Page 30 - Air Pollution

Greenpeace India warns of poor air quality in Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Mysuru

Three major cities in Karnataka -- Bengaluru, Mangaluru, and Mysuru -- have registered deteriorating air quality as the air pollution is on the rise, said a Greenpeace India report on Saturday. The report, 'Spare the Air 2' flags serious health concerns as the average PM 2.5 and PM10 levels soar in 10 major cities of southern India, significantly exceeding the air quality guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO). PM2.5, or fine particulate matter, is a type of air pollution that consists of tiny particles that are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. PM10 is an air quality term for particulate matter that is 10 micrometers. The report has analysed the air quality standards of Hyderabad, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Mangaluru, Amravati, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru, Mysuru and Puducherry. The lead researcher of the report Akanksha Singh said, "Clean air is fundamental to our health, yet this report reveals that particulate matter levels in all cities have ...

'Warrior Moms' urges health minister to act on air pollution, proposes plan

A collective of mothers from across India advocating for clean air on Saturday urged the Union Health Ministry to create "Low Emission Zones" around hospitals and issue advisories for doctors to consider a patient's exposure to air pollution when diagnosing illnesses. In a letter to Union Health Minister J P Nadda, the "Warrior Moms" also proposed the development of a "Health Action Plan" for each state to tackle pollution-related health issues. The letter coincided with the UN International Day of Blue Skies and Clean Air. The mothers called for an immediate update to India's Air Quality Index (AQI) standards, which have been delayed for over two years, along with the establishment of clear targets to reduce pollution levels. They urged the installation of real-time AQI monitoring systems in hospitals, schools, government buildings, and public spaces to ensure transparency and accountability. "Warrior Moms" also suggested that the ministry collaborate with other government bodies

Artificial rain, WFH, odd-even: How Delhi is preparing for winter pollution

The 2024 Winter Action Plan focuses on tackling pollution hotspots, controlling vehicular emissions and dust, encouraging work-from-home policies, addressing stubble and waste burning, among others

Delhi breathes clean air for 128 days in first half of 2024: Report

The national capital breathed clean air for 128 days of the first half of 2024, according to a Delhi government report. The report by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) said that the "Good days' (good/satisfactory/moderate days together) during the January-July, 2024, period was 128. The number of 'good days' from August 1 to August 20 was 20, it said. The number of 'good days' referring to air quality, increased from 159 in 2018 to 206 in' 2023, it said. An air quality index (AQI) between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". The identified sources of air pollution are vehicular and industrial emissions, open burning and other combustion sources. The report cited various steps taken by the Delhi government to mitigate air pollution in the city. A total of 385 dedicated enforcement teams of the Transport Department and Traffic Police have been formed to

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

Statsguru: Monsoon boosts Delhi's air quality, pollution challenges remain

Some regions in the northwest and eastern belts of India have had scant or deficient rainfall this season

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

19.3% drop in particulate pollution in 2022 adds 51 days to life expectancy

India recorded a significant 19.3 per cent drop in particulate pollution in 2022 compared to 2021, the second-highest reduction in the world after Bangladesh, adding an average of 51 days to the life expectancy of every citizen, according to a new report. The annual report, "Air Quality Life Index" 2024, by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) also said that Indians are likely to lose 3.6 years of life expectancy if the country fails to meet the World Health Organisation's annual PM2.5 concentration standard of 5 micrograms per cubic metre. The researchers attributed the decline in particulate levels in India and other South Asian countries primarily to favourable meteorological conditions and a reduced number of thermal inversions -- when a layer of warm air traps cooler air near the ground, causing pollution to build up. PM2.5 concentrations in India in 2022 were around 9 micrograms per cubic metre, 19.3 per cent lower than 2021. The most significant ..

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

CAQM issues advisory to curb open waste burning, cites poor GRAP compliance

The Centre's air quality panel has issued a new advisory to curb the open burning of municipal solid waste and biomass, including wood, dried leaves and other organic matter, in Delhi, stating that despite previous advisories, compliance with the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-II has been "far from satisfactory". In a bid to address the worsening air quality in Delhi during the winter months, the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas issued an advisory and directed the additional chief secretary of the Directorate of Urban Local Bodies and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commissioner to ensure that resident welfare associations (RWAs) provide electric heaters to their security staff and other service workers. This measure is intended to prevent them from resorting to open burning of biomass for warmth, which is a common practice during the winter months. The commission highlighted that despite previous advisories, ...

Air pollution is a great equaliser

In 2019, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), as it is called, to fix the air quality of our cities

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

600 PUC centres in Delhi shut due to AAP govt's internal churn: Congress

Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav Sunday alleged that 600 PUC centres, which check vehicles for their emission levels, have closed due to the AAP government's "internal churn", and lakhs of vehicles are plying on the road without pollution clearance certificates. He said the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party should emulate the governance model of the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress dispensation to eradicate air pollution from the city, he said. "Due to the Kejriwal government's internal churn, 600 PUC (Pollution Under Control) centres have been closed -- lakhs of vehicles ply on roads without getting pollution clearance certificates in the Capital," Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav said. Delhi Petrol Dealers' Association (DPDA) has been demanding the government revise the rates for Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates in the national capital. It recently shut down nearly 600 PUC centres functioning at petrol pumps, saying the hike announced recently was not commensurate with ...

Nation's air pollution crisis result of policy failure: Congress slams govt

Accusing the Modi government of "poor policy-making" in dealing with air pollution, the Congress on Sunday demanded that the forthcoming Union Budget must provide a path forward to resourcing and equipping India's local bodies, state governments, and the Centre in tackling this "grave public health crisis". Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said earlier this month, a study revealed that 7.2 per cent of all deaths in India are associated with air pollution -- about 34,000 deaths each year in just 10 cities. A new study by the Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi has evaluated the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) and brought to light the policy chaos that has resulted in this public health crisis, he said in a statement. "The current budget of the NCAP, including the 15th Finance Commission's grants, is about Rs 10,500 crore -- spread across 131 cities! The programme is therefore desperately underfunded -- and yet, and of this meagre amount, onl

Most lung cancer patients in India are non-smokers, study reveals

A recent study highlights the role of poor air quantity in India and genetic diversity in rapidly increasing cases of lung cancer

33,000 lives lost annually due to pollution in these 10 Indian cities

A report published in Lancet Planetary Health claims that over 7 per cent of all deaths, approximately 33,000 each year, in 10 Indian cities can be attributed to air pollution levels

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 kills 33,000 every year even in 'clean' Indian cities: Lancet

The researchers looked at 3.6 million deaths between 2008 and 2019 across the sample areas, and overlapped them with a detailed map of the distribution of PM 2.5