains ‘very poor’; Rai urges Centre for joint meeting

Environment Minister says 70% of pollution is caused by sources outside Delhi The city’s air quality continued to be in the “very poor” category on Thursday and is likely to improve and be in the same range till Saturday. Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that 70% of pollution in Delhi is caused by pollutants coming from outside the city while the rest is contributed by local

'Delhi's contribution to air pollution is 31 percent, remaining 69 percent is from outside': Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai

Minister quoted a report published by a Delhi bases think tank called the Centre for Science and Environment Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said that Delhi's contribution to air pollution is 31 percent and the remaining 69 per cent of the pollution is from outside Delhi, adding that it is impossible to curb pollution without a joint-action plan by the Centre. Minister quoted a report published by a Delhi bases think tank called the Centre for Science and Environment which based its report on the data released by the Ministry of Earth Sciences' agency called System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). --ADVERTISEMENT-- "As per CSE report on the basis of SAFAR data between October 24 and November 8, Delhi's contribution in air pollution is 31 percent and the remaining 69 percent of the pollution is from outside Delhi. The report matches 2016 TERI data which said 36 percent pollution released from Delhi and 64 percent from outside," said Rai. "No matter how hard we try, not possible to get rid of 70 per cent outside pollution without a joint-action plan by the Centre and a monitoring team. Data establishes that contribution to Delhi pollution is largely from outside. Delhi people have been constantly attacked over pollution," he added. Delhi's air quality continues to be in the 'very poor' category for the fifth consecutive day today, according to the System of Air Quality & Weather Forecasting & Research (SAFAR). However, the overall Air Quality Index reduced from 379 on Wednesday to 362 today. Meanwhile, announcing emergency measures to reduce pollution, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said that there will be 100 per cent work from home for the government departments till November 21. Construction and demolition work has also been banned till November 21 in Delhi, while schools and other educational institutes will remain closed in the national capital until further orders, Rai informed.

Delhi pollution: Of over 700 complaints, only 200 addressed so far

Central Pollution Control Board allows the Delhi residents to file pollution-related complaints -- such as garbage dumping, open fires, dumping of construction waste, and road dust -- either on their official website or the Sameer portal. Out of 733 pollution-related complaints registered with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) over a 28-day period, only 229 have been redressed by various government agencies, according to a review by the pollution control body that highlights the lack of robustness in Delhi’s response to its annual bad air crisis. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation topped the list of agencies that recorded the most unresolved complaints -- 105 out of 126 for an 83% pendency. It was followed by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (112 unresolved out of 140) with 80% pendency, while the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Development Authority had resolved only one out of four and nine of 35 complaints they respectively received. The two corporations are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, and NDMC and DDA are agencies under the aegis of Union government. Status of complaints The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) was lagging too, having resolved only one of the six complaints it received. And so were the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), which redressed one of the five complaints forwarded to it, and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIDC), which addressed 21 of 36 complaints. DJB, DPCC and DSIIDC come under the Delhi government. The data from the CPCB review for complaints registered between October 20 and November 17 was accessed by HT. Across the city, 504 (or 68%) complaints were still pending across multiple agencies. Delhi Traffic Police, with 13 out of 18 complaints resolved, was among the better performers on this parameter, and the state Public Works Department led the pack with 22 out of 29 complaints resolved. CPCB allows the Delhi residents to file pollution-related complaints -- such as garbage dumping, open fires, dumping of construction waste, and road dust -- either on their official website or through their online redressal portal Sameer, which was launched in 2018. Complainants can upload pictures of violations in their localities, giving a description of the area. After assessing the credibility of the complaint, the pollution monitoring body assigns it to various agencies that are responsible for addressing that particular issue. “The pollution complaints that are logged with CPCB are first reviewed and then forwarded to the agencies concerned for action. Every day we conduct a review to assess the action taken. If complaints are pending for a long duration then we follow it up with the agencies concerned,” said a senior CPCB. Since a day after Diwali, when Delhi’s air entered the severe zone for the first time this season, the air quality has remained in the dangerous range for several days. It was only after at least a week of the city breathing toxic air that the CAQM on the intervention of the Supreme Court issued a set of directions to the governments of Delhi-NCR, which included the shutting down of schools, banning of trucks inside Delhi and ban on construction activities. When contacted, Jogi Ram Jain, the chairperson of the north corporation standing committee, said the civic body has deployed its maximum staff strength for pollution control this season. “I cannot say for sure about why the pendency of complaints is so high, but we have made dedicated teams that are on-ground even at night. They keep a watch on cases of open fires. During the day, our teams ensure that water sprinkling is done on all our roads and mechanical sweeping is also being regularly carried out,” Jain said. A senior PWD official said they were following the directions issued by the state government to control pollution at their construction sites. He said they were prioritising pollution-related complaints, and have given deadlines to their teams to ensure that they were resolved on time. “Pollution control is our priority. Even within the department we have fixed accountability so that complaints are resolved as soon as possible,” the official said. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said, “Fixing responsible is a must when we are dealing with multiple agencies. The whole point of having a public redressal system is to ensure that action is taken against complaints and considering that most of your pollution related action is time sensitive, it is imperative that reviews are done.”

Odd-even vehicle system in Delhi? Environment Minister says possible, if pollution levels stay high

While the Delhi government has taken a slew of measures to tackle pollution, Gopal Rai, the capital's Minister for Environment, Forest and Wildlife Development, said that Delhi will decide on the next course of action depending on the state of air quality after the stipulated period New Delhi: New Delhi will consider restricting private vehicles to driving on alternate days from next week if severe air pollution continues to plague India's capital, its environment minister told Reuters on Thursday (November 18). As choking smog enveloped the city of 20 million people this month, its government initiated a clutch of measures such as shutting down schools, banning construction and garbage burning, allowing people to work from home, and launching various dust-control steps such as using fire trucks to spray water. "If air pollution levels stay high, we will look at new measures like the odd-even (vehicle) system," Gopal Rai, the capital's Minister for Environment, Forest and Wildlife Development, said in the interview. Under the odd-even system, private vehicles can be driven only on alternating days, depending on the last digit of their number plate. "We'll see if there's a need for a complete lockdown to tackle pollution. But these measures will not work if Delhi's neighbouring cities do not reciprocate," Rai said. More children are in hospital with breathing problems due to dangerously heavy smog in New Delhi, doctors warned on Wednesday, and the government shut five power stations and extended school closures to try to contain the crisis. Citing a new study by the Centre for Science and Environment research body, Rai said only 30% of pollutants in Delhi's air stem from the city itself, with the rest coming from the vast urban sprawl around it where tens of thousands of big and small industries operate. "Even if we take more measures in Delhi, air quality will not improve if our neighbouring states do not ensure that pollution levels come down in the cities that surround Delhi." Rai said the federal government should call a meeting of Delhi and the state governments of neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to prepare "a joint action plan" to deal with air pollution. "Once the joint action plan is ready, there should be an independent panel to monitor the progress on the ground."

Business as usual cannot clean Yamuna, says CSE

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Thursday released a note on “What ails the Yamuna”. It also gave solutions to clean the river, including the need to reduce Delhi’s own water demand and build water harvesting systems for capturing rainwater for discharge in the lean season to maintain the flow of the river. The Yamuna is extremely polluted, and currently the levels of faecal coliform (microbes from human and animal excreta) in the river is beyond accepted levels at all points except Palla, where the river enters Delhi. At some points, the river pollution is as high as 760 times the accepted level, as per Government figures. “As per latest [2018] available estimates, Delhi has already spent over ₹1,500 crore for cleaning the river; this does not take into account the cost of the common effluent treatment plants that have been built in the city. This is possibly the highest amount spent on river cleaning in the country. But it has not worked, as is evident from the pollution data,” the CSE said. As per the note, Delhi has already built 17 sewage treatment plants (STPs), which together adds up to 40% of the total installed sewage treatment capacity in India. “But these plants remain grossly underutilised. The city does not have the drainage to convey all its excreta to the treatment plants,” the statement said. The CSE said that all Governments, including that of Delhi, are designing systems that people cannot pay for. “These are unaffordable systems to pipe water across long distances, which add to the cost of distribution and worse, increase water loss. Then, we design to take back the waste and pump it and pipe it even longer distances. Thus, there is a need to relearn the science and art of river cleaning. Business as usual will not result in a clean river,” it said.

Truck ban falls flat at several border points in Delhi

Spot check by HT shows trucks were allowed entry without any checks at some borders; enforcement strict in Gurugram. A day after the Delhi government issued an order banning the entry of all trucks, except those carrying essential goods, into the Capital till November 21 to control the rising pollution levels in the city, a spot check by HT on Thursday showed that its enforcement remained lax at several border points as trucks went past tolls without any checks. At the Badarpur border, the toll collectors said that they were not aware of any directions to stop the entry of trucks coming into the city from Haryana. A toll collector said that around 20-25 trucks bearing Haryana registration had crossed the borders by Thursday afternoon. “Since morning, trucks are moving freely here. We are not aware of any restrictions and we have not been directed to check the vehicles (if they are carrying essential goods or not) before letting them pass,” said Sanjeev Kumar, who was stationed at the Badarpur toll booth on Thursday afternoon. A few metres away from the toll, the driver of a medium-sized parked truck bearing a Haryana number plate, said, “I am on my way back. I am not aware of any restriction.” At the Pul Prahladpur border, a few kilometres away, police barricades were in place but it was unmanned. A row of small trucks were parked at the Pul Prahladpur village but HT couldn’t confirm if they were carrying essential goods. However, at the Apsara border near east Delhi’s Dilshad Garden, strict checks were being conducted, with enforcement teams comprising Delhi Police officials, traffic personnel and paramilitary staff manning the area around the toll plaza. An official stationed at the border said that smaller trucks were turned back at the toll gate. For bigger trucks, which might cause traffic congestion while turning, the staff collect the vehicle’s documents at the toll and the drivers are asked to collect them after taking a U-turn at the nearest point. “There is a three-tier check here. We are collecting the vehicle documents so that the drivers do not drive past the borders,” said the official, who asked not be named. Meanwhile, the Gurugram police too set up barricades at 10 locations in the district and diverted trucks through the western peripheral expressway towards other states. Gurugram Police said that at least 200 trucks that were on their way to Delhi via Gurugram were diverted from Shankar Chowk on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on Thursday, in compliance with the measures announced to prevent further deterioration of air quality in the National Capital Region. Sanjeev Balhara, assistant commissioner of police (traffic), said, “We have set up checkpoints and deployed teams at all locations where heavy vehicles enter the expressway. At least 300 personnel are deployed at the borders and are checking all vehicles to ensure only vehicles carrying essential commodities enter the city,” he said. Gurugram police have also asked neighbouring districts – Nuh, Rewari and Jhajjar – to not allow heavy vehicles and re-route them via KMP Expressway. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) order on Wednesday assigned the task of banning trucks to the Delhi Police, Delhi’s transport department, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the three municipal corporations (North, South and East). The order followed similar directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas to control the rising pollution levels in the city. Officials had said that the order is unlikely to cause chaos as most of the non-destined commercial vehicles now bypass the city by taking the eastern and western peripheral expressways that form a ring around the Capital. “We have issued strict directions that no laxity will be tolerated. Trucks are being checked at the borders and if they are carrying non-essentials, they are being turned back,” said a senior DPCC official. The Delhi traffic police officials said that they have held talks with all the major truck associations, asking them to comply with the order. “All the associations/unions of truck operators/owners and drivers have been advised to make adequate arrangements at their own level for proper parking and halting of their trucks outside Delhi borders, at suitable places like warehouses, transport hubs etc till November 21,” said Manish Kumar Agarwal, special commissioner of police (traffic). He added, “Police authorities of neighbouring NCR towns have also been requested to make adequate arrangements for diversion of such trucks, which are not supposed to enter Delhi, in order to avoid congestion at border points.” Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said the contribution from trucks in Delhi’s air has reduced over the last couple years due to the expressways, but they are still one of the biggest polluters in the vehicle segment. “These are heavy duty vehicles, and trucks enter Delhi in the night when temperatures are low and these emissions can stay trapped in the air till the next day. In our analysis in 2015, we found that trucks were contributing to around 30% of the total pollution due to vehicles,” she said. Tanushree Ganguly, Programme Lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), said while the ban on entry of trucks into Delhi was a good move, there also needs to be a restriction on the movement of private vehicles in order to complement the ban.

Barricades set up on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway; 200 trucks diverted away from Capital

Police set up checkpoints at Shankar Chowk, two kilometres before the Sirhaul toll plaza, Bilaspur, Bijwasan, Bajghera and Manesar. These points connect to industrial areas and witness heavy movement of trucks, said police A day after the Delhi government issued an order banning the entry of heavy vehicles into the Capital till November 21, Gurugram police on Thursday set up barricades at 10 locations in the district and diverted trucks through KMP Expressway towards other states. Police said that at least 200 trucks that were on their way to Delhi via Gurugram were diverted from Shankar Chowk on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on Thursday, in compliance with the measures announced to prevent further deterioration of air quality in the National Capital Region. Sanjeev Balhara, assistant commissioner of police (traffic), said, “Drivers of around 500 trucks were asked to bypass the routes at Bilaspur and Manesar via KMP Expressway. We have set up checkpoints and deployed teams at all locations where heavy vehicles enter the expressway. At least 300 personnel are deployed at the borders and are checking all vehicles to ensure only vehicles carrying essential commodities enter the city,” he said. Police said heavy vehicles that had already entered Gurugram were sent back from Shankar Chowk after taking a U-turn. Police set up checkpoints at Shankar Chowk, two kilometres before the Sirhaul toll plaza, Bilaspur, Bijwasan, Bajghera and Manesar. These points connect to industrial areas and witness heavy movement of trucks, said police. Gurugram police have also asked neighbouring districts – Nuh, Rewari and Jhajjar – to not allow heavy vehicles and re-route them via KMP Expressway. Traffic police said their staff is deployed in two shifts at KMP Expressway and 11 borders connecting Delhi to check the movement of heavy vehicles. However, a spot check by HT on Thursday showed that its enforcement remained lax at several border points as trucks went past tolls without any checks. At the Badarpur border, the toll collectors said that they were not aware of any directions to stop the entry of trucks coming into the city from Haryana. A toll collector said that around 20-25 trucks bearing Haryana registration had crossed the borders by Thursday afternoon. “Since morning, trucks are moving freely here. We are not aware of any restrictions and we have not been directed to check the vehicles before letting them pass,” said Sanjeev Kumar, who was stationed at the Badarpur toll booth on Thursday afternoon. This HT reporter saw at least five trucks bearing Haryana registration cross over to the Delhi side from Haryana. A few metres away from the toll, the driver of a medium-sized parked truck bearing a Haryana number plate, said, “I am on my way back. I am not aware of any restriction.” Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said the contribution from trucks in Delhi’s air has reduced over the last couple years due to the expressways, but they are still one of the biggest polluters in the vehicle segment. These are heavy duty vehicles, and trucks enter Delhi in the night when temperatures are low and these emissions can stay trapped in the air till the next day. In our analysis in 2015, we found that trucks were contributing to around 30% of the total pollution due to vehicles,” she said. Tanushree Ganguly, Programme Lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), said while the ban on entry of trucks into Delhi was a good move, there also needs to be a restriction on the movement of private vehicles in order to complement the ban. “Cutting down intra-city vehicular traffic would not only reduce vehicular exhaust emissions but also contribute to reducing re-suspended dust and idling emissions,” she said.

Lockdown parziale in India per qualità dell’aria disastrosa

In India è indetto un lockdown parziale per ridurre la concentrazione di polveri sottili, arrivata a 30 volte la soglia suggerita dall'OMS. Spulciando nella banca dati di The World Air Quality Project lampeggia agli occhi una classifica. Classifica che vincono i Paesi con l’indice di qualità dell’aria peggiore. Le prime posizioni sono occupate da Paesi orientali e a prendere il primo premio è l’India, ma a che prezzo. Aperta la gara alla ripresa economica post pandemia globale sembra aprire anche la gara a chi avvelena i cittadini. I livelli di particolato in India raggiungono valori talmente proibitivi che l’imposizione di un lockdown per salvaguardare la salute pubblica è irrinunciabile. Difficile anche contare quante città indiane abbiano valori dell’indice di qualità dell’aria ampiamente sopra i livelli di allarme. Troppe sono quelle che presentano un AQI nei range che traducono un’aria che nel migliore dei casi risulta altamente insalubre. Lockdown parziale L’India paga a caro prezzo la crescita e la ripartenza economica. Il Paese è destinato a diventare il più popoloso al mondo, superando la Cina, pertanto c’è bisogno di far largo alle nuove generazioni, di dar loro un posto di lavoro. La rivista medica Lancet imputa all’inquinamento il 18% delle morti indiane. Forse questa statistica troverà ancora la forza di crescere: 22 delle 30 città più inquinate al mondo si trovano proprio in India. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, direttrice del centro per le scienze ambientali, ricorda che i soggetti sensibili all’inquinamento non sono solo gli anziani o chi è affetto da patologie dell’apparato respiratorio. I bambini indiani crescono con polmoni più piccoli e un terzo del campione di bimbi esaminati mostrano danni ai polmoni. Un terzo è un’incidenza enorme: 33 bambini su 100 non sviluppano polmoni sani. Gli organi esecutori indiani hanno deciso di sospendere le attività all’aperto non indispensabili imponendo un semi lockdown. Per una settimana le attività all’aperto vengono sospese, le scuole chiuse, imposto lo smart-working ai dipendenti pubblici e sollecitate le aziende private a fare altrettanto. I livelli del particolato fine, PM 2,5 ovvero particelle con diametro equivalente inferiore a 2,5 micrometri, superano la soglia di sicurezza giornaliera prevista dall’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità. Da inizio novembre i livelli sono sempre sopra i limiti previsti dall’OMS anche di 20-30 volte. La situazione è insostenibile e il lockdown parziale prevede l’utilizzo di mascherine anche nei luoghi chiusi per combattere la nuvola di polveri sottili che abbraccia Dehli da settimane. eADV Le cause del lockdown Come sempre le cause sono molteplici e i governatori indiani riferiscono che gran parte dell’intensificazione della nube di polveri sottili che soffoca Dehli ogni anno alle porte dell’inverno sia riconducibile alle attività agricole. I contadini bruciano i rifiuti e residui agricoli per fertilizzare i terreni e far posto alle nuove colture. Ma ovviamente l’uscita dal lockdown totale imposto dalla pandemia scatena la ripresa economica. Le fabbriche riprendono a lavorare a pieno regime e il traffico veicolare torna a ostruire le arterie delle città indiane. Alla COP26 l’India mostra scarso interesse ad affrettare il processo di decarbonizzazione dell’industria energetica, obiettivo che ha posto al 2070. Vengono quindi concessi i permessi per avviare oltre 50 nuove centrali di produzione che sfrutteranno combustibili fossili, anche carbone. Effetti delle polveri sottili Avere a che fare con concentrazioni fino a 30 volte oltre la soglia suggerita dell’OMS è allarmante. Una concentrazione già pari a 10 microgrammi per metro cubo può partecipare allo sviluppo di affezioni dell’apparato respiratorio. Valori che superano di 20-30 volte questa soglia comportano insorgenza di disturbi anche alla parte della popolazione sana, determinando un rischio enorme per chi è già un soggetto sensibile. Irritazione delle vie aeree, della pelle e degli occhi, delle mucose. Aumento di pazienti asmatici e con insufficienza respiratoria. Gli effetti più a lungo termine dell’esposizione alle polveri sottili hanno a che vedere con l’aumento dell’incidenza delle malattie respiratorie come bronchite cronica, per arrivare al cancro. AQI: air quality index L’AQI è l’indice che classifica la qualità dell’aria in una scala suddivisa in blocchi valutando le concentrazioni degli inquinanti polveri sottili, ozono, ossidi di azoto e zolfo e monossido di carbonio. Non è univoco globalmente e ogni Stato può avere una sua scala progressiva di classificazione dell’indice. Solitamente i blocchi sono colorati dal verde o azzurro al rosso bruno o marrone o nero. L’indice di qualità dell’aria che solitamente viene preso a riferimento è lo US AQI, ovvero quello statunitense. I blocchi allora sono sei e vanno dal verde al rosso bruno e classificano l’aria in buona, moderata, insalubre per soggetti sensibili, insalubre, altamente insalubre, rischiosa. I blocchi che descrivono condizioni dell’aria da buona a insalubre sono separati da incrementi dell’indice di 50 unità. Le due ultime condizioni, le peggiori in assoluto, vedono l’AQI variare di 100 unità, da 201 a 300 e da 301 in poi (ogni blocco presenta una discontinuità di una unità).

India says difficult to transition from coal to renewable energy

NEW DELHI - India cannot end its dependence on coal, with consumption expected to go up in absolute terms to power the economy that is crucial for the livelihood of the vulnerable, said Indian officials. Their comments come as India is facing criticism for diluting a coal pledge at the recent COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow. The country is dependent on coal for electricity generation even though it has committed to meeting 50 per cent of its energy requirement through renewable energy by 2030. "India depends on coal and fuel subsidies, it is not an easy transition to phase out coal. We can't just force people without making allowances for the vulnerable," said a government official who did not want to be named. "While there will be an overall reduction of coal's contribution to electricity generation in percentage terms, there will still be some increase in absolute terms." He added that India's energy requirements are growing and are yet to peak. At the climate conference, India and China had been criticised for diluting coal pledges. In the text of the COP26 agreement, "phase out" of coal-fired power was changed to "phase down". India has faced the bulk of the criticisms for what was seen as a watering down of the pledge deemed as key to limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 deg C. But government officials said that "phase down" was not India's suggestion in the first place and that other countries had also objected to the wording. India's longstanding position is that development is key to bringing millions out from poverty. It has maintained that countries which have enjoyed the fruits of industrialisation, namely the Western nations, should pay the bigger share of the financing of climate change initiatives and mitigation efforts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at COP26 that India, the world's third-biggest source of greenhouse gases, would increase the share of renewables in electricity generation and announced a long-term goal to bring carbon emissions to net-zero by 2070. Still, India had also objected to the inclusion of a call to end subsidies on fossil fuels. It gives fuel subsidies for the use of liquefied petroleum gas to low-income households. This includes free connection to poorer households that officials said had helped in eliminating biomass burning for cooking. While New Delhi sees the climate conference as a success, a key area of disappointment has been climate finance, a major area of contention at the event. India was among many countries that had sought enhanced commitments from the developed nations. In 2009, it was decided that wealthy nations would plough in US$100 billion (S$136 billion) a year in climate finance to less wealthy nations by 2020. The target remained unachieved, with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development calculating that only US$79 billion a year was given till 2019. Officials said that during negotiations at COP26, the African Union had sought US$1.3 trillion per year by 2030. This was supported by India, which had sought US$1 trillion, and like-minded countries. "But that went off the table," said the official. The final COP26 text recognises the need for climate finance pledges from developed countries and asks them to reach the US$100 billion goal as soon as possible. "Climate change is different from other areas where financing may be a charity or which is an addition. Here it is an integral part of the agreement. Without financing, there is no discussion on climate change," Ms Sunita Narain, director-general of the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi, told The Straits Times. She said the seven largest emitters - the European Union, the United States, Russia, Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan - have taken up the bulk of carbon budget. A carbon budget refers to the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions permitted over a period of time to keep within the goal of a certain temperature. "If you add China to it by 2030, these countries will occupy 70 per cent of the carbon budget, which means the bulk of the world, including India, is left with no space for development," said Ms Narain. She noted that developing countries needed a share of the carbon budget to develop but in a manner that mitigates climate change dangers with a low carbon footprint.