A layer of smog shrouded Delhi-NCR on Thursday and partially blotted out the sun on Chhath Puja as the air quality slipped back into the severe zone with unfavourable meteorological conditions aiding accumulation of pollutants, authorities said. Green think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said the ongoing smog episode is a public health emergency.
A layer of smog enveloped Delhi-NCR on Thursday and partially obscured the sun over Chhath Puja as air quality fell back into the harsh area with adverse weather conditions favoring the build-up of pollutants, authorities said. The green think tank Center for Science and Environment (CSE) has declared the ongoing smog episode a public health emergency. “This requires urgent emergency action on the main sources of combustion (vehicles, industry, waste combustion) and sources of dust (construction and roads) to prevent further trapping of pollution when there is no wind to drive it away, ”said Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, CSE. At 10 a.m., Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 407. Thirty-three of the 39 air quality monitoring stations in the nation’s capital recorded levels of air pollution in the serious category.
NEW DELHI: Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Thursday kicked off a month-long campaign against open burning of waste and biomass with an inspection of the Ghazipur landfill, and directed EDMC officials to prepare a fire control plan. The government will review the reasons behind the “slow rate” of biomining of legacy waste at the Ghazipur landfill, the minister said, adding that only five per cent of it has been processed in two and a half years. “We have launched a campaign to prevent open burning of waste and biomass to cut down on pollution generated within Delhi. Ten departments – DPCC, municipal corporations, revenue department, Delhi Development Authority, Development Department, DSIIDC, I & FC Department and Cantonment Board – are involved in the campaign,” Rai told reporters here. The minister said 550 patrol teams have been formed, of which 246 will be deployed at night. The second phase of the anti-dust campaign will be run from November 12 to December 12, he said. Rai said he has directed officials of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) to prepare a plan to control fires at the Ghazipur landfill which “keep on burning for days and pollute the air”. He said according to a recent report by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, only five per cent of the legacy waste at the Ghazipur landfill has been processed in two and a half years. “It seems difficult to accomplish the task at this rate. They are saying it will take 13 years. The progress is very poor. The EDMC needs to prepare a proper action plan… The city government will also review the reason behind the delay,” Rai said. On Thursday, a thick layer of smog shrouded Delhi-NCR and partially blotted out the sun on Chhath Puja as the air quality slipped back into the ‘severe’ zone, with unfavourable meteorological conditions aiding accumulation of pollutants, authorities said. Green think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said the ongoing smog episode is a public health emergency. “This requires urgent emergency action on key combustion sources (vehicles, industry, waste burning) and dust sources (construction and roads) to prevent further trapping of pollution when there is no wind to blow this away,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE. At 2 pm, Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 407. Thirty-three of the 39 air quality monitoring stations in the national capital recorded air pollution levels in the ‘severe’ category. The 24-hour average AQI was 372 on Wednesday. Ghaziabad (455), Greater Noida (407) and Noida (429) also recorded severe air quality at 10 am. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”. An official from the India Meteorological Department said shallow fog and low temperature – Delhi recorded the season’s lowest minimum of 12.6 degrees Celsius – in the morning trapped pollutants close to the ground and calm winds led to stagnant conditions. Visibility levels at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and the Safdarjung airport dropped to 600-800 metres, he said. The CSE said the current severe smog episode in Delhi-NCR is expected to last another two days.
This year could be the worst smog episode for Delhi and its neighboring regions, warns the green think tank Center for Science and Environment (CSE). Smog is expected to last another two days in Delhi-NCR areas, according to the Green Think Tank. This means that the first episode of severe smog in Delhi could be the longest in four years. According to Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy at CSE, the first smog episode of the season was triggered by the combined effect of inclement weather, stubble burning and firecrackers.
This year could be the worst smog episode for Delhi and its neighboring regions, warns the green think tank Center for Science and Environment (CSE). Smog is expected to last another two days in Delhi-NCR areas, according to the Green Think Tank. This means that the first episode of severe smog in Delhi could be the longest in four years. According to Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy at the CSE, the first smog episode of the season was triggered by the combined effect of inclement weather, stubble burning and firecrackers. On the other hand, CSE data indicates that the average daily contribution of smoke from farm fires has been the lowest over the past four years during the period from mid-October to November 8. The maximum contribution of smoke to Delhi’s particulate level was recorded. on November 7 where it reached 48%. The green think tank says this year’s first smog episode has already lasted six days, matching that of 2018 and 2020. However, that could increase further if conditions do not improve and could even surpass the 2019 record by eight days. The average smog intensity this year so far is 329 micrograms per cubic meter per day. This figure is 7% lower than the 2020 smog figure and 3% lower than the 2019 smog figure. However, it is more intense than the 2018 smog figure by about 9%.
Every year, a four-day festival to the sun god Surya highlights the Indian city’s extreme air and water pollution, with a river so filled with foam it resembles a blizzard’s aftermath. NEW DELHI — As the worshipers descended the slope to the riverbank, dressed in their festival best and carrying offerings, a voice on the loudspeaker repeated: “The water is deep, don’t let go of your child’s hand, don’t let them in the water.” It was a much needed warning for the thousands of families in attendance for the four-day Hindu festival of Chhath that ended on Thursday, a celebration of the sun deity Surya that involves fasting and making offerings while standing in water. They needed the warning because the river’s water was, in fact, barely visible, blanketed with a toxic foam of industrial waste and sewage. If you didn’t know better, you could mistake it for the morning after a night of heavy snowfall. Many worshipers in northern India celebrate the festival at the Yamuna River, a religiously significant tributary of the Ganges that runs through the capital city of New Delhi. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Every year, the festival season of November brings unwelcome reminders of how devastatingly polluted the water and air around the city remain. The Yamuna, one of the main sources of water for Delhi, is so overwhelmed by waste in the 13-mile stretch that cuts through the city that it is highly unsafe for bathing or irrigation. But the Yamuna’s decades-old problem of pollution gained new prominence in embarrassing fashion this week when the local administration in Delhi tried to scrape together a last minute cleanup at the festival site. It sent out boats to try to sweep away the foam, laid down bamboo barricades to stop it from spreading and even deployed workers with hoses to sprinkle the river with clean water. “What are you doing?” a reporter asked a Delhi government worker in a video. “I am spraying water to kill the foam,” he said. Yet, none of these shambolic efforts seemed to dent the spirits of the worshipers as they thronged by the thousands to the riverbank — not the foam below, the smog above or the Delhi government’s warnings that the coronavirus that wreaked havoc in the city earlier this year was still a threat. Their explanation: What’s a little foam in the face of faith? The families arrived in taxis, traditional sugar cane offerings jutting out the windows, and they got there packed in the backs of tractor wagons and large trucks. They came in bright saris and in shiny suits. Many walked barefoot, and some carried their own sound systems — with a car battery for power. “I am not worried,” said Kiran Devi, who had not eaten in three days and would break her fast only when the festival ended with the final prayer. “Once I go in the water, it will be fine.” Some cleared the foam with their hands, pushing it away to create a little space for their prayers. Others used sticks. The foul odors were inescapable. Ms. Devi arrived for sunset on Wednesday, and her extended family of 10 would spend the night by the riverbank to wait for the sunrise worship that is the festival’s culminating event. The women, who made up the majority of those fasting, arranged the baskets of offerings with bananas, coconuts and radishes, and filled the diya lights, small clay lamps, with ghee before lighting them. The men mostly lingered and chatted. Her brother-in-law, Sonu Prasad, 36, who sells buttons, said he knows what contributes to the pollution of the river: “When I shower, it goes into a small canal, then a big canal, then it goes into the river,” he said. “It’s a sewer,” Ms. Devi’s husband and Sonu’s older brother, Ravi Shankar Gupta, said. “But the sun deity says: ‘Even if you stand in a gutter and make an offering, I will protect you for the rest of the year.’” “It would be great if they improve it, but even if they don’t, what can we do?” Mr. Gupta added, pointing to the infighting over the pollution between the states that the river flows through. “We will still live, and enjoy life.” The Yamuna forms the boundary between Delhi and the state of Uttar Pradesh, a circumstance that has complicated the already tortured process of cleaning it up. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in recent decades, to little effect. Less than half of the roughly 16 billion gallons of daily sewage in India’s urban centers is treated, according to government figures, and much of the rest pollutes the country’s rivers. New Delhi, overwhelmed by a growing population, treats about two-thirds of its sewage. But hundreds of millions of gallons are still dumped into the Yamuna untreated, along with untreated industrial waste, in its slog through the city. Delhi gets a good portion of its drinking water from the Yamuna, which enters the city limits relatively clean. After that, the river is pummeled with wastes. “We extract everything and in return we give back the sewage only,” said Sushmita Sengupta, a geologist and senior program manager at the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi. One of the reasons the authorities for decades have failed to address the problem of river pollution is bureaucratic red tape and “the multiplicity of agencies” involved, said Avinash Mishra, a top adviser on water and land resources to the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “It’s become a volleyball,” Mr. Mishra said. He warned that the country’s water woes, if not tackled with urgency, could have dire ramifications for an already slowing economy. “The moment the water is contaminated, there is water shortage, which impacts human working days,” he said. “It generates so many waterborne diseases that it will impact your services, your industries, urbanization and the living standards of your population.” Undeterred by such considerations, the worshipers thronged to the river for the sunset on Wednesday, many of them staying the night on the riverbank to catch the sunrise the next morning.
Green think-tank Centre for Science and Environment said the average daily contribution of smoke from farm fires from the middle of October to November 8 has been the lowest in last four years. All India The first severe smog episode has hit Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) and is expected to last for another two days, green think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Wednesday. Even though the seasonal smog in Delhi is intense, the average daily contribution of smoke from farm fires from the middle of October to November 8 has been the lowest in last four years, it said. "Predictably, the season's first episode has been triggered by the combined effect of unfavourable weather conditions (cool and calm winds and inversion), stubble burning and firecrackers," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE. Compared to the first smog episode of previous four years, the current smog has matched the duration of the first smog of 2018 and 2020 season -- both lasted six days. If conditions don't improve, it might overtake the 2019 smog that lasted eight days, the CSE said. The average intensity of the smog this year so far is 329 microgram per cubic metre per day, which is lower than that of the 2020 smog (by 7 per cent) and 2019 smog (by 3 per cent). It is more intense than the 2018 smog (about 9 per cent). Lingering on of this year's smog for longer duration despite relatively windier local conditions might be due to the lack of pollution control measures in the city, the green think tank said. "While very high concentrations of PM2.5 have hogged attention, the levels of gases - ozone, CO or NO2 -- have remained elevated during this smog episode. Also, the ratio of SO2 to NO2 increased on Diwali night indicating increased pollution load from firecrackers. The PM2.5 concentration on Diwali night (8 pm to 8 am) has been the most intense since 2017," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager, Urban Lab, CSE. This analysis is based on the real time data available from the current working air quality monitoring stations in Delhi-NCR and the larger Indo-Gangetic Plain. "On an average, contribution of smoke to Delhi's daily PM2.5 during middle of October to November 8 has been the lowest in the last four years. So far, it has recorded on an average 12 per cent per day in contrast to 17 per cent per day in 2020, 14 per cent per day in 2019, and 16 per cent per day in 2018 (as reported by SAFAR)," the CSE said. "If converted to absolute concentrations, the per day contribution of smoke stood at 26 microgram per cubic metre this year so far compared to 35 microgram per cubic metre in 2020, 40 microgram per cubic metre in 2019, and 31 microgram per cubic metre in 2018," it said. However, the peak contribution of smoke to Delhi's PM level was recorded on 7th November when it hit 48 per cent. This the second highest daily contribution percentage recorded since such estimation was started by SAFAR in 2018. Promoted Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com The highest single day contribution percentage has been 58 per cent recorded on November 5, 2018.
The first severe smog episode has hit Delhi-NCR and is expected to last for another two days, green think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Wednesday. The first severe smog episode has hit Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) and is expected to last for another two days, green think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Wednesday. VDO.AI Even though the seasonal smog in Delhi is intense, the average daily contribution of smoke from farm fires from the middle of October to November 8 has been the lowest in last four years, it said. “Predictably, the season's first episode has been triggered by the combined effect of unfavourable weather conditions (cool and calm winds and inversion), stubble burning and firecrackers,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE. Compared to the first smog episode of previous four years, the current smog has matched the duration of the first smog of 2018 and 2020 season -- both lasted six days. If conditions don't improve, it might overtake the 2019 smog that lasted eight days, the CSE said. he average intensity of the smog this year so far is 329 microgram per cubic metre per day, which is lower than that of the 2020 smog (by 7 per cent) and 2019 smog (by 3 per cent). It is more intense than the 2018 smog (about 9 per cent). Lingering on of this year's smog for longer duration despite relatively windier local conditions might be due to the lack of pollution control measures in the city, the green think tank said. While very high concentrations of PM2.5 have hogged attention, the levels of gases ozone, CO or NO2 -- have remained elevated during this smog episode. Also, the ratio of SO2 to NO2 increased on Diwali night indicating increased pollution load from firecrackers. The PM2.5 concentration on Diwali night (8 pm to 8 am) has been the most intense since 2017," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager, Urban Lab, CSE. This analysis is based on the real time data available from the current working air quality monitoring stations in Delhi-NCR and the larger Indo-Gangetic Plain. “On an average, contribution of smoke to Delhi's daily PM2.5 during middle of October to November 8 has been the lowest in the last four years. So far, it has recorded on an average 12 per cent per day in contrast to 17 per cent per day in 2020, 14 per cent per day in 2019, and 16 per cent per day in 2018 (as reported by SAFAR),” the CSE said. “If converted to absolute concentrations, the per day contribution of smoke stood at 26 microgram per cubic metre this year so far compared to 35 microgram per cubic metre in 2020, 40 microgram per cubic metre in 2019, and 31 microgram per cubic metre in 2018,” it said. However, the peak contribution of smoke to Delhi's PM level was recorded on 7th November when it hit 48 per cent. This the second highest daily contribution percentage recorded since such estimation was started by SAFAR in 2018. The highest single day contribution percentage has been 58 per cent recorded on November 5, 2018. “The ongoing smog episode is a public health emergency. This requires urgent emergency action on key combustion sources (vehicles, industry, waste burning) and dust sources (construction and roads) to prevent further trapping of pollution when there is no wind to blow this away. We need pollution-source-wise and hotspot-wise status of action,” Roychowdhury said.
New Delhi: With the first severe smog episode hitting Delhi-NCR, an analysis done by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) says it is expected to last another two days. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, said, “The season’s first smog episode has been triggered by the combined effect of unfavourable weather conditions (cool and calm winds and inversion), stubble burning and firecrackers. Though the seasonal smog is intense, the average daily contribution of smoke from farm fires from the middle of October to November 8 has been the lowest in the last four years. Its contribution peaked and reached 48% on November 7. It is still elevated.” The analysis said average intensity of the smog so far was 329 ug/m3 per day, which was lower than 2020 by 7% and 2019 by 3%. It was more intense than the 2018 smog by about 9%. “Lingering on of smog for a longer duration this year despite relatively windier local conditions might be due to the lack of pollution control measures,” it added. Ozone levels continued to breach the standards at hotspots even during the peak smog episodes. Levels were higher pre- and post-peak smog days. CO was also found to be exceeding the standard. SO2 levels mimicked the trend of PM2.5, but didn’t breach the standard. NO2 bucked the trend and was seen to drop in concentrations when PM2.5 peaked. Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager, Urban Lab, CSE, said, “While very high concentrations of PM2.5 have hogged attention, the levels of gases — ozone, CO or NO2 — have remained elevated during this smog episode. Also, the ratio of SO2 to NO2 increased on Diwali night, indicating increased pollution load from firecrackers. The PM2.5 concentration on Diwali night (8pm to 8am) was the most intense since 2017.”
Scientists who worked on the original UN climate convention doubt that COP26 will deliver for low income countries. Researchers who helped to draft parts of the first United Nations environmental agreements nearly 30 years ago say that that low income countries are being massively let down in the current COP26 climate talks. The 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was attended by scientists and policymakers from rich and poor countries. “I was so hopeful,” says ecologist Zakri Abdul Hamid, who was the scientific adviser to Malaysia’s delegation, as he recalls how he “morphed from a straight-laced young academic” to a scientific policymaker. “I had high hopes in Rio,” adds Saleemul Huq, a climate scientist from Bangladesh who was an adviser to climate-vulnerable countries attending Rio. COP26 climate pledges: What scientists think so far The summit led to UN agreements to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, and a new UN focus on sustainable development. But Zakri now thinks he was “naive” to expect wealthy nations to keep their promises to protect the interests of poorer countries. As the second week of negotiations at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) gets under way in Glasgow, UK, low-income nations are deeply critical about the slow pace of decarbonization, and say that pledges to deliver funding have not been honoured. Landmark agreement Rio was a significant meeting because policymakers from rich and poor countries settled on what seemed to be an equitable formula to protect the environment from the worst effects of industrialization. The ideas that led to the summit had largely come from high-income countries. Lower income nations were concerned that a climate-change or biodiversity agreement would prevent them from building their own industries and modern infrastructure. In response, richer countries agreed to take on the burden of decarbonizing and reducing biodiversity loss, while giving poorer countries more time to industrialize. But they have not done this, says Zakri, who went on to chair the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. In a report published ahead of COP26, researchers at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in New Delhi worked out that between 1990 and 2019, the highest-income countries were responsible for two-thirds of greenhouse-gas emissions. Wealthy nations also failed to abide by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an international law to reduce emissions by an average of 5% from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. COP26 climate summit: A scientists’ guide to a momentous meeting From the early 1990s onwards, ‘contraction and convergence’ gained popularity as a way to boost equity. The idea was that high- and low-income countries would both decarbonize, but at different rates — with richer countries cutting emissions more quickly (‘contraction’) — until emissions from the two groups converged on the same per-capita level. The idea soon attracted influential policymakers from both high- and low-income countries, including China and the United States, as well as from UN agencies. “It offended no-one; it united everyone. It is equitable. It is inclusive,” says the idea’s principal architect, Aubrey Meyer at the Global Commons Institute in London. But this support for the concept failed to translate into meaningful action. “Today, 30 years later at COP26, most environmental problems have worsened,” says Zakri, and richer nations have not been held to account. Sunita Narain is director-general of the CSE and co-authored its report with climate-policy specialist Avantika Goswami. Narain says the 2015 Paris climate deal — the agreement to limit global warming to below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels — has ended up weakening commitments to equity. Since the agreement was signed, lower-income countries are also expected to start to reduce their emissions. Yet these countries produce a fraction of the greenhouse gases of the big emitters, she says. “The reality is that Paris has not given us the space to grow,” says Narain, who was at the Rio summit representing CSE. She worries that pledges from the large emitters to achieve net-zero emissions by or after 2050 will enable richer countries to “continue to take more of the carbon budget”, unless strict interim targets are enforced. Funding failure The Rio veterans are also furious about broken promises on climate finance. The 1992 deal stipulated that richer countries would provide funding to protect climate-vulnerable countries from the effects of global warming, and to help them to develop new technologies. The broken $100-billion promise of climate finance – and how to fix it A $1 billion fund called the Global Environment Facility was established, and this would be followed by other modest climate funding pots. At COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, richer nations agreed on a more realistic figure that would match the needs of low and middle income countries: they promised to provide US$100 billion a year from 2020 to 2025. The 2020 target was missed, and more than two-thirds of the funding that has been given is in the form of loans, not the “new and additional finance” that was expected after Rio, says Tariq Banuri, a former director of sustainable development at the UN in New York, who represented Pakistan at the 1992 Earth Summit. Banuri says the COP negotiation process that he, Huq, Zakri, Narain and others helped to create is now not much more than “institutional therapy” for the richer countries. “They are engaging in a failed process to reassure themselves that they are doing something. I am very pessimistic about the COP,” he says. At the same time, there’s a consensus that hope must not die.Large numbers of scientists and young people from science, activism and policy are present for the COP in Glasgow. “They must continue to speak truth to power,” Narain says. Huq, who founded the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Dhaka, says countries must continue to work through the UN, collaboratively, to get justice. “The United Nations is the closest thing the world has to a global governance body,” he says. “We have to persevere with it, even though it isn’t really delivering.”
New Delhi: Over 630 complaints regarding open biomass burning were addressed by the agencies concerned in the past 12 days. Data compiled by the environment department shows that during the same period, over 1,000 challans were issued to violators for open burning of biomass, garbage and garden or plastic waste. Around 34,486 metric tonnes of biomass/garbage and 10,026 tonnes of plastic waste were collected between October 29 and November 8. As Delhi government begins a campaign against open biomass burning on Thursday, experts said such incidents increased during winter and it was one of the major sources of pollution in the city. A study conducted by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), which showed the PM2.5 contribution of various sectors to Delhi’s air in winter 2020, stated that emissions from waste burning contributed 8.7% to Delhi’s PM2.5 between October 15 and November 15, 2020. The share of waste burning rose to 10% from November 15 to December 15, 2020 and 9.2% between December 15 and January 15, 2021. Tanushree Ganguly, programme lead, CEEW, said, “Our analysis suggests that biomass burning for heating constitutes a significant share of Delhi’s pollution burden between mid-November to mid-January.” “The Graded Response Action Plan already requires RWAs and individual home owners to provide electric heaters to security staff. Efforts should be made to understand why night shelters that could cater to the homeless run at low occupancy during winters,” added Ganguly. Anju Goel, fellow, earth science and climate change, The Energy and Resources Institute, said, “Biomass is used for cooking or for heating. A Teri study conducted in 2016 said 1.2 lakh households in Delhi-NCR used biomass for cooking. The authorities should ensure an adequate supply of cleaner fuels to reduce the use of biomass for cooking.” According to the Decision Support System developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune to forecast the sources of local and regional pollution, the contribution of waste burning to Delhi’s PM2.5 was around 2-3% for the next four days. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment, said, “The authorities should strengthen municipal services with focus on 100% collection, segregation and recycling of waste.”
The Delhi Government, to remove the froth in the Yamuna, sprayed water, used boats and rope to drag it away, and even directed its staff to beat it with sticks on Wednesday. A Government official said the decision was taken at a meeting held earlier this week and many departments were involved in the implementation. Experts, however, said it is not even a temporary solution as removing froth does not improve the quality of water. “This is desperation at its worst. The quality of water does not change even temporarily by removing or breaking up the froth. The Government is just managing the optics. This is a comedy of errors and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” said Manoj Misra, convener of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, a civil society initiative for the river’s rejuvenation. Mr. Misra said frothing happens every year in Delhi and he has been seeing this for about 15 years. “Frothing happens in rivers and drains in other cities too. It is just getting more highlighted in Delhi. The high phosphate content in detergents can majorly cause it,” he said. He further said that it is the river water that is actually toxic. “The froth is not toxic, but the water is. If you come into contact with the froth, it can only cause skin irritation. But there could be problems if you ingest the froth,” he said. Suresh Kumar Rohilla, director of water programme, Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi, said, “This is a temporary solution and it will look good, but it doesn’t address the core issue of cleaning the Yamuna, which we are far away from.” “I think the Government thought that people would go and take a dip in the Yamuna on Chhath Puja and there would be photos of it and it wanted to prevent that. The Yamuna is a sewage canal after the Wazirabad barrage (upstream of Okhla),” he said. Mr. Rohilla said frothing is caused at this time of the year because almost all of the river water is taken for the city’s needs and not much is left and this increases the concentration of pollutants. Under these conditions, chemicals such as surfactants and phosphates, may be even others, cause frothing, he added. Frothing happened mainly near Okhla barrage on Wednesday. At Kalindi Kunj, the Government erected bamboo structures close to the riverbank to separate the froth. The issue has turned political with the BJP attacking the AAP Government over the Yamuna being polluted.
According to experts, though local meteorological conditions largely remained the same, a slight drop in the speed of wind that is bringing stubble emissions to Delhi has led to this slight improvement in the last 24 hours Delhi’s air quality improved marginally to reach the ‘very poor’ category on Wednesday as the capital recorded an overall air quality index (AQI) of 372 – a drop from Tuesday’s 404, data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed. According to experts, though local meteorological conditions largely remained the same, a slight drop in the speed of wind that is bringing stubble emissions to Delhi has led to this slight improvement in the last 24 hours. Forecasts on Wednesday showed transport-level winds will once again pick up from Thursday onwards, with two days of ‘severe’ air a possibility once again. According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (Safar), winds that transport stubble emissions from Punjab and Haryana to Delhi, are expected to pick up again over the next two days. This likely to deteriorate over the next two days. Though the number of farm fire incidents went up to 5,317 on Wednesday from 3,476 on Tuesday, their share in the overall pollution mix of Delhi stayed at 27%. Gufran Beig, founder and project director at Safar, says a combination of strong transport-level winds, along with calm wind speed over Delhi is likely to see ‘severe’ air again. “If the farm fires remain the same, the share of stubble burning will start increasing again from Thursday as winds from Punjab and Haryana will pick up speed. Meanwhile, Delhi will see calm wind conditions, which will help trap pollutants over the city,” he said. In an analysis done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Wednesday, the body said this smog episode is expected to last another two days, with it already matching the first smog episodes of 2018 and 2020 – each of which lasted six days. While very high concentrations of PM2.5 have hogged attention, the levels of gases – ozone, CO or NO2 -- have also remained elevated during this smog episode,” says Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager, Urban Lab, CSE, adding that if conditions do not improve, this smog episode is likely to overtake the 2019 smog episode, which lasted eight days. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 13.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, the lowest so far this season. It was 13.5 degrees on Tuesday. “A gradual drop in minimum temperature is expected over the next seven days, touching 11 degrees Celsius by November 16,” a met official said.
Compared to the first smog episode of previous four years, the current smog has matched the duration of the first smog of 2018 and 2020 season -- both lasted six days New Delhi: The first severe smog episode has hit Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) and is expected to last for another two days, green think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Wednesday. Even though the seasonal smog in Delhi is intense, the average daily contribution of smoke from farm fires from the middle of October to November 8 has been the lowest in last four years, it said. “Predictably, the season's first episode has been triggered by the combined effect of unfavourable weather conditions (cool and calm winds and inversion), stubble burning and firecrackers," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE. Compared to the first smog episode of previous four years, the current smog has matched the duration of the first smog of 2018 and 2020 season -- both lasted six days. If conditions don't improve, it might overtake the 2019 smog that lasted eight days, the CSE said. The average intensity of the smog this year so far is 329 microgram per cubic metre per day, which is lower than that of the 2020 smog (by 7 per cent) and 2019 smog (by 3 per cent). It is more intense than the 2018 smog (about 9 per cent). Lingering on of this year's smog for longer duration despite relatively windier local conditions might be due to the lack of pollution control measures in the city, the green think tank said. “While very high concentrations of PM2.5 have hogged attention, the levels of gases – ozone, CO or NO2 -- have remained elevated during this smog episode. Also, the ratio of SO2 to NO2 increased on Diwali night indicating increased pollution load from firecrackers. The PM2.5 concentration on Diwali night (8 pm to 8 am) has been the most intense since 2017," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager, Urban Lab, CSE. This analysis is based on the real time data available from the current working air quality monitoring stations in Delhi-NCR and the larger Indo-Gangetic Plain.
Lingering on of this year's smog for longer duration despite relatively windier local conditions might be due to the lack of pollution control measures in the city, the green think tank said New Delhi: Raising major concerns about the overall health and well-being of residents, the first severe smog episode has hit Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) and is expected to last for another two days, green think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Wednesday. Though the seasonal smog in Delhi is intense, the average daily contribution of smoke from farm fires from the middle of October to November 8 has been the lowest in last four years, it said.Also Read - Nehru Place Should Not Become A Slum: Delhi HC Directs SDMC to Give Suggestions on Squatters Management Compared to the first smog episode of previous four years, the current one has matched the duration of the first smog of 2018 and 2020 season — both lasted six days. If conditions don’t improve, it might overtake the 2019 smog that lasted eight days, the CSE said. The average intensity of the smog this year so far is 329 microgram per cubic metre per day, which is lower than that of the 2020 smog (by 7 per cent) and 2019 smog (by 3 per cent). It is more intense than the 2018 smog (about 9 per cent). Also Read - IRCTC Latest News: Ranchi Rajdhani Route Changed From Tomorrow | Check Stoppage, and Other Details As predicted, the season’s first episode has been triggered by the combined effect of unfavourable weather conditions (cool and calm winds and inversion), stubble burning and firecrackers, Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE was quoted as saying. Lingering on of this year’s smog for longer duration despite relatively windier local conditions might be due to the lack of pollution control measures in the city, the CSE added. Also Read - Bank Holiday Alert: Banks to Remain Shut Tomorrow For Chhath Puja in These Cities | Complete List Here “While very high concentrations of PM2.5 have hogged attention, the levels of gases ozone, CO or NO2 — have remained elevated during this smog episode. Also, the ratio of SO2 to NO2 increased on Diwali night indicating increased pollution load from firecrackers. The PM2.5 concentration on Diwali night (8 pm to 8 am) has been the most intense since 2017,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager, Urban Lab, CSE. This analysis is based on the real time data available from the current working air quality monitoring stations in Delhi-NCR and the larger Indo-Gangetic Plain. More points to know for this big story on air pollution in Delhi-NCR this year: On an average, contribution of smoke to Delhi’s daily PM2.5 during middle of October to November 8 has been the lowest in the last four years. So far, it has recorded on an average 12 per cent per day in contrast to 17 per cent per day in 2020, 14 per cent per day in 2019, and 16 per cent per day in 2018 (as reported by SAFAR), the CSE said. If converted to absolute concentrations, the per day contribution of smoke stood at 26 microgram per cubic metre this year so far compared to 35 microgram per cubic metre in 2020, 40 microgram per cubic metre in 2019, and 31 microgram per cubic metre in 2018, it said. However, the peak contribution of smoke to Delhi’s PM level was recorded on 7th November when it hit 48 per cent. This the second highest daily contribution percentage recorded since such estimation was started by SAFAR in 2018. The highest single day contribution percentage has been 58 per cent recorded on November 5, 2018. “The ongoing smog episode is a public health emergency. This requires urgent emergency action on key combustion sources (vehicles, industry, waste burning) and dust sources (construction and roads) to prevent further trapping of pollution when there is no wind to blow this away. We need pollution-source-wise and hotspot-wise status of action,” Roychowdhury said..
Air pollution is a cross-border problem in the northern plains of South Asia that needs to be tackled through regional cooperation, but political will is missing. As delegates from around the world engage in negotiations at COP26, South Asia is shrouded in a thick pall of air pollution. Few other examples show the distance between global ambitions and local challenges so starkly, with a lack of regional cooperation on environmental issues sabotaging chances of progress. In New Delhi, the annual additional pollution brought on by fireworks let off on Diwali, the festival of lights, drove the pollution to dangerous heights last week. But while India’s capital garners the most attention, the problem is wider and deeper in scope. A vast landlocked area from northwest Pakistan through north India all the way to Bangladesh suffers, partly because of geography. For much of the year, warm air rises, taking pollution from the plains with it. But in winter, air cools quickly near the Earth’s surface in low-lying areas surrounded by the higher, colder ranges of the Himalayas. The conditions, called winter inversion, trap cold air near the ground, where it stagnates. As pollutants released by industry, construction and transportation cannot circulate, the air becomes toxic across the region. Local authorities have reacted spasmodically to the crisis. In the cities of Pakistan, there are attempts to restrict the burning of waste and leaves, and shut down brick kilns. Air quality is unhealthy in all the country’s big cities, particularly in the area between the Jhelum and Sutlej rivers, which includes the cities of Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala. In India in recent years, the national capital region has adopted a ‘Graded Response Action Plan’, which kicks in when air quality drops below critical thresholds. Kathmandu and New Delhi, along with its satellite cities, have even declared health emergencies in the past few years, shutting schools and institutions, and issuing alerts. Piecemeal action on South Asia’s toxic air However, most efforts to control the severe air pollution in South Asia have been piecemeal, with little or no coordinated action. The problem is pervasive, across provincial and national borders in one of the most densely populated regions of the planet, with multiple cities and innumerable human habitations affected. The extent of the problem overpowers and undermines local action, increasing the vulnerability of the people, experts told The Third Pole. “Managing air quality to keep it below health thresholds requires detailed understanding of when and how pollutants flow across borders and have impacts across borders, as well as regionally coordinated temporary emissions reductions,” said atmospheric scientist Arnico Panday, formerly of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and advisor to Nepal’s planning commission. “This needs regional modelling, access to data from across the region, and a willingness to cut down domestic emissions in order to reduce the impacts across the border.” “The overarching goal of reducing emissions in the region must follow a coordinated approach,” said Dawar Butt, an air quality expert in Pakistan. Within countries, there are multiple policy dimensions, at the state or provincial level, which — because of their devolved nature — require piecemeal or contextualised interventions, he said. These include industrial estate regulations, thermal power emission standards, petroleum quality standards, vehicle engine specifications, among others. Initially at least, a “non-binding, trust-based cooperation needs to take place at the multilateral level, which agrees on regional goals, and the federal governments then work towards leading the provinces in designing mid- to long-term action plans, which further implement them,” Butt said. Satellite images and emerging scientific evidence show pollution builds up across airsheds that span India and South Asia, said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at Centre for Science and Environment, a New Delhi-based advocacy group. India needs a regulatory regional framework for air quality management to control the transboundary and upwind and downwind effects of the regional flow of pollutants across states, Roychowdhury said. “When the entire region is covered in a blanket of smog, not only the big cities but also the small urban centres are affected,” she said. “This shows that massive clean-up is needed across the region.” Air pollution in South Asia a transboundary problem The nature of air pollution in South Asia at this time of the year has particular location-specific dimensions. For example, Kathmandu’s air quality is “strongly affected by outside sources, such as farm residue burning, which can cut down visibility to 2-3 km, compared with sparkling-clear mountain views on days when only local sources are present”, Panday said. When the entire region is covered in a blanket of smog, not only the big cities but also the small urban centres are affected. This shows that massive clean-up is needed across the region. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment A World Bank assessment published in November 2020 identified several critical airsheds with high PM2.5 concentrations in South Asia. These include the west-central Indo-Gangetic plain that extends into Pakistan and the central-east Indo-Gangetic plain that extends into Nepal and Bangladesh. At the policy level, traditional legal approaches remain confined within the boundaries of state, city, or municipal areas, which are simply not enough, experts said, especially when it comes to the seasonal problem of crop stubble burning in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in India and Punjab province in Pakistan, which adds to the pollution load significantly in October and November. Butt said part of the problem is self-inflicted. “There is a market for stubble in the Pothohar [north Punjab] plateau region of Pakistan,” he said. “Similarly, the stubble can be used in the cottage industry, as well as biofuel manufacture. If we can assign the right pricing for the value of stubble, it may be enough to pay for its own clearing.” In India, biochemical interventions in the rural areas of Delhi have restricted the practice of burning, and a market is emerging for compacted stubble as biofuel in Punjab and Haryana. However, a lack of coordination among the affected states has hamstrung the efforts. The science of airshed management also needs to evolve. It has to “develop further to understand the upwind and downwind movement of air and subsequent effect of pollution in the region,” Roychowdhury said. Only then we can hope to “build a regional framework for air pollution control”. There is a need to “strengthen regional institutions such as ICIMOD [the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development] and SAARC [the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation] and empower them to be the voice of science”, added Panday. That is easier said than done. What are the real chances of cross-border regional cooperation to tackle the air pollution crisis? Not great, if the experts are to be believed. Political obstacles “The South Asia region remains marred with political crises, which impacts everything from cultural to policy cooperation,” said Butt. “Regionally, this means that we are not moving forward as there are no examples to follow. Some policy interventions have been adopted without understanding specific needs and hence have largely been unsuccessful or ineffective.” Panday is more scathing. The leaders in the region are caught up in political jingoism, he said. “What is needed is for people to rise up and vote for leaders who focus on the main issues that affect long-term wellbeing: climate change and air pollution, rather than playing petty geopolitical games,” Panday said. “At the international level, intergovernmental treaties and agreements on transboundary air pollution like the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, are well known,” said Roychowdhury. Even within countries, many different state jurisdictions have the obligation to meet regional air quality requirements in the developed world, she said. “In Europe, the member states work together to control international air pollution under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution adopted in 1979.” These are international agreements that are based on non-binding, enabling and flexible mechanisms, she said. South Asian countries can draw lessons for their own efforts. Given the magnitude of the air pollution crisis in South Asia, the time has come for a framework of regional cooperation and obligations based on mutually agreed action plans, including targets with adequate resource support, Roychowdhury said. “We need a comprehensive regional plan,” she said. Airshed approach Policymakers in these countries need to adopt an airshed approach — that much is obvious. “A limited understanding exists among policymakers, especially after years of activism and lobbying by researchers and civil society in these countries,” said Butt. “But air pollution is not considered an important enough agenda item because of the perceived economic impact of emission-control policies, and hence, not worth spending political capital on.” Any approach that combines technical understanding along with a method to manage the political costs of implementing collaborative reforms is likely to have more success than awareness alone, he said. “The largest impact is on the Punjab to Delhi belt, which also happens to be one of the most populated areas on the planet,” said Butt. “Therefore, it is no longer only a political issue alone, but also a human rights issue.” “The growing air pollution and public health crisis certainly builds a case for a strong regional framework for mitigating regional pollution,” said Roychowdhury. “The State of Global Air 2020 [report] shows that South Asia is one of the most adversely impacted regions in the world.”