Page 58 - Air Pollution

CAQM asks agencies to develop gas infrastructure in NCR before next winter

The Centre's panel on air quality has directed the agencies concerned to develop a proper gas infrastructure across the national capital region (NCR) before the next winter. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) held a review meeting with the 11 gas distributors of NCR and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to take stock of the commissioning of gas infrastructure, piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) connectivity in the districts of the NCR. According to the CAQM, about 74 per cent of industrial areas of NCR have gas connectivity like PNG which is cleaner and emits less pollutants as compared to the conventional fuel like coal or diesel. The panel directed the 11 city gas distributors to ensure that the gas infrastructure covers the entire NCR. The NCR has 240 industrial areas of which gas connectivity and infrastructure has been achieved in 74.5 per cent industrial areas. In NCR, there are 963 CNG stations, 22,24,055 domestic PNG connections,

Over 125,000 old vehicles to be deregistered in Noida to control pollution

Over 1.25 lakh old vehicles registered in Gautam Buddh Nagar will be taken off the roads in compliance with a National Green Tribunal order on phasing out diesel and petrol vehicles older than 10 and 15 years, respectively, from the national capital region. The district transport department has started a campaign to phase out such vehicles and begun contacting their owners from October 1 following an Uttar Pradesh government order, officials said. Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Siyaram Verma said, "These vehicles will either be scrapped or a no-objection certificate (NOC) issued for their usage so that they could be used in some select districts that do not fall under NCR." Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ganesh Saha told PTI that the police department, on its part, was also carrying out stricter checks and penalising old vehicles found plying on the roads. The Uttar Pradesh government order said there were 34 districts with better air quality where such vehicl

Smog tower in Anand Vihar brought pollution down by only 17%: Report

The 82-feet tall tower reduced PM2.5 pollutants by 13% in December 2021, 7% in March, and 17% in April

Backed by strong winds Delhi records cleanest day after Dussehra since 2015

On the day of Dussehra, the AQI was at 211 under the "poor" category. It fell to 79 the next day, under the "satisfactory" category

Graded Response Action Plan: Battling high air pollution in Delhi-NCR

As winter approaches, Delhi-NCR has been placed under the stage 1 measures of GRAP. Read more to find out what exactly is GRAP

Hyperlocal emissions behind spike in Delhi's air pollution after Dussehra

Delhi's air quality turned poor on Dussehra, though the early warning system of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology had predicted moderate to satisfactory air quality in the capital. IITM officials said that they did not record any substantial changes in parameters like temperature, wind speed and emissions from farm fires on October 5 and "hyperlocal emissions" could have impacted the air quality. The possible sources of these emissions could be the large number of effigies burnt on the occasion of Dussehra and during a political protest, they said. With the air quality in Delhi dropping to the 'poor' category on Wednesday, authorities in the National Capital Region (NCR) have been asked to strictly implement measures under "Stage 1" of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) which include penal and legal action against polluting industrial units. The Centre's sub-committee on GRAP noted in a meeting that there has been a "sudden dip" in air quality parameters in the regio

Delhi's air quality turns 'poor'; CAQM to enforce stage-1 control measures

Measures under stage-1 of the Graded Response Action Plan will be enforced in the NCR with immediate effect, according to an order issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management

How Delhi effigy makers bounced back in business post-Covid pandemic

Apart from making effigies two-three months before the festive season, the artisans usually get their source of income from different businesses for the rest of the year

Best of BS Opinion: A non-hyphenated democracy, development by HAL & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

CPCB readies 40 teams to track polluters as NCR air quality worsens

Newly formed teams to help implement preemptive measure under revised GRAP; Delhi govt has created 300 separate teams

Delhi govt launches 15-point winter action plan to combat air pollution

The action plan includes the installation of 233 anti-smog guns and at least 150 mobile anti-smog guns

Centre to rank 131 cities based on actions to improve air quality

Cities are required to do the self-assessment as per the framework provided on PRANA online portal

Gopal Rai writes to Centre, seeks joint plan to fight Delhi air pollution

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday wrote to Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, seeking time to discuss and prepare a joint action plan to fight air pollution in the national capital in winter. The Delhi government is committed to providing clean air to people and is working on short-term and long-term measures. These measures are being implemented through action plans for summers and winters, he said. Rai said the Delhi government's efforts have led to an increase in the number of "satisfactory" (AQ1 51 to 100) and "moderate" (AQI 101 to 200) air quality days. He said like the last two years, the Delhi government has prepared a winter action plan to fight air pollution. "We request you to give us time to prepare a plan to save Delhi from the possible danger of air pollution in the coming months," he wrote in the letter to Yadav, who is the Union environment minister. Last year also, Rai wrote several letters to Yadav, calling for emergency meetings to discuss the air ...

Gopal Rai seeks time to prepare plan to fight air pollution in Delhi

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday wrote to Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, seeking time to discuss and prepare a joint action plan to fight air pollution in the national capital in winter. The Delhi government is committed to providing clean air to people and is working on short-term and long-term measures. These measures are being implemented through action plans for summers and winters, he said. Rai said the Delhi government's efforts have led to an increase in the number of "satisfactory" (AQ1 51 to 100) and "moderate" (AQI 101 to 200) air quality days. He said like the last two years, the Delhi government has prepared a winter action plan to fight air pollution. "We request you to give us time to prepare a plan to save Delhi from the possible danger of air pollution in the coming months," he wrote in the letter to Yadav, who is the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Last year also, Rai wrote several letters to Yadav, calling for emergency .

Over 99% population breathes air exceeding WHO's PM2.5 guidelines: Report

Over 99 per cent of India's population is breathing air that exceeds the World Health Organisation's health-based guidelines with respect to PM2.5, a report by Greenpeace India said. According to the key findings in the report titled "Different Air Under One Sky", the greatest proportion of people living in India are exposed to PM2.5 concentrations more than five times the WHO annual average guideline. It further said 62 per cent of pregnant women in the country live in the most polluted areas, compared to 56 per cent people in the whole population. As per the report's annual average PM2.5 exposure analysis, the region with the highest exposure to pollution in the country is Delhi-NCR. It listed older adults, infants and pregnant women as the most vulnerable groups who are "exposed to worse air". PM2.5 refers to fine particles which penetrate deep into the body and fuel inflammation in the lungs and respiratory tract, leading to the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory problems,

Delhi plans to spend $600 mn to clean its polluted air, says official

India's mega urban centers, including capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai, are allocating funds to clean their water and air as population surges

In power in both Punjab and Delhi, can AAP stub farm fires this winter?

Farmers are unconvinced about financial incentives; measures announced in previous years have had little impact

Surplus rains give Delhi 24 'satisfactory' air quality days this July

Only July 2020 was better with an average AQI of 84 -- the city had recorded a significant decline in pollution levels that year due to the strict lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid.

Delhi LG VK Saxena chairs review meet on air pollution in national capital

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena chaired a meeting to review issues pertaining to air pollution in the city and directed the stakeholder agencies and departments to work "effectively"

Consistent improvement in Delhi's air quality: Environment minister Yadav

The number of 'good', 'satisfactory' and 'moderate' days in Delhi has increased to 197 in 2021 as against 108 in 2016.