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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. PTI AG ZMN ZMN

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

Ozone, a highly reactive gas that is dangerous to people suffering from respiratory illness and asthma, is widespread throughout the four seasons in Delhi and Metro Manila (NCR), according to a new analysis by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE). On Friday. Analysis shows that, contrary to the idea that ozone, which is photochemically produced from gas-gas interactions in the presence of sunlight, is a predominantly summer phenomenon, gas emerges as a similarly strong concern during the winter. doing. “Ozone is now a year-round problem and we need to pay urgent attention to the clean air program,” said Anumi Taro Choudhry, CSE Executive Director. “Current regulatory practices that spatially average data from all surveillance stations blunt the curve and underestimate the magnitude of the threat from the worst affected locations, so the risk is Not well understood. “Ozone is a highly reactive gas, and even short-term exposure can worsen respiratory status and lead to emergency hospitalization, so a different approach is needed for risk assessment and communication,” she added. .. Another expert said that the number of days that do not meet ozone standards is increasing even in winter. Avikal Somvanshi, Program Manager for the Urban Lab team at CSE’s Sustainable City Program, said: This assessment tracks trends in different seasons of summer (March to June), winter (October to February), and monsoon (July to September) from 2018 to July 18, 2021. doing. The 8-hour standard for ground level ozone was exceeded at at least one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, an increase of 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. Analysis shows that this year has already recorded an excess of 169 days, an increase of 21 days compared to the same period last year. In addition, NCR had the largest increase in excess days between 2019 and 2020 in Gurgaon. The increase on 201 days in 2020 increased by more than 300% from the previous year. “Noida also recorded a 54% surge. Faridabad did not record a change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida declined, with the latter showing the largest decline of 28%. rice field. Meerut does not have enough data for 2019 to perform a comparative trend analysis, but by 2020 it was over 109 days and was the least polluted major city in NCR. ” .. According to the CSE, detailed real-time data (15 minutes on average) is provided by the Central Control Room for Air Quality Control, the official online portal of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). “Data was collected from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, 4 stations each in Gurgram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, There are 3 stations in Meerut, 1 station in the 20 small towns of Greater Noida and NCR). “ From this station-level data, the analysis calculated trends in terms of the number of days the daily level exceeded the 8-hour threshold. According to the CSE, the city-wide average, with occasional excesses, remains largely within the norm. “But even from this standard, the number of days in the” good “category (50% below the daily 8-hour concentration standard) is starting to decline in Delhi. The number of “good” days in Delhi in 2020 was 115, a decrease of 24 days. 2019 “. According to location-by-location analysis, excesses of the 8-hour average standard are very widely distributed in the city, CSE said. “The methodology used here is consistent with the US PA (US Environmental Protection Agency) method, which considers the highest concentration of all monitors in each reporting area.” Analysis revealed that ozone accumulation is a microlocal phenomenon, as ozone levels can vary by 100 micrograms / cubic meter (µg / m3) between two adjacent stations. .. “On April 27, 2021, there was a 150 µg / m3 variation in Delhi from location to location. Low ozone levels were observed in areas adjacent to Yamuna, Lutian, Delhi, and western Delhi, and in southern, central, and northern Delhi. A high level was recorded, but in southeastern Delhi it was the highest level of the day. “At this time, the upper limit of data available from CPCB is 200 µg / m3, so it is not possible to calculate peak pollution in the city, which also invalidates the daily AQI report,” Somvanshi said. increase.

All-weather ozone becoming more widespread in Delhi-NCR: Study

According to a new analysis released by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous to people with respiratory conditions and asthma, is more widespread in all-weather areas in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). is going on Friday. The analysis states that contrary to the notion that ozone, generated photochemically by interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is primarily a summer phenomenon, the gas is equally strong during winter. emerged as a concern.

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. See also "No safety nets": debts weigh on grieving Indian families 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%. See also No incidents of violence in taxis were reported this morning, according to JP Smith 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. See also Southwest monsoon covers entire country after 5-day delay: Weather Office 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 is going mainstream in Delhi-NCR in 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) in all seasons, according to a new analysis by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE). ) published. on Friday. The analysis said that, contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from the interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter. too. “Ozone is now a year-round problem and requires urgent attention from clean air programs,” said CSE Executive Director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The risk involved is often not well 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 worst affected locations and also during different seasons. . “Since ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, a different approach to risk assessment and communication is required,” he added. Another expert said that the number of days that do not meet ozone standards increases even in winters. “This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting ozone standards has started to increase even during the winter months, making winter smog more toxic,” said Avikal Somvanshi, program manager for the Urban team. Lab of the CSE Sustainable Cities program. The assessment has tracked 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 by 290 days in 2020, representing an increase of 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than in 2018. This year it already registered 169 days of leave, 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 the number of days of leave between 2019 and 2020: your count. 201 days in 2020 was an increase of more than 300 percent from the previous year. “Noida also saw a 54% jump. Faridabad was unchanged between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28%.” Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to conduct a comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the NCR’s least polluted major city, “he said. The CSE said that the granular real-time data (15-minute averages) was obtained from the official online portal of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. “The data was obtained from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) distributed in Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut and two in Greater Noida, while 20 smaller cities in NCR have a station, “he said. From these station-level data, the analysis has calculated trends in terms of the number of days that the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the citywide average remains largely within the standard with only occasional exceedances. “But even from this criterion, days in the” good “category (50% below the eight-hour daily concentration standard) have started to decline in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115” good “days, 24 days less. than in 2019, “he said. Based on location analysis, exceeding the average eight-hour standard is fairly distributed across 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 within each reporting area,” he said. The analysis found that ozone accumulation is a hyperlocal phenomenon, as there may be a 100 micrograms per cubic meter (µg / m3) difference in 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, Lutyen’s Delhi and West Delhi showed low ozone levels, the south, the center and the North Delhi had the highest levels, Southeast Delhi had the highest levels that day. “At the moment, it is not possible to calculate the pollution peak in the city, as the available CPCB data is capped at 200 µg / m3. This also makes daily AQI reports ineffective,” 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 Mr Somvanshi.

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 Mr Somvanshi.

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 Mr Somvanshi.

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

Ozone, a extremely reactive gasoline 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 response to 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 season phenomenon, the gasoline has emerged as an equally robust concern throughout winter as nicely. “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 gasoline 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 soar. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida noticed a decline, with the latter displaying the largest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut doesn’t have enough information for 2019 to hold out comparative pattern 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 information has been captured from 81 official stations underneath 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 beneath the every 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 keeping 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 larger 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.

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

Ozone, a extremely reactive gasoline and harmful for these affected by respiratory situations and bronchial asthma, is turning into extra widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) throughout all seasons, in accordance 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 season phenomenon, the gasoline 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 government 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 gasoline and even short-term publicity can irritate respiratory situations resulting in emergency hospital admission, it requires a special method to threat 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 displaying the largest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut doesn’t have enough knowledge for 2019 to hold out comparative pattern 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. - Advertisement - “The knowledge has been captured from 81 official stations beneath 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 beneath the each 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 keeping with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) technique of contemplating the best focus amongst all of the screens 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.

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 Mr Somvanshi.

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 Mr Somvanshi.

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 Mr Somvanshi.

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 Mr Somvanshi.

Jal shakti: South Delhi civic body harvests power of rain

NEW DELHI: South Delhi Municipal Corporation has opened its first rainwater harvesting park called Jal Shakti Park in Sector-8 of Dwarka. Such parks will focus on utilising open spaces like parks for harvesting rainwater for groundwater replenishment. A pond has been rejuvenated in the 2.5-acre park and the ground slope of the catchment area has been redesigned to accumulate excess rainwater. SDMC has also installed a 50 kilolitre per day capacity sewage treatment plant which will feed the pond during the non-rainy season, officials said. A senior municipal official said that the project was completed in two months and the slopes were designed to capture the rain run-off from nearby areas to increase the ground water levels in the area. The rainwater harvesting park project demonstrates low-cost interventions of capturing rainwater and channelising it back into shallow aquifer systems. The dry park site was taken over from Delhi Development Authority in 2016 and greening of the area has been carried out using red kaner, ficus benjamina and bottle palms. "We have also developed a children zone, gazebos and footpaths in the park," the official said. Three more such rainwater harvesting sites will be developed in Jahazwala park in Bagdola near Dwarka Sector-8, near Gokul Garden in Dwarka Sector-7, and in Jonapur near Bheem Basti, the civic body has stated. A study from Centre for Science and Environment "Roadmap for implementation of water sensitive urban design and planning in Delhi" has also advocated water harvesting in parks and open spaces in Delhi to augment the drainage system of the city and to address issues related to urban flooding. Spread over 8,000 hectares, Delhi has more than 16,000 parks and open spaces where stormwater harvesting can be implemented with a potential of harvesting 12,800 million litres of rainwater every year, the CSE report states. It advocates that water-sensitive urban design interventions like rain gardens, water detention ponds and rainwater harvesting solutions and swales can be adopted in parks and open spaces, which will reduce waterlogging and help in groundwater recharge. The report highlights that parks under the south corporation have the highest annual water harvesting potential followed by those in the north and east corporations. SDMC mayor Mukesh Suryan said that the civic agency had been making special efforts to ensure water conservation and 20 new sewage treatment plants would be constructed in all the four zones to treat water discharged from sewage. Member of Parliament from South Delhi Lok Sabha Ramesh Bidhuri and Delhi BJP president Adesh Kumar Gupta inaugurated the facility.