Air Pollution In India

From drones to WFH, Delhi's 21-point winter action plan to tackle pollution

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that drones will be used in the national capital to monitor and identify sources of air pollution

PMO air pollution meet stresses EV transition, charging infra in NCR

A high-level meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday stressed the urgent need to transition to electric vehicles and develop charging infrastructure in the NCR region to combat air pollution. Chairing the meeting of the task force, P K Mishra, the principal secretary to the prime minister, called for strict and timely implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan -- a set of anti-pollution measures enforced during winter -- by all relevant agencies to manage air quality effectively, a statement said. Mishra instructed the chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to rigorously enforce action plans to prevent stubble burning, ensure full utilization of crop residue management machines and support small industries in the economic use of paddy straw, it said. He stressed the importance of shifting to electric vehicles and expanding EV charging infrastructure in NCR areas. According to the statement, Mishra also encouraged states to increase their e-bus .

Indoor air pollution poses bigger health risk than outdoor: Experts

Indoor air pollution is a bigger health risk than outdoor air pollution in India, and sometimes cities are cleaner than nearby villages where household pollution is higher, according to the country's two top policy experts. Addressing the India Clean Air Summit (ICAS) 2024, Principal Advisor, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Soumya Swaminathan said, "Studies done in Delhi have shown that women's average exposure to high levels of black carbon (women who are mostly at home) is as much as auto-rickshaw passengers going around outdoor exposed to the ambient air pollution in Delhi, resulting in high systolic blood pressure." "Cities contribute less than 20 per cent to the overall state emissions, wherever they have been assessed, but household emissions predominate, ranging between 20 per cent and 40 per cent. Across the country, we are seeing is that sometimes cities are cleaner than the surrounding villages where household air pollution predominates," she said at the summit ...

WFH, awareness campaigns to combat Delhi air pollution, says minister Rai

Policies for work from home and awareness campaigns are likely to be part of the Delhi government's Winter Action Plan to combat air pollution in the national capital, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Thursday. Rai said during a press conference that the Delhi government held a meeting with environment experts and officials from various government departments to seek their opinions. "These inputs will play a crucial role in crafting an effective Winter Action Plan," Rai said. The minister also emphasised the need for a shift in human behaviour and said one could contribute to reducing air pollution by taking small measures such as turning off engines at traffic lights. "We are the ones using private vehicles, engaging in construction work and failing to turn off our vehicles at red lights. A change in our behaviour is essential to reduce pollution," Rai said. "Self awareness is important. Small steps by everyone will bring a big change," the minister said. Previously, ...

Air quality report: India cuts pollution by 19.3%, life expectancy rises

A new report has revealed that the drop in particulate matter levels across India and other South Asian countries was largely due to favourable weather conditions and fewer thermal inversions

Air pollution in Indian cities raises death risk across age groups: Study

In Indian districts, air pollution exceeding national standards have been shown to increase death risk across all age groups -- by 86 per cent in newborns, 100-120 per cent in children under five years of age and 13 per cent in adults, according to a study. A team of researchers, including those at the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, looked at fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution levels across over 700 districts. Data for analysis was taken from the National Family and Health Survey (fifth round) and the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). In households not having a separate kitchen, the study found higher chances of deaths among newborns and adults. Among newborns and children aged under five, the chances "appeared to be almost two-fold and more than two-fold higher, respectively, in the districts of India where the PM2.5 concentration is up to the NAAQS level," the authors said in the study published in the journal GeoHealth. Analysing the

No letter received from Delhi on air pollution: Union environment ministry

The Union environment ministry clarified on Thursday that it had not recently received any communication from Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai, seeking a discussion on air pollution. On Tuesday, Rai said he had sent a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, proposing a meeting to prepare a joint plan to combat air pollution. The ministry said the last letter it received from Rai was dated September 20, 2023, in which he requested a meeting with National Capital Region (NCR) states to discuss air quality management. In response, Yadav chaired a meeting with the environment ministers of the NCR states on October 20, 2023. "No letter has been received recently from the Hon'ble Environment Minister, GNCTD (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi), on this subject," the ministry said in its statement. The ministry also said that its secretary chaired a meeting on July 25 to discuss the action plan for the next one year, including preparations for the coming

Congress slams govt over rapidly deteriorating air quality across nation

The Congress on Thursday slammed the Centre over the issue of "deteriorating air quality", alleging that this government denies there is a real problem, underfunds programmes targeted at mitigating pollution and fails to utilise the resources that it allocates. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that among the lesser-known tragedies of "the non-biological PM's reign is the rapidly deteriorating air quality nationally" and the policy chaos that has characterised the government's response to it. In the last five years, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has left more than 75 percent of the Environment Protection Charge (EPC) and Environmental Compensation (EC) funds unspent, the former environment minister said on X. In total, Rs 665.75 crores have been left unutilised, he claimed. "Earlier this week in the Rajya Sabha, a Union Minister of State claimed that 'There are no conclusive data available in the country to establish direct correlat

Air pollution kills 33,000 in Indian cities annually, Delhi tops list

According to Lancet Planetary Health, almost 33,000 deaths in 10 Indian cities yearly can be attributed to air pollution levels that are below India's national clean air threshold

Air pollution: Toxic air kills 464 children daily in India, 2,000 worldwide

Air pollution is now the second major cause of child mortality around the world. The State of Global Air report indicates about half a million child deaths in 2021 linked to indoor air pollution

Haryana govt to launch Rs 10,000 crore project to combat air pollution

Haryana Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad on Monday said the state government will soon roll out a Rs 10,000-crore project funded by the World Bank to address air pollution. The Haryana Clean Air Project for Sustainable Development will be implemented in the state in a phased manner with the first phase being implemented in the districts falling in the National Capital Region (NCR) and replication in entire state later, he said. The announcement was made in a meeting of the governing committee of Haryana Clean Air Project for Sustainable Development held under the chairmanship of the chief secretary here on Monday, according to an official statement. Prasad said this ten-year comprehensive project would be funded by the World Bank. Underlining the significance of the project, Prasad emphasised the need of collective efforts by all stakeholders to eliminate the problem of air pollution. It was informed by the officials in the meeting that the project has three focus areas aimed at ...

Drop in annual PM2.5, PM10 levels between 2018 and 2023: Environment dept

The Delhi environmental department said there has been a decrease in the annual PM2.5 concentration, dropping from 128 micrograms per cubic metre in 2018 to 106 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023

AQI: Delhi world's most polluted capital, Begusarai most polluted city

India has slipped in the world air quality index to be the third most polluted country, ranking just behind Bangladesh and Pakistan with average PM2.5 levels at 54.4 micrograms, up from 53.3 last year

Rare triple-dip La Nina behind unusual AQ trend in India in 2022-23: Study

An unprecedented triple-dip La-Nina event, extended by climate change, triggered a peculiar trend in the 2022-23 winter season where air quality improved in north India while peninsular India recorded an increase in pollution levels, according to a new study released on Sunday. The three consecutive years of La Nia conditions (2020-23) - a rare triple-dip phenomenon - had widespread impacts on the ocean and climate across the globe. The study by a team of scientists led by Gufran Beig, Chair Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, emphasised that besides local emissions, rapidly changing climate is a significant factor affecting air quality. Published in the Elsevier Journal, the study reveals that the air quality worsened in peninsular Indian cities in the 2022-23 winter season but improved in the northern part of India, contrary to the trends seen in recent decades. Among the north Indian cities, Ghaziabad registered the most significant improvement with a reduction of

Delhi air quality remains 'severe'; cold waves and fog reduce visibility

Travellers in Delhi face delays as dense fog hits flight and rail operations amid severe air quality conditions

Bihar govt to begin study to analyse air pollution in Gaya, Muzaffarpur

The Bihar government has decided to conduct a real-time apportionment study in Muzaffarpur and Gaya to identify sources of air pollution in these two cities of the state, an official said on Monday. The decision was taken as Muzaffarpur, Gaya and the state capital Patna are among the 122 non-attainment cities in terms of air pollution trends. The study in Muzaffarpur and Gaya will be conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi and Patna). The Bihar State Pollution Control Board will soon sign memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in this regard, which are being finalised," BSPCB Chairman Devendra Kumar Shukla told PTI. The study will identify the "seasonal mass concentration level of PM2.5 and PM10 in ambient air" of the extended urban areas of both cities, he said. PM 2.5 and PM 10 are minute particles present in the air, and exposure to these is harmful to health. Real-time source apportionment studies help identify factors, such as vehicles, dust, biomass burning, and ..

Delhi wakes up to cold, severely polluted air with an AQI value of 411

Aizwal, the capital city of Mizoram registered the best air quality with an Air quality index value of 18

Delhi air quality: AQI in parts of the capital rises to 'severe' on Friday

Delhi air quality update: The national capital's AQI would fluctuate between 'very poor' and poor' in the next four days

Delhi air quality: AQI in parts of capital improves to 'poor' on Wednesday

Delhi temperature today: The minimum temperature in Delhi is expected at 6 degrees Celsius, one degree below the season's average

Air quality in several parts of Delhi falls to "severe" on Wednesday

Delhi pollution news today: Anand Vihar's AQI was 415 on Wednesday morning and Ashok Vihar's AQI was 412