The Centre and Delhi government have put into effect their plans to monitor air quality and check pollution as winter approaches, but the national capital remained the most polluted city in the year ending September 30. An analysis has shown that it had a PM2.5 concentration of 100.1 micrograms per cubic metre, which is three times the government’s safe limit.
This is not good news with November fast approaching — a time when the air quality worsens as the cold sets in coupled with stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. Delhi’s infamous toxic smog was relatively controlled last year due to the late onset of winter but, this time, the city may run out of luck as a number of festivals will coincide with the harvesting season.
Apart from Delhi, four more cities from the National Capital Region (NCR) — Faridabad (89 micrograms per cubic metre), Noida (79.1 micrograms per cubic metre), Ghaziabad (78.3 micrograms per cubic metre) and Meerut (76.9 micrograms per cubic metre) — also feature in the list of the top 10 most polluted cities.
Aizawl and Mizoram have India’s cleanest air with a PM2.5 level of only 11.1 micrograms per cubic metre.
Patna clocks in after Delhi as the second most polluted city, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 99.7 micrograms per cubic metre. It witnessed a 24 percent deterioration in air quality compared to the previous year. The report highlighted that the top seven polluted cities — Delhi, Patna, Muzaffarpur, Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad and Meerut — are all part of the Indo-Gangetic Plains.
Conducted by independent think tank Climate Trends and tech firm Respirer Living Sciences, which manufactures real-time IoT-based air quality monitoring devices, the report is based on the analysis of the government’s PM2.5 data from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023; it focuses on cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme, which aims to achieve a 40 percent reduction in particulate matter concentration by 2026.
2022 not as bad as expected for Delhi air quality
Delhi did not report any ‘severe’ air quality day last year due to an unusual weather pattern and a number of other factors: Diwali came early in October when winter was yet to set in and stubble burning had not reached its peak. The weather was unusual in terms of late onset of winter and a warm December, which helped disperse pollutants.
In fact, the analysis, notes that PM2.5 concentration in Delhi, Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad and Meerut reduced by 4 percent, 12 percent, 12 percent, 25 percent and 11 percent, respectively, during the study period. “The analysis reflects that there has been improvement in the Indo-Gangetic Plain cities over the last few years. However, considering the enormous pollution load, these cities continue to experience the highest PM levels in the country,” said Aarti Khosla, the director of Climate Trends.
She added: “While measures like the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana or hyperlocal developments like the peripheral highways around Delhi are positive actions, there is a need for a scientific approach to address air quality issues in a sustained manner through an airshed approach.”
(With PTI inputs)
Comments
0 comment