Delhi smog tower: Primary results show 80% reduction in pollution, says Rai

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday said the smog tower at Connaught Place has started working at full capacity and primary results show an 80 percent reduction in pollution levels.

Rai said the large air purifier reduced PM2.5 level from 151 micrograms per cubic meter to 38 g/m, and PM10 concentration from 165 g/m to 41 g/m on Friday morning.

"Primary results indicate the pollution levels have reduced by 80 percent," he told reporters.

A 16-member team of experts from Delhi Pollution Control Committee, IIT-Bombay, NBCC and Tata Projects has been formed to monitor the functioning of the smog tower.

"It will submit its first report in three months. Based on the results of the two-year study, the government will take a call on installing more such structures," the minister said.

Sensors have been installed at the top and the bottom to measure PM2.5 and PM10 concentration in the air entering the smog tower and after it is cleaned, he said.

The over 24-meter-high structure was inaugurated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on August 23.

The smog tower has 40 fans and 10,000 filters developed by experts at the University of Minnesota which also helped design a 100-metre-high smog tower in Xian, China.

The smog tower can purify air in a one-km radius around the structure, at a rate of around 1,000 cubic metres per second.

Experts will try to ascertain the area of influence and the optimum fan speed for best results at minimum costs, according to officials.

The study will also focus on reducing the size of the structure, minimizing energy consumption, and developing design parameters and specifications for low-cost indigenous filters and fans.