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Recently, The Delhi government announced a 21-point Winter Action Plan, including using drones to monitor pollution hotspots, deploying anti-smog guns, and exploring the possibility of creating artificial rain.
When air is contaminated by unwanted substances which have a harmful effect on both the living and the non-living, it is referred to as air pollution.
Natural air pollutants: Emitted from natural sources like volcanic activity, dust, sea-salt, forest fires, lightning, and soil outgassing.
Anthropogenic air pollutants: Emissions from stationary (e.g., industries), mobile sources (e.g., vehicles, marine vessels, airplanes), waste disposal sites, and controlled burning.
Primary air pollutants: Directly emitted into the atmosphere from sources, such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), lead (Pb), and ammonia (NH3).
Secondary air pollutants: Formed by reactions between primary air pollutants and normal atmospheric constituents. Some are created using solar energy, like ozone, peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN), and smog.
Organic air pollutants: Examples include hydrocarbons, aldehydes, ketones, amines, and alcohols.
Inorganic air pollutants: Examples comprise carbon compounds (CO and carbonates), nitrogen compounds (NOX and NH3), sulphur compounds (H2S, SO2, SO3, H2SO4), halogen compounds (HF, HCl), fly ash, and silica.
Gaseous air pollutants: Such as SO2, NOX, O3, and CO.
Particulate air pollutants: Microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the atmosphere. This category includes:
Total suspended particulate matter (TSPM): Obtained via high volume bulk sampling, comprising particles of all sizes.
PM10: Particles less than 10 µm in diameter.
PM2.5: Particles less than 2.5 µm in diameter.
PM1.0: Particles less than 1 µm in diameter.
Particles between 10µm to 2.5µm are referred to as ‘coarse particles’, while those with a diameter less than 2.5µm are labeled as ‘fine particles’. Fine particles also encompass ultra-fine particles smaller than 0.1 µm (PM0.1).
Air pollution is most common in large cities where emissions from many different sources are concentrated. Sometimes, mountains or tall buildings prevent air pollution from spreading out. This air pollution often appears as a cloud making the air murky. It is called smog. The word "smog" comes from combining the words "smoke" and "fog."
Large cities in poor and developing nations tend to have more air pollution than cities in developed nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some of the worlds most polluted cities are Karachi, Pakistan; New Delhi, India; Beijing, China; Lima, Peru; and Cairo, Egypt. However, many developed nations also have air pollution problems. Los Angeles, California, is nicknamed Smog City.
Pollution in India: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/air-pollution-india
Delhi, enclosed by Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, faces severe air pollution linked to crop burning, notably in Punjab and Haryana. During November, farmers often burn leftover rice stalks and straw, termed stubble or paddy burning, a common method post-harvest. This practice covers the Northern Plains, including Delhi NCR, in dense smog.
Across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, rice cultivation generates around 48 million tonnes of straw annually, with approximately 39 million tonnes being burned.
Various factors, such as seed types and government policies promoting late harvesting, exacerbate this issue.
Temperature inversions, coinciding with lower temperatures and sluggish winds, further aggravate the problem, trapping smoke in the air.
This region hosts 3,182 industries within the Delhi-National Capital Region, contributing roughly 18.6 percent to the region’s poor air quality.
These industries emit between 200 to 1000 tonnes of pollutants annually, particularly concentrated around heavily trafficked roads. The government’s carbon tax policy worsens the situation as major industries switch to cheaper fossil fuel alternatives to evade taxes imposed solely on coal.
The transport sector stands as the primary origin of PM2.5 emissions in Delhi, accounting for 28% of these emissions. Nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, making up 80% of Delhi’s air pollution, stem mainly from vehicles.
Trucks and tractors generate 9% of emissions, two-wheelers contribute 7%, three-wheelers 5%, cars and buses each contribute 3%, and light commercial vehicles account for 1%. Collectively, these vehicles constitute 41% of Delhi’s total pollution burden.
Cars from other states accounted for nearly 25-45% of the overall emissions produced by four-wheelers.
Construction areas produce substantial levels of pollutants that can travel significant distances, particularly in Delhi NCR.
Approximately 360 brick kilns, mostly located in Jhajjar, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad regions on the outskirts of NCT, operate mainly between December and June.
The government and local municipal bodies have failed to ensure adequate compliance with environmental regulations within the construction industry.
Measures such as covering debris and managing waste have been neglected. Additionally, a lack of published timelines for infrastructure projects leads to a lack of accountability within their construction teams.
Unlike coastal cities with moderating sea breezes, Delhi has a continental climate. Being landlocked far from the sea, no exchange of air circulation.
Measures enforced so far include a ban on non-essential construction work and some categories of polluting vehicles in winter months. Exemptions, however, were made for the projects for the railway services, metro services, airports, inter-state bus terminals, defence-related activities, healthcare-related activities.
The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was introduced in the capital city.
Vehicles with older emissions standards have been stopped from running in some areas of NCR. Activities such as construction and demolition (C&D), stone crushing, and mining have been barred.
The government has announced the closure of all primary schools periodically in winter months to keep children safe.
Construction work within a one-kilometer radius in hot spots where the AQI level continuously remains close to 400. Besides, the entry of diesel buses into the capital city was stopped.
Technological solution: Among the superficial solutions such as smog towers, water guns, and odd-even road sharing, cloud seeding has emerged as the latest “silver bullet”.
Besides its limited impact, cloud seeding raises serious environmental and ethical concerns. The water vapour used in the process would have naturally precipitated elsewhere, and it potentially deprives other regions of rainfall. This artificial manipulation of weather patterns could even lead to droughts in areas which would have received this rainfall otherwise.
In a country like India, where water resources are already strained, aggravating regional disparities is a dangerous gamble. The chemicals used — such as silver iodide — pose potential long-term risks. While deemed safe in small quantities, their accumulation in soil and water could impact agriculture and ecosystems in ways that are not yet fully understood.
Smog towers, which are supposed to act as giant air purifiers that would clean the surrounding air, is another flawed solution being pursued. While these structures provide a visible symbol of action, their effectiveness is limited to the immediate vicinity, leaving the broader cityscape unaffected. Moreover, the energy required to operate these towers can contribute to emissions, potentially rendering them counterproductive.
Coordination among various agencies: Air pollution is a complex, Effective collaboration between agencies responsible for transport, industry, agriculture, and urban planning is crucial to ensure that policies are aligned, and efforts are not duplicated.
Eg: Addressing crop stubble-burning in rural areas requires cooperation between farmers, agricultural policymakers, and environmental regulators.
Capacity building and critical thinking: Strengthening institutional frameworks and investing in research are necessary steps toward long-term progress. Solutions must be data-driven, informed by a clear understanding of pollution sources and health impacts, and adaptable to India’s diverse regional contexts.
Air quality monitoring system: A robust and comprehensive air quality monitoring system, integrating various technologies such as regulatory monitoring stations, advanced instrumentation, satellite-based monitoring, and low-cost sensor networks can help track pollution trends, providing the data needed for targeted interventions to tackle both local and regional sources.
Beyond techno-centric solutions: While technological approaches may help, they are insufficient. Like cloud seeding and smog towers — are designed more to demonstrate action than to deliver meaningful results. These projects often serve vested interests, offering lucrative contracts to private firms while failing to address the root causes of pollution.
Ultimately, the fight for clean air is not just a technical challenge; it is a deeply political one. Chasing quick fixes risks perpetuating these inequalities instead of addressing the structural issues at the heart of the crisis. To confront its air pollution problem, India must move beyond the illusion of short-term solutions. What is needed is a multi-decadal, multi-sectoral effort grounded in scientific thinking and committed to sustained, collaborative action.
World Air Quality Report 2023:
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
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PRACTICE QUESTION Q.What are the reasons and costs of rising air pollution in Delhi? Enumerate the measures taken by the government in this direction and their efficacy. (250 Words) |
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