Through the thick air

Delhi faces its worst smog; CSE calls for emergency action

As visibility remains poor and the city chokes its way through a haze, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has pressed the alarm buttons on one of the worst smog cases in many years in Delhi. The CSE experts say that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) suggests that the smog on November 2, 2016 was the worst in 17 years.

Says Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), CSE and head of CSE’s air pollution and sustainable mobility teams: “This demands emergency response to protect the vulnerable— those who are suffering from respiratory and heart diseases and children. The government should aggressively inform all and advise them to stay indoors and avoid outdoor exercises. At the same time, it should roll out stringent winter pollution control for all sources along with emergency action.”

The CSE analysis of available official data brings out the following:

Post-Diwali peak of pollution is higher than the Diwali peak.

• The analysis of data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee shows that the levels of PM2.5 have increased by 62.7 per cent on November 2 as compared to that on Diwali. On November 2, the levels were 9.4 times the standard.
• On the night of November 1, (12 am to 6 in the morning of November 2), the PM2.5 concentration had hit 548 microgramme per cubic metre (µg/m³)—nine times the safety standard. The following day (November 2), PM2.5 concentration (6 am to 12 noon) increased to 696.25 µg/m³—11.6 times the standard. The morning concentration was 27.1 per cent higher compared to the night time concentration. The hourly averages were as high as 800-900 µg/m³.
• According to SAFAR, the PM2.5 levels are in severe category and are expected to remain in this category for more than three days.

Worst ever smog in 17 years—November 2, 2016

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, this is the worst smog with very poor visibility in 17 years. The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi recorded the worst levels of smog in 17 years on November 2, with visibility as low as 300-400 metres. The period between 11AM and 2:30 PM was the worst in the day with respect to airport visibility. The post-Diwali smog reduced the visibility there to 800-1,200 metres since October 30. Pollution during Diwali and other sources of pollution along with weather-related factors lead to such abnormal levels of smog.

Meteorological scientists explain that lower level anticyclone—a weather phenomenon which prevented the dispersion of smog— developed around Delhi on November 2, 2016. There was virtually no wind in the vertical column. This situation is expected to persist for few more days.

The Central Pollution Control Board has already warned that the average wind speed this year on Diwali day was much less—1.3 m/s compared to 3.4 m/s in 2015. Also, the mixing height this year was 492 metres, whereas in 2015 it was 590 metres. The lower wind speed and mixing height do not allow wind to disperse quickly leading to higher concentration of pollutants on the surface.

Unending paddy burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh

The satellite images of NASA’s fire mapper showed that incidences of paddy burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have increased after Diwali. The images clearly revealed that after October 30, 2016, crop burning in the Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh became more aggressive, leading to severe smog in the national capital.

Act Now

“Delhi needs strong action to protect people from such deadly exposure. It is imperative to put out hard health evidences and heath alerts in the public domain to sensitise people about the harmful effects of smog and push action. Delhi needs an effective winter pollution mitigation plan that can make a difference.  Without a strong action, smog is only expected to get worse this winter. It comes with serious public health costs,” says Roy Chowdhury.

• Issue daily health advisory to people: India has already adopted a system of issuing health advisories along with its air quality index. But this is not being utilised to issue alerts to people. It clearly states that not only those who are ailing are extremely vulnerable at the current level of pollution, but also the general public who can develop a host of symptoms.
• Issue official advice to children and ailing to stay indoors: Health advisory needs to inform people to keep children and those suffering from heart and respiratory ailments and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) indoors and avoid outdoor exercises. Schools should be shut if necessary. Children are more vulnerable as they have a poor defence mechanism. Their ability to metabolise and detoxify environmental agents is different. Given their hyper level of physical activities, they inhale more volume of air than adults and therefore, breathe in more pollution. Joint studies of Central Pollution Control Board and the Chittaranjan National Cancer Research Institute from Kolkata have shown that every third child in Delhi has impaired lungs. At their growing age, due to greater level of physical activity, they inhale more volume of air and therefore more pollution.
• Need pollution emergency plan to cut peak pollution levels: The government must announce a slew of emergency actions. It needs to implement measures to reduce vehicle numbers, shut down the Badarpur power plant and take very stringent action on waste burning, construction activities and ban on fireworks in all social events during winter.
• Roll out short- to mid-term action for enduring change: This year has been a lost opportunity when it comes to adopting both short- mid-term measures. Other than truck entry, no other tangible action has been taken, especially on improving public transport, encouraging walking and cycling and putting restraints on parking. A time-bound action will have to be rolled out immediately.
• Need inter-state cooperation and intervention of the Central government to control farm fires in Punjab and Haryana: The action directed by the Supreme Court as well as the National Green Tribunal related to subsidy for farmers to buy appropriate technology that will prevent burning of straw as well as the infrastructure for reusing straw should be put in place very quickly. This needs financial support from the central as well as state governments.

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Crop Burning: Punjab and Haryana’s killer fields

Burning of agricultural biomass residue, or Crop Residue Burning (CRB) has been identified as a major health hazard. In addition to causing exposure to extremely high levels of Particulate Matter concentration to people in the immediate vicinity, it is also a major regional source of pollution, contributing between 12 and 60 per cent of PM concentrations as per various source apportionment studies. In addition, it causes loss of vital components such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and potassium from the topsoil layer, making the land less fertile and unviable for agriculture in the long run.

Causes and Scale

The main causes of crop residue burning are two-fold. Firstly, there is a very short window of time between harvesting of paddy and cultivation of wheat, at the end of the Kharif season. Paddy, or rice, is a water-intensive crop. The high usage of water in its cultivation has resulted in the central and various state governments restricting the cultivation of paddy in the summer months. In order to prevent diversion of scarce water resources in the summer, paddy cultivation can legally begin only around mid-June, when the monsoons typically arrive over North India. This further delays thecut short to the root with a knife, the large units of harvesters leave 6-10 cm of paddy stalk on the field. The rise in incomes and the subsequent availability of mechanical implements in Punjab and Haryana lead to increased mechanisation of agriculture over the past 10-15 years.

Traditionally, farm labour in these states was in the form of seasonal, migrant workers from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Since 2005, the demand for these workers saw a reduction, and accordingly, the availability of assured income from farm labour has declined. The launch of an assured rural income scheme in the form of the NREGA further led to income opportunities in their home states. As a result, agricultural labour has become a scarce commodity in parts of Punjab and Haryana.

The removal of the paddy stalk that remains on the field is a labour-intensive process. With labour being unavailable and the time window for preparing the field for wheat cultivation being limited, the options that the farmer has are either investing in expensive and rarely used agricultural implements, or burning the residue right on the field. Of the two, the latter is both cheaper and requires less effort.

As per estimates, Punjab produces approximately 19-20 million tonnes of paddy straw and about 20 million tonnes of wheat straw. About 85-90 per cent of this paddy straw is burnt in the field, and increasingly, wheat straw is also being burnt during the Rabi harvesting season. In Haryana, the problem of paddy straw burning also exists, although the scale is smaller than in Punjab. Paddy straw production is estimated at 2 million tonnes.

The kharif harvesting season begins in October. These images depict the scale of fires in Punjab and Haryana, over the past few days. Each dot represents acres of farmland on fire, easily detectable by remote sensing technology. The fires began in the first week of October and have visibly intensified since October 10.

Progress made so far

In terms of efforts being made to reduce crop residue burning, the following approaches have been used by various state and central administrations and regulatory bodies so far:

1. Banning Crop Residue Burning: Crop residue burning was notified as an offence under the Air Act of 1981, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and various appropriate Acts. In addition, a penalty is being imposed on any offending farmer. Village and block-level administrative officials are being used for enforcement.

2. Detection and prevention: A combination of remote sensing technology—use of satellite imagery—and a team comprising local officials–Sub-Divisional Magistrates, Tehsildars, Block Development Officers, Patwaris and village-level workers—is being used to detect occurrences of crop residue burning in real-time and to prevent them from taking place.

3. Establishment of a marketplace for crop residue burning: Efforts are being made to increase the avenues for the alternate usage of paddy straw and other crop residue. For instance, paddy straw has a considerable calorific value, making it suitable for use as a fuel in biomass-based power plants. Similarly, it can be utilised for the preparation of bio-fuels, organic fertilisers and in paper and cardboard making industries. The strategy, broadly, is to assign a real economic and commercial value to the agricultural residue and making burning it an economic loss to the farmer.

4. Outreach and public awareness campaigns: There are ongoing efforts to highlight the health effects of crop residue burning. It produces extremely high levels of toxic particulates, which affect the health of the people in the direct vicinity of the burning. In addition, efforts are also being made through kisan camps, trainings and workshops, apart from campaigns through various print media, televised shows and radio jingles, in informing farmers about the alternative usage of crop residue.

5. Subsidy on agri-implements: The state governments, in collaboration with the Centre, has rolled out schemes for providing subsidy on mechanical implements that help tillage of soil, so that the crop residue can be retained in the soil, adding to its fertility, or alternately, collection of crop residue for putting it to commercial usage. However, the high cost of these implements means that in spite of subsidies, only a small number of farmers have access to these implements at the moment.

6. Crop Diversification: There are various ongoing, long-term efforts at diversification of cropping techniques, such that crop residue burning can be effectively prevented. This is being attempted through cultivation of alternate crops (apart from rice/paddy and wheat) that produce less crop residue and have greater gap periods between cropping cycles.

Measures required going forward

Stronger monitoring and enforcement mechanism through the use of remote sensing technology–use of real-time satellite imagery, along with village-level enforcement teams with the aim of zero incidence rate of crop residue burning, through prevention and penalisation.

Establishment of a larger number of biomass-based power projects utilising greater amounts of paddy straw is needed. Currently, operational and planned projects in Punjab cumulatively utilise just 0.94 million tonnes of paddy straw against estimated 19-20 million tonnes of production. Punjab will have to expedite the construction of plants in progress and plan new one. Haryana has no operational biomass-based power projects presently. It will have to develop a policy programme around biomass-based power plants. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), under the Ministry of Power, has already notified favourable tariffs to biomass-based power plants, in order to incentivise establishment of higher numbers of such plants. In Punjab, this tariff has been determined at Rs 8.17 per unit, and is even higher than competing sources of renewable energy, such as solar energy or wind-based power projects.

Effective and greater scope of subsidy provision, so that agricultural implements can be made widely available. The extraction of paddy straw or any other crop residue from the field is an essential step for its utilisation in power plants, or in any other usage. Currently, this cannot be done manually, owing to supply-sided deficiency in the labour market. The alternative is a provision of subsidy of agri-implements, with the aim of reducing CRB.  Punjab has a proposal to provide subsidy on 67,750 units of agricultural implements, and Haryana has notified a scheme in May to subsidise 1810 units of agricultural implements. This is not sufficient, considering the production of 19-20 million and 2 million tonnes of paddy straw, respectively. One way forward is to promote the co-ownership model. There are more than 1700 existing cooperative and privately-run Agricultural Machinery Service Centers (AMSC), which can be the focus of such subsidies. It is important that the farmer understands the value of the crop residue and wants to use these implements for extraction and packaging.

Creation of a market for paddy straw, along with a mechanism for commercial procurement of paddy straw for use in biomass-based power projects, as fuel in brick kilns and in production of ethanol. Establishment of bio-refineries for utilisation of paddy straw is another viable option. Punjab has projects in various stages of planning utilising 1.5 million tonnes of paddy straw. There’s need to expedite operational status and plan more projects.

Utilisation of paddy straw in the form of biomass pellet fuel, which can be commercially sold as the main fuel for an industrial boiler, as a replacement for coal. Micro-pelletisation establishments need to be incentivised and local usage promoted. Alternate usage of paddy straw to produce paper, card boards, packing materials needs to be promoted, as an alternative to synthetic compounds.

Expert recommends

According to Sunita Narain, director general of Centre for Science and Environment, “Farmers should be paid Rs 1,000 per acre under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana so they can shun the practice of burning paddy straw. They should be given subsidies for buying Rotavator machines that help cut and mix agricultural stubble with soil. We need to understand why the farmers burn stubble and then deal with the basic problem.”

A problem that recurs every year

Each year, crop burning in the region is the start of the annual escalation of pollutant concentrations in the air, leading to massive winter pollution in the region. It is acerbated by the massive usage of firecrackers in the region, around Diwali, at the end of October. Followed by this, the weather patterns change, making temperatures drop and reducing the dispersion effect of pollutants. Burning of biomass (leaves, and other organic waste) and garbage through thousands of small fires lit for warmth, along with massive MSW landfill site fires only add to making the air full of toxic pollutants and unfit for breathing.

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Even the wind cannot help Delhi’s air

rIn an already polluted Delhi, firecrackers exert additional stress on the city’s air quality. Though the concentration of pollutants increases during Diwali, the accumulation of pollutants close to the surface also depends on meteorological parameters such as wind speed, temperature and mixing height. Mixing height signifies the height above the surface to which pollutants vertically disperse.

Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) analysed air quality data with mixing height on Diwali day over the past seven years. Low mixing height leads to an enhancement of the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere whereas high mixing height gives more space for pollutants to disperse, leading to low concentration of pollutants near the surface.

In 2010, the concentration of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) was found to be quite high as the mixing height was low and pollutants did not have enough space to disperse in the atmosphere. The mixing height in 2014 was 490 metres and the RSPM concentration was 481 microgramme per cubic metre which was 4.8 times the standard. But with similar mixing height in 2016, the concentration of RSPM was found to be 10.6 times the standard. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the wind speed in 2014 varied from 0.2 to 0.6 m/s whereas in 2016, wind speed was comparatively higher at 1.3 m/s. The mass concentration in Delhi is so high that the natural effect of mixing height, influenced by the wind speed, has not been able to help Delhi. 

Air pollution levels have already entered the severe category this winter. The levels during winter are higher than those during the rest of the year due to meteorological reasons, and are augmented by emissions from trucks passing through Delhi, power plants, biomass burning and construction activity. While weather conditions are beyond human control, action to prevent pollution from anthropogenic sources should be priority. Delhi must pursue a stricter course of action to prevent these emissions.

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Toxic Delhi air can get deep into your lungs; 22 million at risk

Every year, Delhi witnesses high pollution level in ambient environment during Diwali. The papers are inundated with numerous reports citing statistics from DPCC, CPCB and other sources. To the lay man, the message is lost between these numbers.

This year, Delhi-based nonprofit, the Centre for Science and Environment, with Aaj Tak, conducted exposure monitoring of the Delhi air during the Diwali Night. The exposure monitoring conducted at two locations—R K Puram and Chattarpur—gives us an indicator of what an ordinary human breathes. Unlike the monitoring done at DPCC and CPCB stations (at a much higher height), this was done at the average human height. The monitoring provided us with an indicative level of real-time exposure to pollutants of a Delhi citizen. The average standard of PM2.5 in a day is 60µ/m³ and average standard for PM 10 in a given day should not be more than 100µ/m^3.

The CSE has also tracked the real-time air pollution data reported in the official website of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee on the night of Diwali. Calm weather with nearly no wind blocked quick dispersal of smoke and pollutants. The crackers are burst the highest in residential areas. Such high level of exposure can lead to escalation in hospital admissions related to respiratory and cardiac symptoms.

The monitoring was conducted on Sunday evening in R K Puram a predominantly residential area, housing several schools and institutions. The results showed that PM 2.5 concentration in the air was at 310µ/m³, occasionally attaining a peak of 411 µ/m³. It was being directly inhaled at the ground level. The PM 10 levels were averaging at 377µ/m³, reaching a peak of 1110 µ/m³.

Meanwhile, in the high density area of Chattarpur, PM 2.5 concentration at night was initially 872 µ/m³, touching a maximum of 1270 µ/m³. The PM 10 readings averaged at 1400µ/m^3, reaching 2060 µ/m³. Chattarpur was monitored on October 31 as a follow-up exercise. The PM 2.5 concentration level averaging at 551µ/m³ reached 629µ/m³. The PM 10 readings showed an average of 784µ/m³ with a maximum of 1170µ/m³.

It means that the air a resident inhaled at R K Puram was five times more polluted than the standard. At Chattarpur, the air was 15 times more polluted than the standard. The CPCB has set the severe category for PM 2.5 concentrations at 250µ/m³. This means that the air we were breathing was four times more dangerous than the air that CPCB categorizes as ‘severe’.

What does Delhi air do to your health?

Now, at 90-120µ/m³ PM 2.5 concentration level, people with respiratory issues start feeling the strain of the polluted air and at 120-250µ/m^3, which is categorised as “very poor”, the risk of developing respiratory illness on prolonged exposure increases. Even a healthy person with prolonged exposure to air of ‘severe’ category will start experiencing breathlessness, wheezing and chest constrictions.

The DPCC data shows PM 2.5 levels ranged between 180µ/m³ and 440µ/m³compared to 184-369 µ/m³ in 2015. Thus, maximum levels have remained more than seven times the standards and worse than last year overall. The DPCC data for the week preceding Diwali shows that the mass concentration in Delhi air on October 29-30 had increased by 45 per cent. The day time to night time air pollution increased by 3.2 times. The night time pollution during Diwali was in the severe category.

About 22 million residents in Delhi-NCR are currently breathing severely toxic air. UNICEF report released on the day after Diwali states that around 600,000 children under the age of five die from diseases linked to indoor and outdoor air pollution. The number of child deaths is more than the casualties caused by malaria and HIV/AIDS combined. Children are far more vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe more rapidly than adults. The cell layer in their lungs is also more permeable to pollutant particles that can cross the blood-brain barrier and cause permanent harm to cognitive development. Air pollution also affects the unborn as the particles inhaled by pregnant mothers can cross the placental barrier (also known as “leakiest barrier”), thus injuring fetuses.

Over three million people a year (six people every minute) die due to outdoor air pollution. It is likely to double by 2050.

Inertia on the part of the government

The Delhi government, despite being aware of the severe air pollution levels, did nothing to ban the firecracker from the city, rather choosing to focus their efforts on Chinese crackers, oblivious to the harm caused by the desi crackers. Delhi, as was predicted, choked on toxic smog the following day. The SAFAR forecast predicted poor AQI and issued a public health warning to “stay indoors”. This comes with no directives to shut down schools, institutions and industrial activity in the city.

In 2015, Beijing issued its first ever red alert, health advisories with emergency action plan when the city faced three consecutive days of smog. Schools were shut, outdoor construction was halted and restriction on car use and certain factories within the city limits was imposed.

The smog on November 2 was a harrowing experience for the people of Delhi, with the outdoor environment looking eerily similar to Beijing’s ‘airpocalypse’. Considering the mass migration of pollutants from farm fires in Punjab and Haryana to Delhi, it’s time the government took aggressive action to curb emission from combustion sources and fugitive sources. Public health advisories with directives should be issued. Efforts should be made to build hard evidence of air pollution’s impact on Delhi’s population. General hospitals, especially children’s hospitals, should be monitored for cases and admissions. Health information, thus created, would enable strategic action for combating winter pollution.

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New app to let users report complaints about air pollution

Though winter is yet to set in, the national capital is suffering from poor air quality as reported by the media recently. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), air pollution level in the city has gone up since the monsoon.

To tackle the menace of air pollution, bring in more accountability in the public domain and disseminate information, the Environment Protection Control Authority (EPCA) for the National Capital Region (NCR), along with municipal corporations and the governments of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, has prepared a mobile application, Hawa Badlo, to follow up public complaints on air pollution.

The EPCA monitors the progress of government action taken in reducing incidents of crop burning, controlling dust flow from unpaved roads and building construction activity. Within a short span of five days, the app has got 1615 active users and 164 complaints have been received till October 27. 

"Most complaints coming to the hawa badlo app are related to waste burning. What is the government doing about it?" asked Anumita Roy Chowdhury, head of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE's) clean air campaign.

Tackling pollution

The app was launched on October 21 as part of the winter action campaign against air pollution. 

Those having IOS phones can download app.

The users of Android phones can download app.

It will enable people to record instances of violation, according to the Supreme Court directive given last year against air pollution. Users can report violation cases, which would then be screened for veracity, by a team of administrators and forwarded to officials concerned for taking necessary action.

Users reporting violation cases will be kept in the feedback loop till a particular case is concluded. Cases will be marked as concluded on the user’s app only on admission of proof of action taken. The user will get a report of the action taken and a record will be created in a particular area. This will help in creating a database of repeat offenders, thus deterring violation activities in future.

Poor air quality

Air pollution level increases in the winter due to paddy residue burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The presence of particulate matter (PM) in the air is the major reason for Delhi’s dirty air.

In 2015, a report done by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, found that the primary pollutants affecting Delhi’s air are PM ₁₀ and PM _2.5. Vehicular emission, crop residue burning and construction activity are to be blamed for this.

The study reported that nearly 56 per cent of PM₁₀ and 38 per cent of PM_2.5 in the air was due to road dust while crop residue burning contributed 26 per cent to the overall air pollution level.

PM_2.5 can easily penetrate into lungs, causing cardiovascular problems and damage to the inner walls of the arteries. Young and old people and those employed in hazardous occupations are most vulnerable.

To tackle pollution in Delhi and NCR, the National Green Tribunal, in its 2015 order in the Sanjay Kulshreshta vs Union of India case, directed the state government, CPCB and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to ban garbage burning, prevent dust flow at construction sites, take requisite action to repair pavements and reduce dust on the roads.

Burning garbage now invites a penalty of Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh per case while non-compliance with the norms relating to construction activity is fined Rs 50,000 per incident.

Violations during carriage and transportation of construction materials and debris through trucks and other vehicle attract a penalty of Rs 5,000 per incident.

Weak action

While in the past various agencies had introduced social media campaigns to raise awareness about air pollution, these were largely ineffective. An example can be given of Faridabad, which conducted extensive awareness campaigns. It also runs a Whatsapp-based violation reporting system, but has not issued a single challan till April 2016.

Similarly, the Delhi government also runs a mobile app to report waste burning cases. The app has 50,000 downloads. But while 1,027 complaints have been lodged through these applications, no action has been reported from the agencies concerned.

Sources said though government agencies are flooded with complaints, resource crunch stands in the way. The new app will clearly define a chain of action from the pollution control boards to the municipal authorities.

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Delhi air pollution: identifying perpetrators and fixing responsibility

Air pollution is responsible for 10,000 to 30,000 deaths in Delhi every year. It is also the fifth leading cause of death in India, a report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had stated in 2015. Air pollution in the national capital is a result of a complex mix of anthropogenic (vehicle emissions, industry emissions, waste burning and crop burning) and natural sources like road dust.

On October 31, the levels of PM 10 and PM 2.5 reached as much as eight times the safe limit.  It was not the first time and it won’t be the last. Meteorological conditions like cold and stagnant air trapped pollution close to the ground and that resulted in some of the worst smog days in the last 17 years.

As rational observations are lost in the din over worsening air quality in Delhi, we piece together the various sources of air pollution to better identify the entities and individuals who need to combat the crisis on war footing.

1. Road dust: A range of studies on Delhi's air quality, including the one by IIT Kanpur, consider road dust as the top contributor to rising levels of PM 2.5 in the city. There’s no ambiguity that the dust must settle if Delhi’s toxic air has to be cleaned up. Delhi has been in the thick of construction activity for years now and the dust deposits at construction sites have taken a toll on the air quality.

According to experts, silica is the most harmful element in construction matter as it escapes human body’s filter mechanism and reduces lung capacity, making people vulnerable to all kinds of infections. Unpaved roads and the non-greened shoulders of roads also add to the burden of dust emission. The daily PM10 and PM2.5 emissions from road dust are estimated to be 79,626 kg and 22,165 kg respectively.

Recommendations: Timely sweeping, dust dispersion methods and maintenance of road surfaces and pavements must be done. Green barriers, in the form of low shrubs and plants, must be placed effectively to act as dust dispersal techniques. Existing rules and guidelines for construction sites must be enforced stringently in order to prevent dust from construction activities.

Agencies accountable:  Municipal Corporations (South, East, North and New Delhi), CPWD, PWD Delhi and Municipal corporations of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Greater Noida.

2. Vehicular emissions: A study conducted by IIT Kanpur on Delhi’s pollution levels revealed that emissions from vehicles are the second largest source of particulate matter, especially PM2.5. In winter, vehicles contribute 25 per cent to PM2.5 concentration in air, with diesel vehicles contributing a large share to both PM10 and PM2.5 levels.

According to a CSE study in June 2016, Delhi has over 8.9 million registered vehicles and additionally, 570,000 personal and passenger vehicles enter Delhi every day. According to the Economic Survey of Delhi, the number of vehicles coming into Delhi is almost equal to the number of vehicles registered in the city in a year. Moreover, around 23 per cent of the cars registered in Delhi are diesel. Diesel cars emit 7.5 times more particulate matter than the petrol versions and produce more toxic nitrogen dioxide. Delhi continues to see a spike in air pollution load despite introduction of compressed natural gas (CNG) because it still has the highest vehicle density per kilometre in the country. Crammed for space, the average speed of vehicles goes down. With lower speed, engine efficiency reduces and emission levels increase.

Recommendations: Restraining measures like increasing parking fee to deter growth of number of vehicles and emergency restrictions on use of private vehicles must be imposed. Vehicles operating on clean fuels such as CNG and electric vehicles must be incentivised and polluting fuels (diesel) and older vehicles disincentivised through demerit taxes. Public transport infrastructure and services must be ramped up on war footing.

Agencies accountable: Municipal Corporations (South, East, North and New Delhi), CPWD, PWD Delhi and Municipal corporations of Gurgaon, Faridabad, NOIDA and Greater NOIDA (for parking pricing), state governments of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (for public transport), Union Ministries of Road Transport and Highways, Petroleum and Natural Gases (for vehicular emissions).  

3. Crop burning: Air pollution knows no boundaries and Delhiites know it better than anyone else. During the agricultural-clearing season (late October and November), burning of agricultural biomass residue is widely practised to remove the paddy stalk and prepare the field for wheat cultivation. Punjab, alone, burns about 18 million tonnes of paddy straw during this period. It contributes between 12 and 60 per cent of PM concentrations. The satellite images of NASA’s fire mapper revealed that the cases of paddy burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh increased after Diwali (October 30). It led to severe smog in the national capital.

Recommendations: In the short term, the use of agri-implements to prevent crop residue burning must be incentivised through subsidies on purchase and usage, on a co-ownership model. In the long term, alternative usage of paddy straw in the form of biomass-based power plants, biofertiliser plants and bio-fuels must be promoted. Remote sensing agencies along with grassroots level enforcement teams for prevention of burning and penalising offenders need to be considered.

Agencies accountable:  State Pollution Control Boards of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (for detection and penalisation), state departments of Agriculture, Science & Technology and Power of Punjab and Haryana (for subsidies on agri-implements) and Central government (for assistance for subsidies). 

4. Waste burning: Improper waste management leads to burning of wastes both at landfill sites and in open areas. While Delhi-NCR generates 10,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, much of it is eventually burned, adding particulate pollution to the air. Smoke rising steadily from a mound of solid waste is a common sight in Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill. The National Green Tribunal order in April 2015 stated that garbage burning contributes 29.4 per cent of air pollution with reference to PM10. While the municipal corporations have decided to impose hefty penalty (Rs 20,000-Rs 100,000) as stipulated by the NGT to curb rampant practice of waste burning, not much has been done to mandate waste segregation at source and penalise households and institutions that do not follow suit.

Recommendations: Flawed system of waste disposal and management encourages a landfill fire. Delhi, like most cities, is struggling to manage waste. While the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 gives detailed specifications for collection, segregation, storage, transportation, processing and disposal of solid wastes, there is an absolute collapse of financial and institutional (human) capacity and accountability in our municipal systems.

Agencies accountable: Municipal Corporations (South, East, North and New Delhi), CPWD, PWD Delhi and Municipal corporations of Gurgaon, Faridabad, NOIDA and Greater NOIDA (for penalty on localised small fires and for action plan on landfill sites), Resident’s Welfare Associations (for prevention of small fires)

5. Industrial emission: According to a study by the IIT Kanpur, power plants, industrial clusters, restaurants and the diesel generators are the primary source of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). The study also pointed out that about 98 per cent of the 142 tonne SO2 and 60 per cent of the 312 tonne NOx emitted in Delhi’s air each day come from these sources.  Breathing SO2 or NOx even for short periods can cause adverse respiratory ailments like airway inflammation, asthma symptoms and bronchoconstriction. When released into the atmosphere, these pollutants form sulphate or nitrate fine particles that chock airways to lungs.

Recommendations: Stringent enforcement of existing laws and standards for industrial pollution is the need of the hour.  Although Delhi has disallowed many polluting industries within its borders, they have come up in bordering areas of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. A regional approach to pollution needs to be taken to counter the pollution sources in the NCR region.

Agencies accountable: State Pollution Control Boards of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh