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Ozone pollution no longer just a summer phenomenon, says CSE study

The primary emission sources of ozone include those from vehicles, power plants, factories, and other combustion sources. These undergo cyclic reactions in the presence of sunlight to generate ground level ozone. Ozone pollution that was previously thought to be a summer phenomenon is becoming more widespread in Delhi and NCR cities such as Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Meerut, a study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Saturday. Ozone is a highly reactive gas and harmful for those suffering from respiratory conditions. The study assessed trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and 2021 (up to July 18). The analysis is based on the real-time (15-minute averages) data sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The primary emission sources of ozone include those from vehicles, power plants, factories, and other combustion sources. These undergo cyclic reactions in the presence of sunlight to generate ground level ozone. According to the report, the trends were calculated in terms of number of days when the daily level exceeded the 8-hour standard. The national ambient air quality standard for ozone (8-hourly) is 100 µg/m3. The report said the top 10 high-ozone locations include stations from south Delhi, where stations such as Dr KS Shooting Range (233 days), Siri Fort (150 days), Nehru Nagar (174 days), and Sri Aurobindo Marg (126 days) make up four of the top five most polluted spots in Delhi. The study also points out that even during the lockdowns imposed during 2020-21, when the concentration of particulate matter in the air reduced, the ozone levels remained the same. CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury said so far the focus has only been on mitigating particulate matter pollution, but ozone is now a round-the-year problem Avikal Somvanshi from CSE said ozone levels have begun to rise even during winter, making the winter smog more toxic.

Pink tickets boost DTC women riders

According to the DTC bus ridership data, between March 2021 and July 27, the state transport corporation recorded 2,014,650 ticketed journeys, of which 1,543,986 were pink tickets issued to women passengers. At least 76% of over two million bus journeys clocked in the past five months in the national capital were using “pink tickets”, a Delhi government initiative which allows women to travel for free in public buses, data accessed by HT from the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) showed. According to the DTC bus ridership data, between March 2021 and July 27, the state transport corporation recorded 2,014,650 ticketed journeys, of which 1,543,986 were pink tickets issued to women passengers. Of the remaining, 446,110 were general tickets, which DTC officials said are issued to men and in rare cases to women if they voluntarily insist on paying for the bus fare. Further, 24,554 persons were ticketed through bus passes. Similar data for the cluster buses was not available at the time of filing this report. At 80%, the share of women passengers was high even in March when there was no strict lockdown as the fourth wave of the pandemic had not started in Delhi and buses were running with 100% seating capacity. In July, when the wave ebbed and the Delhi government relaxed public transport norms to allow more passengers to travel in buses or the Metro, the share of women passengers continued to be as high as 68.94%. Delhi has a total of 6,750 public transport buses of which 3,760 are operated by the DTC and 2,990 are run by private operators through the transport department under the cluster scheme. Rambha Devi, a domestic help who regularly travels from Trilokpuri to her employer’s house in Mayur Vihar Phase 3, said the free travel has helped her immensely. “I save anywhere between ₹260-400 per month on transport and it has helped me move more freely. Also, now I see more women passengers around me in these buses so they feel safer than before. I hope someday the Metro also gives us free rides. At present, it is not affordable,” said Devi, who has five children with her husband, a mason. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director and in-charge of research and advocacy at Centre for Science and Environment, said “gender sensitive transport initiatives are important to improve equity in mobility”. “There is enough evidence today to show how lack of safe, affordable and accessible public transport systems can make women more vulnerable to crime and compromise their options of accessing jobs, education and health care. Sustaining this change with a longer term fiscal strategy is therefore important,” she said. “While the Delhi government’s move has ensured an increased ridership of women in public transport, which is also a source of empowerment for them, it also means that the majority of the bus journeys have been offered for free to the people of Delhi. If we take the sample of the data of the last five months, as an example, then 76.63% of the total journeys during this period was not paid for by the passengers,” said R S Minhas, deputy chief general manager (public relations), DTC. The decline in revenue through bus tickets, which is the primary source of income for the DTC, has burnt a hole in the transporter’s pocket. Data shared by the corporation in the Delhi Assembly on Thursday and Friday showed that DTC has been running into losses of over ₹1,000 crore annually since 2015, even as it has been unable to add even a single new bus to its existing fleet. To add to its woes, bus fares in Delhi -- starting from ₹5 and going up to ₹25 -- have not changed for more than a decade, unlike the Delhi Metro which have higher fares. According to the data, DTC suffered losses of ₹1,019.36 crore in 2014-15; ₹1,250.15 crore in 2015-16; ₹1,381.78 crore in 2016-17; ₹1,730.02 crore in 2017-18; and ₹1,664.56 crore in 2018-19. According to the interim estimates for 2019-20, the losses stood at ₹1,834.67 crore, the DTC said in its answers to questions raised by BJP MLA form Rohini Vijender Gupta in the Delhi Assembly.

India: 34% increase in lightning strikes recorded this year

July was one of the worst months for India this year as far as lightning strikes and related fatalities were concerned. Data released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) recently showed that there was a 34 per cent rise in lightning strikes in India. On July 11 alone, at least 70 people were killed by lightning strikes in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Though the United States too reports lightning strikes, the cumulative toll last year was less than 30. ALSO READ: >> Lightning kills 76 in India, including selfie-takers near famous fort Dr Sunil D. Pawar, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune and an acclaimed expert on lightning strikes, told Khaleej Times that their analysis showed a 25 per cent year-on-year uptick in the natural calamity between 2019 and 2020. “Surface heating and moisture availability are the main factors for lightning generation,” he said. “In the global warming scenario, both these factors are increasing. It has been observed that most parts of India have shown an increase in lightning activity over the last 20 years,” he added. Pawar pointed out that several parts of India, including the north-east, the northwestern part of the Himalayan foothills, and the eastern coast have of late shown a sharp rise in lightning activities. He cited the trend as a global phenomenon and noted that many countries have observed an increase in lightning activity. However, improvements in lightning forecasts can help reduce damages. “Educating people about precautions they should take during lightning is essential to reduce deaths,” he said. Lightning strikes killed 1,697 people in India between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, according to the second annual Lightning report brought out by ReliefWeb, the humanitarian information service provided by the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). India reports the maximum number of lightning deaths in the world. Bihar accounted for the maximum number of deaths (401) due to lightning between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, which was a 168 per cent rise over the previous year’s figures. Other states recording significant deaths caused by lightning included UP (238), Madhya Pradesh (228), Odisha (156), and Jharkhand (132). Several other states also witnessed huge increases in lightning strikes during the year. Punjab saw a 331 per cent rise in lightning strikes during the year. Meanwhile, Haryana (164%), Puducherry (117%), Himachal Pradesh (105%) and West Bengal (100%) were among those recording an exponential rise in lightning strikes. Though the southern state of Andhra Pradesh does not figure in this list, it reported one of the worst days in recent memory. On May 1, 2018, 14 people were killed as a spate of 41,205 bolts of lightning struck the state. In the previous month on April 24, as many as 37,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the state in the span of 13 hours. DON'T MISS: >> Video: 1 dead, 3 injured in India lightning strike Lightning has also been the single largest cause of deaths due to natural disasters in India since 2002. In January 2001, the earthquake in Bhuj, Gujarat, claimed more than 13,700 lives. However, over 40,000 lives have been lost in the country due to lightning strikes since then. India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which monitors deaths, said that since 2001, more than 42,000 people have been killed due to lightning. Most of the deaths have been reported in rural areas, with cities accounting for less than five per cent. Seventy per cent of the deaths were of victims sheltering under trees. The OCHA report said there has been “phenomenal improvement” in early warnings in India. “The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issues forecasts,” it said. “Medium range for up to five days, short range till three days, nowcast up to three hours, and Damini mobile application has a 40-minute specific window. Be that as it may, there’s still a lack of protocol and mechanism for last-mile connectivity with the public about the issuance of alerts for lightning strikes.” Lightning strikes have tremendous power, and they can decimate the person or object upon impact. According to the National Weather Service in US, a typical lightning flash is about 300 million volts and about 30,000 amps. In comparison, household current is 120 volts and 15 amps.

'Ozone becoming more widespread in Delhi-NCR across all seasons'

Delhi: Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) across all seasons, according to a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Friday. The analysis said that contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well. "Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes," said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. Also Read - CBSE: 99.96% 12th graders in Delhi govt schools pass "The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. "As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, it requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication,' she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. Also Read - Faster B&B registrations, GST changes passed in Assembly 'This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards has begun to increase even during winter months, making the winter smog more toxic,' said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE's Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons — summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 — its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. Also Read - Resolution passed seeking repeal of farm laws; AAP bashes GNCT Act changes 'Noida also registered a 54 per cent jump. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to carry out comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted major city in the NCR,' it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. The data has been captured from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida while 20 smaller towns in NCR have one station),' it said.

Ozone levels exceeding permitted levels: study

Despite lockdown, more days witnessed higher and longer duration of ozone spells A Centre for Science and Environment study has found that ozone levels are exceeding the permitted levels even during winter in Delhi-NCR, making the smog more “toxic”. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent [action] and the situation demands refinement of clean air action plan to add strategies for ozone mitigation, with stronger action on vehicles, industry and waste burning,” says CSE Executive Director Anumita Roychowdhury. Despite the pandemic and lockdowns, more days and locations witnessed higher and longer duration of ozone spells, the study said. Year-round menace Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and NCR across all seasons, the CSE said. “Contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the analysis finds the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well,” it said. Occasional exceedance The study was done by analysing the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. The CSE analysis found that the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedance. But the ‘good’ category days have fallen to 115 days in 2020, which is 24 days less than in 2019. “A location-wise analysis presents a different story. It shows that exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city. At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 ug/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective,” the study said. Even smaller towns of NCR, including Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and Bhiwani in Haryana, appeared in the top 20 list of ozone-afflicted towns and cities. South Delhi locations dominate the list with four mentions in top 10.

दिल्ली में अब पूरे साल ओजोन बन रही समस्या, क्लीन एयर पर जोर देने की जरूरत

ओजोन की समस्या अब दिल्ली-एनसीआर में सभी सीजन के दौरान देखने को मिल रही है। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) की एक नई रिपोर्ट में यह दावा किया गया है। सीएसई की एग्जिक्यूजिव डायरेक्टर अनुमिता राय चौधरी ने कहा कि ओजोन अब पूरे साल की समस्या है। इसलिए क्लीन एयर प्रोग्राम में इस पर ध्यान देने की जरूरत है। उन्होंने कहा कि ओजोन एक रिएक्टिव गैस है, इसके संपर्क में कम समय रहने पर भी स्वास्थ्य संबंधी परेशानियां हो सकती हैं, जिसके लिए व्यक्ति को एडमिट तक करना पड़ सकता है। इसलिए इससे निपटने के लिए एक अलग अप्रोच की जरूरत है। ओजोन की मात्रा तय मानकों से अधिक सीएसई अर्बन लैब टीम के प्रोग्राम मैनेजर अविकल सोमवंशी ने बताया कि आकलन से पता चला है कि ऐसे दिनों की संख्या बढ़ रही है जब ओजोन की मात्रा तय मानकों से अधिक है। यह सर्दियों के दौरान भी बढ़ रही हैं, जिसकी वजह से सर्दियों का स्मॉग अधिक जहरीला बन रहा है। यह असेसमेंट गर्मियों के लिए मार्च से जून, सर्दियों के लिए अक्टूबर से फरवरी और मॉनसून के लिए जुलाई से सितंबर के बीच 2018 से 2021 के आंकड़ों पर किया गया है। साउथ और ईस्ट दिल्ली में ओजोन लेवल सबसे अधिक सीएसई के आकलन के मुताबिक ओजोन के बढ़ने की वजह हाइपर लोकल हैं। इसलिए दो पड़ोसी जगहों के बीच भी इसके स्तर में काफी अंतर देखने को मिल रहा है। मसलन 27 अप्रैल 2021 को राजधानी के कई स्टेशनों के बीच काफी अधिक वैरिएशन मिला। इस दिन यमुना के आसपास, लुटियन जोन और वेस्ट दिल्ली में ओजोन का स्तर कम था। लेकिन वहीं साउथ, सेंट्रल और नार्थ दिल्ली में इसकी मात्रा अधिक दर्ज की गई। जबकि साउथ और ईस्ट दिल्ली में यह सबसे अधिक थी। नसीआर में गुरुग्राम में सबसे अधिक बढ़ोतरी रिपोर्ट में दावा किया गया है कि 2020 में 290 दिन कम से कम एक जगह पर ओजोन का स्तर तय मानकों से अधिक मिला है। जबकि 2019 में यह 30 दिन और 2018 में 26 दिन था। 2021 में अभी तक यह संख्या 21 दिन है। जबकि एनसीआर में गुरुग्राम में सबसे अधिक बढ़ोतरी देखने को मिली है। यहां 2020 में 201 दिन ओजोन तय मानकों से अधिक रहा। यह 2019 के मुकाबले 300 प्रतिशत अधिक है। वहीं नोएडा में यह बढ़ोतरी 54 प्रतिशत रही। फरीदाबाद में कोई बदलाव नहीं हुआ जबकि गाजियाबाद और ग्रेटर नोएडा में 28 प्रतिशत की कमी दर्ज की गई। अगर छह स्टेशनों के आधार पर तुलना की जाए तो यह बढ़ोतरी 2019 की तुलना में 2020 में 30 प्रतिशत रही।

Chhattisgarh: Protests Against Sponge Iron Plant in Jashpur by Tribal Communities Continue

'We don't need iron or power; we need agriculture and forest produce-based industries. There should not be a factory that destroys agriculture and forest produce...' As India struggles to find the path back to economic growth with the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly easing out, large-scale protests have been raging in the village of Tangargaon in Kansabel tehsil, Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh, against a sponge iron plant. The plant, owned and operated by Maa Kudargarhi Energy And Ispat Private Limited, is to be set up to produce 0.462 MTPA (462000 TPA) of sponge iron, 0.52 MTPA (520000 TPA) of billets, and 70 MW of electricity. Adivasi communities in the area have been opposed to the plant, owing to the large-scale environmental damage it would do and the pollution it would cause, they said. Villagers from ten nearby panchayats have mobilised themselves against the upcoming environment clearance hearing for the project, scheduled for August 4. The residents have vowed to stop the hearing owing to the large-scale “faking of consent” that has allegedly taken place. A PIL has also been filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court with the court issuing notice to the state government, Collector and other parties and seeking answers. The issue has triggered a larger discussion in the state about the pollution caused by sponge iron industries and their effects on the environment and tribal communities. Sponge iron is also known as Direct Reduced Iron (DRI). Direct reduction is an alternative route of iron making developed to overcome some of these difficulties of conventional blast furnaces. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had classified sponge iron as a red category industry which denotes its high potential to pollute. The classification means the industry needs strict pollution norms and guidelines and should be monitored and inspected regularly. However, studies by the Center for Science and Environment have showed that the regulatory framework fails in such cases on most occasions. “Over 600 people have recently written to the collector again. There have been large-scale protests in the region. Past experiences of sponge iron factories have shown they led to skin allergies, enormous coal fly ash and respiratory problems. The water, forest, land and air will be polluted. The smoke, ash and other residues emitted from the factory will pollute all of it. Farming will be ruined. Public life and wildlife will be affected. The talk of employment for the local people is not true," Father Jacob Kujur told Newsclick “We don't need iron or power; we need agriculture and forest produce-based industries. There should not be a factory that destroys agriculture and forest produce. We need an industry that keeps the environment clean," he added. Villagers say the plant will adversely affect the fields and livelihoods of the Kanwar and Oraon tribes which call the region their home. In a bid to resist the plant, residents from multiple villages had staged protests this month on July 21. Jashpur district falls under the Fifth Schedule Area – the land being transferred to the industrial firm has not received the gram sabha consent yet. Activists alleged that the process of land acquisition was done secretly and that Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 has also been violated. Alok Shukla from the organisation Chattisgarh Bachao Andolan told Newsclick that the "company claims that they have purchased 80 acres of land from an individual family in the region to set up the plant – since its private land the acquisition process has not been followed. However, keeping in view the impact of the industry and given that it comes under the most polluting category, a gram sabha consent was needed, which has not happened. The movement against the sponge iron industry in Chhattisgarh is not new. What is important to understand is that when the state of Chattisgarh was carved out, enormous protests between 2005 and 2007 against this extreme pollution rocked the state. Owing to the movement the industry was discouraged and several MOU’s were also cancelled. However, now, amid this new wave of industrialisation by the Baghel government, all previous commitments have faded as promises to re-open this dangerous and widely polluting industry are being made," he alleged. The petitions and protests have also highlighted that the area is home to an elephant corridor, medicinal plants, forest area as well as wildlife, which will be affected by the industrial activity in the region. The ground-water level of Jashpur district is also dangerously low, according to the Central Water Commission. If the plan for the plant moves on the residents feel that it will also turn into another cause for water problems for this area. Maa Kudargarhi Energy and Ispat Private Limited will use water from the Maini river and the risk of it being polluted also figures. Since 2002, India has been the largest producer of sponge iron. About 20% of the sponge iron produced worldwide is made in India. The firm and the state government states that the project will give a boost to the economy of the state by way of direct and indirect taxes, employment and infrastructure development. The company has also promised the generation of 2,000 jobs on a daily wage. However, Chhattisgarh has witnessed protests against sponge iron plants since the time the state was carved out. The manufacturing process releases extreme heat and smoke containing oxides of sulphur and carbon, unburnt carbon particles and silica. “These plants, which have come up mostly in tribal villages, don't add much to the local economy either. Despite initial assurances of job security, few local villagers have been hired. Given that most villagers lack adequate qualification, those that do get jobs are usually hired as unskilled labourers with no insurance or medical benefits. This way, factory management ensures there's less trouble from local residents, especially in case of accidents," Down to Earth had observed.

Delhi pollution Latest News: वायु प्रदूषण के साथ दिल्ली-एनसीआर के लिए खतरे की घंटी बना ओजोन प्रदूषण

नई दिल्ली [संजीव गुप्ता]। वायु प्रदूषण के बाद ओजोन प्रदूषण भी दिल्ली एनसीआर के लिए खतरे की घंटी बजा रहा है। अब यह भी सिर्फ गर्मियों में ही नहीं बल्कि सर्दियों में भी बढ़ने लगा है। सेंटर फार साइंस एंड एन्वायरमेंट (सीएसई) ने शुक्रवार को जारी किए गए अपने विश्लेषण में पाया है कि यह गैस सर्दियों के दौरान भी समान रूप से मजबूत चिंता के रूप में उभरी है। सीएसई की कार्यकारी निदेशक अनुमिता राय चौधरी कहती हैं, ''ओजोन अब साल भर चलने वाली समस्या है जिसके लिए स्वच्छ वायु कार्यक्रमों पर तत्काल ध्यान देने की जरूरत है। उन्होंने कहा कि ओजोन एक अत्यधिक प्रतिक्रियाशील गैस है। यहां तक कि अल्पकालिक जोखिम भी श्वसन की स्थिति को बढ़ा सकता है जिससे आपातकालीन अस्पताल में प्रवेश हो सकता है। सीएसई के सस्टेनेबल सिटीज प्रोग्राम की अर्बन लैब टीम के प्रोग्राम मैनेजर अविकल सोमवंशी कहते हैं, विश्लेषण से पता चलता है कि सर्दियों के महीनों में भी ओजोन मानकों को पूरा नहीं करने वाले दिनों की संख्या बढ़ने लगी है, जिससे सर्दियों का स्माग और अधिक जहरीला हो गया है। मूल्यांकन में जुलाई 2018 और जुलाई 2021 के बीच विभिन्न मौसमों - गर्मी (मार्च-जून), सर्दी (अक्टूबर-फरवरी) और मानसून (जुलाई-सितंबर) के दौरान रुझानों का पता लगाया गया है। Ads by Jagran.TV पूरी पिंक लाइन पर दौड़ेंगी ट्रेनें; नजफगढ़ से आगे जाएगी मेट्रो Delhi Metro: 6 अगस्त को यात्रियों को मिलने जा रही बड़ी सौगात, केंद्रीय मंत्री और सीएम केजरीवाल करेंगे उद्घाटन यह भी पढ़ें विश्लेषण की मुख्य बातें दिल्ली में ''अच्छे'' श्रेणी के दिनों (दैनिक आठ घंटे की एकाग्रता मानक से 50 फीसद नीचे) में गिरावट शुरू हो गई है। 2020 में दिल्ली में 115 ''अच्छे'' दिन थे, जो 2019 की तुलना में 24 दिन कम थे। ओजोन निर्माण एक अति-स्थानीय घटना है। दो पड़ोसी स्टेशनों के बीच ओजोन स्तरों में 100 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति घन मीटर का अंतर हो सकता है। 27 अप्रैल 2021 को दिल्ली में स्थानों के बीच 150 माइक्रोग्राम/घन मीटर तक भिन्नता देखी गई, जबकि यमुना से सटे क्षेत्रों, लुटियन दिल्ली और पश्चिमी दिल्ली ने कम ओजोन स्तर दिखा। दक्षिणी, मध्य और उत्तरी दिल्ली में उच्च स्तर दर्ज किया गया।

Ozone Becoming More Widespread In Delhi-NCR Across All Seasons: Study

New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI) Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) across all seasons, according to a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Friday. The analysis said that contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well. "Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes," said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. "The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. "As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, it requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication," she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. "This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards has begun to increase even during winter months, making the winter smog more toxic," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE's Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 -- its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. "Noida also registered a 54 per cent jump. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to carry out comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted major city in the NCR," it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. "The data has been captured from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida while 20 smaller towns in NCR have one station)," it said. From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. "But even from this yardstick, the 'good' category days (50 per cent below the daily eight-hour concentration standard) have started declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 'good' days, which was 24 days less than in 2019," it said. According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said. "The methodology used here is consistent with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) method of considering the highest concentration among all the monitors within each reporting area," it said. The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. "On April 27, 2021 Delhi saw variations as high as 150 µg/m3 between locations. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen's Delhi and west Delhi showed low ozone levels, south, central, and north Delhi recorded higher levels, south-east Delhi had the highest levels that day. "At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 µg/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective," said Somvanshi. PTI AG ZMN ZMN

Ozone becoming more widespread in Delhi-NCR across all seasons Study

Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) across all seasons, according to a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Friday.<br> The analysis said that contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well. <br> "Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes," said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. <br> "The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. <br> "As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, it requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication," she added.<br> Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters.<br> "This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards has begun to increase even during winter months, making the winter smog more toxic," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE's Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. <br> The assessment has traced trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. <br> It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. <br> This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 -- its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. <br> "Noida also registered a 54 per cent jump. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to carry out comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted major city in the NCR," it said.<br> The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. <br> "The data has been captured from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida while 20 smaller towns in NCR have one station)," it said.<br> From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. <br> According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. <br> "But even from this yardstick, the 'good' category days (50 per cent below the daily eight-hour concentration standard) have started declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 'good' days, which was 24 days less than in 2019," it said.<br> According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said.<br> "The methodology used here is consistent with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) method of considering the highest concentration among all the monitors within each reporting area," it said.<br> The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. <br> "On April 27, 2021 Delhi saw variations as high as 150 µg/m3 between locations. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen's Delhi and west Delhi showed low ozone levels, south, central, and north Delhi recorded higher levels, south-east Delhi had the highest levels that day.<br> "At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 µg/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective," said Somvanshi. PTI AG<br>ZMN ZMN

Ozone becoming more widespread in Delhi-NCR across all seasons: Study

The evaluation stated that opposite to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interplay between gases within the presence of daylight, is predominantly a summer season phenomenon, the gasoline has emerged as an equally robust concern throughout winter as effectively. “Ozone is now a round-the-year downside requiring pressing consideration of unpolluted air programmes,” stated CSE government director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The danger from it’s usually not effectively understood, as the present regulatory observe of spatially averaging the info from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of menace from the worst affected areas and in addition throughout completely different seasons.

दिल्ली में अब पूरे साल ओजोन बन रही समस्या, क्लीन एयर पर जोर देने की जरूरत

ओजोन की समस्या अब दिल्ली-एनसीआर में सभी सीजन के दौरान देखने को मिल रही है। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) की एक नई रिपोर्ट में यह दावा किया गया है। सीएसई की एग्जिक्यूजिव डायरेक्टर अनुमिता राय चौधरी ने कहा कि ओजोन अब पूरे साल की समस्या है। इसलिए क्लीन एयर प्रोग्राम में इस पर ध्यान देने की जरूरत है। उन्होंने कहा कि ओजोन एक रिएक्टिव गैस है, इसके संपर्क में कम समय रहने पर भी स्वास्थ्य संबंधी परेशानियां हो सकती हैं, जिसके लिए व्यक्ति को एडमिट तक करना पड़ सकता है। इसलिए इससे निपटने के लिए एक अलग अप्रोच की जरूरत है। कोरोना के बीच फिर बढ़ने लगा प्रदूषण ओजोन की मात्रा तय मानकों से अधिक सीएसई अर्बन लैब टीम के प्रोग्राम मैनेजर अविकल सोमवंशी ने बताया कि आकलन से पता चला है कि ऐसे दिनों की संख्या बढ़ रही है जब ओजोन की मात्रा तय मानकों से अधिक है। यह सर्दियों के दौरान भी बढ़ रही हैं, जिसकी वजह से सर्दियों का स्मॉग अधिक जहरीला बन रहा है। यह असेसमेंट गर्मियों के लिए मार्च से जून, सर्दियों के लिए अक्टूबर से फरवरी और मॉनसून के लिए जुलाई से सितंबर के बीच 2018 से 2021 के आंकड़ों पर किया गया है। Pollution News: 5 राज्यों के प्रदूषण पर NCAP की नजर, यूपी-हरियाणा की स्थिति सबसे ज्यादा खराब साउथ और ईस्ट दिल्ली में ओजोन लेवल सबसे अधिक सीएसई के आकलन के मुताबिक ओजोन के बढ़ने की वजह हाइपर लोकल हैं। इसलिए दो पड़ोसी जगहों के बीच भी इसके स्तर में काफी अंतर देखने को मिल रहा है। मसलन 27 अप्रैल 2021 को राजधानी के कई स्टेशनों के बीच काफी अधिक वैरिएशन मिला। इस दिन यमुना के आसपास, लुटियन जोन और वेस्ट दिल्ली में ओजोन का स्तर कम था। लेकिन वहीं साउथ, सेंट्रल और नार्थ दिल्ली में इसकी मात्रा अधिक दर्ज की गई। जबकि साउथ और ईस्ट दिल्ली में यह सबसे अधिक थी। Delhi Air Pollution LIVE: दिल्ली-NCR में आज भी प्रदूषण, दोपहर में भी छाया रहा स्मॉग एनसीआर में गुरुग्राम में सबसे अधिक बढ़ोतरी रिपोर्ट में दावा किया गया है कि 2020 में 290 दिन कम से कम एक जगह पर ओजोन का स्तर तय मानकों से अधिक मिला है। जबकि 2019 में यह 30 दिन और 2018 में 26 दिन था। 2021 में अभी तक यह संख्या 21 दिन है। जबकि एनसीआर में गुरुग्राम में सबसे अधिक बढ़ोतरी देखने को मिली है। यहां 2020 में 201 दिन ओजोन तय मानकों से अधिक रहा। यह 2019 के मुकाबले 300 प्रतिशत अधिक है। वहीं नोएडा में यह बढ़ोतरी 54 प्रतिशत रही। फरीदाबाद में कोई बदलाव नहीं हुआ जबकि गाजियाबाद और ग्रेटर नोएडा में 28 प्रतिशत की कमी दर्ज की गई। अगर छह स्टेशनों के आधार पर तुलना की जाए तो यह बढ़ोतरी 2019 की तुलना में 2020 में 30 प्रतिशत रही।

Ozone is becoming more and more prevalent in Delhi-NCR all year round: study

Ozone becoming more widespread in Delhi-NCR across all seasons: Study July 31, 2021 New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI) Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) across all seasons, according to a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Friday. The analysis said that contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes,” said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. “As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, it requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication,” she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. “This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards has begun to increase even during winter months, making the winter smog more toxic,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE’s Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 — its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. “Noida also registered a 54 per cent jump. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to carry out comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted major city in the NCR,” it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. “The data has been captured from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida while 20 smaller towns in NCR have one station),” it said. From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. “But even from this yardstick, the ‘good’ category days (50 per cent below the daily eight-hour concentration standard) have started declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 ‘good’ days, which was 24 days less than in 2019,” it said. According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said. “The methodology used here is consistent with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) method of considering the highest concentration among all the monitors within each reporting area,” it said. The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre ( g/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. “On April 27, 2021 Delhi saw variations as high as 150 g/m3 between locations. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen’s Delhi and west Delhi showed low ozone levels, south, central, and north Delhi recorded higher levels, south-east Delhi had the highest levels that day. “At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 g/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective,” said Somvanshi.

Ozone is becoming more and more prevalent in Delhi-NCR all year round: study

Ozone, a highly reactive and dangerous gas for people with respiratory disorders and asthma, is increasingly spreading in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) in all seasons, according to a new analysis from the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) released Friday. The analysis indicated that contrary to the idea that ozone, photochemically produced from the interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is primarily a summer phenomenon, gas has also become an equally concern. strong in winter. “Ozone is now a recurring problem that requires urgent attention from clean air programs,” said CSE Executive Director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The resulting risk is often not fully understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve and underestimates the magnitude of the threat from the most critical locations. most affected and also during the different seasons. “As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can worsen respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospitalization, this requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication,” he said. -she adds. ALSO READ Warrant without bail against the wife of Congress leader Salman Khurshid Another expert said the number of days not meeting ozone standards is increasing even in winter. “This analysis shows that the number of non-ozone-compliant days has started to increase even during the winter months, making winter smog more toxic,” said Avikal Somvanshi, program manager at the team. Urban Lab of the CSE Sustainable Cities program. The assessment plotted trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. He said the eight-hour standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least one station in Delhi for 290 days in 2020, which is a 30-day increase from 2019 and 26 days more than in 2018. . This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram has seen the number of days of exceedance increase to the maximum between 2019 and 2020 – his 201-day tally in 2020 was an increase of over 300% from the previous year. “Noida also registered a 54% jump. Faridabad saw no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter posting the largest drop of 28%. ALSO READ Waiting for green light from India to send vaccine aid: United States Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to perform a comparative analysis of trends, but with 109 days exceeding in 2020, it was the least polluted large city in the NCR, “he said. The CSE said the real-time granular data (15-minute average) came from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) official online portal, Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. “Data was captured from 81 official stations as part of the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread over Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut and two in Greater Noida while 20 small towns in the NCR have a station), “he said. From this station-level data, the analysis calculated trends in terms of the number of days the daily level exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average remains well within the norm with occasional exceedances. “But even in this regard, the ‘good’ category days (50% below the eight-hour daily concentration standard) started to decrease in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 ‘good’ days, or 24 days. less than in 2019, “he said. ALSO READ Haryana officials dismantle locals-built Manohar Lal Khattar temple According to a location-based analysis, exceeding the eight-hour average standard is fairly widespread in the city, the CSE said. “The methodology used here is consistent with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) method of considering the highest concentration among all monitors in each report area,” he said. he declares. The analysis revealed that the accumulation of ozone is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be a difference of 100 micrograms per cubic meter (µg / m3) in the ozone levels between two neighboring stations. “On April 27, 2021, Delhi experienced variations of up to 150 µg / m3 between locations. While areas adjacent to Yamuna, Delhi from Lutyen and West Delhi had low levels of ozone, south, central and north Delhi recorded higher levels, southeast Delhi had the highest levels that day. “At the moment, it is not possible to calculate the pollution peak in the city because the data available from the CPCB is capped at 200 µg / m3. This also makes the daily AQI reports ineffective,” Mr. Somvanshi said. .

Ozone becoming more widespread in Delhi-NCR across all seasons: Study

Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) across all seasons, according to a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Friday. The analysis said that contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well. "Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes," said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. "The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. "As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, it requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication," she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. "This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards has begun to increase even during winter months, making the winter smog more toxic," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE's Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 -- its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. "Noida also registered a 54 per cent jump. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to carry out comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted major city in the NCR," it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. "The data has been captured from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida while 20 smaller towns in NCR have one station)," it said. From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. "But even from this yardstick, the 'good' category days (50 per cent below the daily eight-hour concentration standard) have started declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 'good' days, which was 24 days less than in 2019," it said. According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said. "The methodology used here is consistent with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) method of considering the highest concentration among all the monitors within each reporting area," it said. The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. "On April 27, 2021 Delhi saw variations as high as 150 µg/m3 between locations. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen's Delhi and west Delhi showed low ozone levels, south, central, and north Delhi recorded higher levels, south-east Delhi had the highest levels that day. "At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 µg/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective," said Somvanshi.

Ozone Becoming More Widespread In Delhi-NCR Across All Seasons: Study

Ozone, a extremely reactive fuel and harmful for these affected by respiratory circumstances and bronchial asthma, is turning into extra widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) throughout all seasons, in line with a brand new evaluation by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) launched on Friday. The evaluation stated that opposite to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interplay between gases within the presence of daylight, is predominantly a summer time phenomenon, the fuel has emerged as an equally robust concern throughout winter as effectively. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes,” stated CSE govt director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. “As ozone is a extremely reactive fuel and even short-term publicity can irritate respiratory circumstances resulting in emergency hospital admission, it requires a distinct method to danger evaluation and communication,” she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. “This evaluation exhibits that the variety of days not assembly the ozone requirements has begun to extend even throughout winter months, making the winter smog extra poisonous,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE’s Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 — its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. “Noida additionally registered a 54 per cent leap. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida noticed a decline, with the latter exhibiting the most important drop of 28 per cent. Meerut doesn’t have satisfactory knowledge for 2019 to hold out comparative development evaluation, however with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted main metropolis within the NCR,” it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. “The knowledge has been captured from 81 official stations below the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) unfold throughout Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, 4 every in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida whereas 20 smaller cities in NCR have one station),” it said. From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. “But even from this yardstick, the “good” class days (50 per cent under the day by day eight-hour focus customary) have began declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 “good” days, which was 24 days lower than in 2019,” it said. According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said. “The methodology used right here is in line with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) technique of contemplating the best focus amongst all of the displays inside every reporting space,” it said. The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. “On April 27, 2021 Delhi noticed variations as excessive as 150 µg/m3 between places. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen’s Delhi and west Delhi confirmed low ozone ranges, south, central, and north Delhi recorded greater ranges, south-east Delhi had the best ranges that day. “At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 µg/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective,” stated Mr Somvanshi.