Air pollution is estimated to kill about 2 million people every year; it is the fifth largest killer in India. India has the world’s highest death rate from chronic respiratory and asthma, according
to the WHO.
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Having said that, it is clear that in this article, I will discuss what led to this despicable condition of the national capital and a 360-degree consequence.
As far as Delhi’s ‘severe’ air quality is concerned, especially post-Diwali, it had reached the hazardous level so much so that the Supreme Court had
to intervene.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih commented that no religion supports practices that harm the environment or public health. The judges stressed that religious activities should not contribute to pollution or compromise people’s well-being.
The Court also criticised the timing of the Delhi government’s firecracker ban, questioning why it was imposed only on October 14, just before Diwali. The bench speculated that stockpiling of firecrackers might have already occurred by then, undermining the effectiveness of the ban.
It may be noted that Hiren Jethva, a scientist working at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, had recently highlighted the issue that farmers in North-West India and Pakistan may have been avoiding satellite overpass time to escape detection of farm fires.
“Are farmers in NW India and Pakistan avoiding satellite overpass time for stubble burning? A close eyeballing of GEO-KOMPSAT 2A geostationary satellite images show localised puffs/clouds of smoke in late afternoon. Needs ground checking,” he had written on X on October 25.
Jethva said the aerosol levels over North-West India since 2022 have increased despite a seemingly downward trend in fire detection, raising suspicions that farm fires are being ignited after satellite overpass time. Subsequently, he blamed the lack of policies and implementation for the trend.
He also revealed evidence from the Korean geostationary satellite GEO-KOMPSAT-2A which depicted late afternoon burning persisted in Punjab and intense stubble burning on both sides of the border had pushed the air quality to the “hazardous” category in the national capital.
Coming down heavily on authorities in Delhi and NCR over the emergency situation, the Supreme Court flagged the delay in implementation of stricter measures under the fourth stage of anti-pollution measure GRAP. The apex court ruled that restrictions will remain in effect even if the Air Quality Index (AQI) comes below 450.
One may question why has the highest stage of pollution-related restrictions been announced and what is permitted and banned under it? Let’s take a look.
GRAP-PLING WITH POLLUTION
GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi-NCR region. Approved by the Supreme Court in 2016 and notified in 2017, the plan was formulated after several meetings the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) held with state government representatives and experts.
The result was a plan that institutionalised measures to be taken when air quality deteriorates.
GRAP is incremental in nature and thus, when the air quality dips from ‘poor’ to ‘very poor,’ measures listed under both sections must be mandatorily followed. Stage I of GRAP is activated when the AQI is in the ‘poor’ category (201 to 300), Stage II is when it’s in the ‘very poor’ category (301-400), Stage III is when the AQI is the ‘Severe’ category (401-450) and finally Stage IV is when it rises to the ‘Severe +’ category (more than 450).
Why GRAP IV?
The decision has been based on a review of the air quality scenario and forecasts for meteorological conditions. Delhi’s AQI was 441 on November 17 evening and breached the threshold by night. The official notification said it is expected to remain in this adverse range owing to heavy fog, variable winds, and highly unfavourable meteorological and climatic conditions.
MAIN OFFENDERS
Vehicles are the single largest contributor of pollution in Delhi, tailpipe emissions from two-wheelers form the major chunk of vehicular pollution.
The draft report lists six major pollutants, of which, vehicles are the largest contributor to three.
Vehicles are the largest emitters of PM2.5 in Delhi, with around 47% or 9.6 kt/year (kilotonnes per year) of the total estimated PM2.5 emission of 20.32 kt/year. This was followed by road dust (20%, 4.09 kt/year of PM2.5). Vehicles are also the largest emitters of nitrogen oxides (Nox), contributing 78% or 119.6 kt/year to the estimated Nox load of 153.53 kt/year, and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), contributing around 49% (88.02 kt/year) of the total load of 180.52 kt/year.
Firewood has been another pollutant mentioned in the report. “The average per capita consumption of firewood and LPG in slum households of Delhi was 560 kg and 45 kg respectively during 2021.”
While firewood contributes around 0.8 kt/year to PM2.5 levels and 1.1 kt/year to PM10 in Delhi, LPG contributes 0.2 kt/year to PM2.5 and PM10 each, a report estimates.
In the NCR, which includes Delhi, 13 districts of Haryana, eight districts of Uttar Pradesh and two districts of Rajasthan, the major source of particulate matter is industries, contributing 41% to PM10, 44% to PM2.5, followed by stone crushers (22% to PM10, 19% in PM2.5).
According to a latest study by IIT Kanpur in April 2024, inside Delhi, ammonium chloride and organic aerosols from traffic, residential heating, and industrial activities are key contributors to air pollution. Outside Delhi, emissions from agricultural burning and secondary organic aerosols formed from these emissions are more prevalent. Contributing to the problem is the incomplete burning of fuels like wood, dung, coal, and petrol.
(Writer is Senior
Journalist and Former Senior Associate
Editor, O Heraldo)
