Page 6 - Air Pollution Study

UP urges Centre to consider setting up panel to tackle air pollution

The Uttar Pradesh government has asked the Centre to consider establishing an airshed coordination committee to manage air pollution in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, officials have said. The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) is a major hotspot for atmospheric pollution in India. During winter, pollution levels in the IGP sharply increase due to unfavourable weather conditions such as low temperatures and slow wind speeds. This decline in air quality has reduced life expectancy in the region -- home to 40 per cent of India's population -- by around seven years, according to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). In a letter dated July 22, the Uttar Pradesh government requested the Union environment ministry to consider setting up an airshed coordination committee for the IGP. "Uttar Pradesh is located in the heart of the IGP. We have been advocating for addressing air pollution at the airshed level. Significant progress can be made if all states work together," a state

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 ...

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

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

CAQM increases tree plantation target by 20% to combat NCR air pollution

The renewed target comes after the statutory body, CAQM, created in 2021 to carry out air quality management, planted 36 million trees in FY24

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

'Cancer patients exposed to air pollution at higher risk of heart disease'

Air pollution could increase the risk of heart diseases and death in cancer patients, adding to health inequities experienced by the group, according to a new research. The research reviewed eight papers published between 2000 and 2023 that studied the direct impacts of air pollution on cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack and stroke, and cancer. More than 1.1 crore participants were included in the review. The researchers found that exposure to fine particulate (PM2.5) pollution weakened the body's detoxification and its defences against inflammation, which are risk factors common to both cancer and cardiovascular disease. "Air pollution plays an undeniable role in the field of cardio-oncology," the authors, including those from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, wrote. Even short-term exposure to unhealthy levels of air pollution can quickly affect the heart health of cancer patients, according to the researchers. The findings are published in the Journ

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

All that breathes

Air pollution is absent from the political agenda

Coastal road to save $100 mn a yr in carbon emissions: Mumbai civic chief

The opening of the coastal road's southbound carriageway between Worli and Marine Drive will reduce travel time from 40 minutes to just 9 minutes and save nearly USD 100 million annually in carbon emissions through fuel savings, Mumbai civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal has said. The first phase of the coastal road project was inaugurated by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday morning. The public has been allowed to use it from 8 am on Tuesday. "The travelling time will be reduced from 40 minutes to 9 minutes now, and it would save nearly $100 million annually in carbon emissions through fuel savings," Chahal said on Monday. The coastal road of 10.58 km length and 16.5 km of interchanges, being built at a cost of Rs 14,000 crore, consists of four lanes on each side along with two 12.19 metre diameter tunnels of 2.07 km length, he said. These are the largest tunnels by diameter built by tunnel boring machines in the country, Chahal said. "It is for the first time in India that a ...

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

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 ..

Most cities on path to achieve national clean air target; Varanasi leads

The government allocated Rs 9,631 crore to reduce the levels of particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller by 40 per cent in 131 cities by 2026 from the 2017 levels

Despite rain, air quality in Delhi in 'Very Poor' category, AQI at 395

Hanumangarh in Rajasthan recorded the worst air quality with an AQI of 416. Aizwal, the capital of Mizoram recorded the best air quality with a 'Good' rating and AQI index value of 12

Who is in charge of my 'air'?

Controlling air pollution calls for negotiations that cover airsheds, as air is mobile and beyond artificial legal jurisdictions

Our cities are choking

Revitalising urban air is crucial to ensure a healthier future for city dwellers

Top 10 most polluted cities across India with worst AQI; details inside

The air quality across Indian cities has been deteriorating for the last fourteen days and has worsened following the celebration of Diwali which saw the widespread bursting of firecrackers