Central Pollution Control Board

No tampering possible in calculation, monitoring of air quality data: CPCB

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Wednesday rejected allegations of manipulation of air quality data and said the monitoring stations are automated and no human intervention is possible in calculation and monitoring. Delhi government has been accused of spraying water around air-quality monitoring stations to lower dire readings and even switching them off during key pollution periods - for instance, when firecrackers increased the pollution load during Diwali in October. "The monitoring and data collection is automated... the stations generate data every 15 minutes and AQI is calculated every hour, following which the average AQI is generated. These stations are not manual, and hence any kind of human intervention or manipulation is not possible," CPCB Chairman Vir Vikram Yadav told reporters here. Responding to a query about allegations of sprinkling of water around monitoring stations to manipulate air quality data, Yadav said, "The monitoring stations have been set u

7 in 10 Delhi residents lack confidence in govt's ability to enforce Grap

Many respondents claim that government readings are often lower than private air-quality monitors, leading to delayed or inadequate implementation of GRAP measures

NGT orders to ensure installation of OCEMS in GPIs in UP, Bihar, Delhi

The National Green Tribunal has directed the CPCB and SPCBs to ensure the installation of Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems in Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs).

CPCB pulls up Uttarakhand board over violations at 3 waste treatment plants

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has pulled up the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board over continued violations by three common effluent treatment plants in Haridwar, Pantnagar and Sitarganj, and directed it to take immediate action, including levying environmental compensation. In an order issued on Tuesday, the CPCB said the plants, located in industrial areas developed by the State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIIDCUL), were meeting neither the inlet effluent quality standards nor the treated effluent quality norms. The central board's inspection revealed that all three plants -- Haridwar of 9 MLD (million litres per day) capacity, Pantnagar (4 MLD) and Sitarganj (4 MLD) -- were consistently non-compliant with treated effluent quality standards for key parameters such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and heavy metals like iron, chromium and nickel. Common effluent treatment plants (CETPs)

Online monitoring mandatory for waste-to-energy plants and landfills: CPCB

The Central Pollution Control Board has directed all state pollution control boards and pollution control committees to install Online Continuous Emission and Effluent Monitoring System (OCEMS) at waste-to-energy plants and sanitary landfill sites to strengthen surveillance and ensure compliance with environmental standards. The order dated August 12 asked states to submit 'action taken reports' on the status of waste-to-energy units by August 18. It said that all operational and upcoming municipal solid waste incineration-based waste-to-energy plants must install and operate OCEMS for real-time tracking of pollutants such as particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide. Similarly, all waste-to-energy plants and landfill sites are required to put in place OCEMS for treated leachate, tracking parameters such as pH, total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, ammoniacal nitrogen and ...

Over ₹238 cr released for NCR under EPC funds for clean-air plans: RTI

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has released more than Rs 238 crore to nine urban local bodies (ULBs) in the NCR as part of its efforts to support city-level air pollution control under the Environment Protection Charge (EPC) funds, an RTI reply has revealed. The funds were disbursed to ULBs in Gurugram, Jind, Narnaul, Nuh, Palwal, Greater Noida, Hapur, Bharatpur and Bhiwadi through the respective state pollution control boards (SPCBs), according to the reply provided by the CPCB's air quality management division to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on June 17. Additionally, the release of Rs 18.56 crore for seven other cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) -- Bahadurgarh, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Daruhera, Karnal, Panipat and Sonipat -- is currently under process through the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), the reply said. The funds are meant to serve as gap-funding support for implementing the city action plans for ...

Delhi on red alert as heat index hits 51.9°C; relief expected post June 13

A red alert was issued for Delhi as it remained in the grip of an intense heatwave, with temperatures ranging from 40.9 to 45.0 degrees Celsius across various weather stations on Wednesday. The heat index, a measure of how hot it feels when humidity is factored in, touched an alarming 51.9 degrees Celsius. At 5.30 pm, Ayanagar was the hottest at 45 degrees Celsius, followed by Palam at 44.5 degrees Celsius, Ridge at 43.6 degrees Celsius, Pitampura at 43.5 degrees Celsius, Lodi Road at 43.4 degrees Celsius, Mayur Vihar at 40.9 degrees Celsius and Safdarjung --the city's base station -- reported 43.3 degrees Celsius. On the heat index crossing 50, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said it depends on temperature and relative humidity and varies throughout the day based on changes in these values. Additionally, the heat index is not validated for Indian conditions, and no official records of it are maintained. Heatwave conditions have been observed in Delhi and at isolated plac

Maha Kumbh water fit for bathing: CPCB report cites 'variability in data'

A new report by the Central Pollution Control Board submitted to the National Green Tribunal has said that as per statistical analysis, the water quality during the recently-concluded Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj was fit for bathing. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report said the statistical analysis was necessitated because of "variability of data" in the samples collected from the same locations across different dates and on different locations on the same day, because of which these did not reflect the "overall river water quality throughout the river stretch". The report dated February 28 and uploaded on the tribunal's website on March 7 said the board had conducted water monitoring twice a week from January 12 onwards, including on auspicious bathing days, at five locations on Ganga river and two locations on Yamuna river. "There is a significant variability in the values on various parameters, viz pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and fecal ...

Delhi's air quality remains in 'moderate' category, Grap-I curbs lifted

Air quality has improved across Delhi-NCR due to rainfall over the past few days

Delhi AQI remains in 'moderate' category for 5th day, Grap Stage-II lifted

With the revocation of Stage-II, curbs by CAQM, inter-state buses from NCR states are now permitted to enter Delhi

Delhi air remains 'moderate' after rainfall; will it turn 'poor' again?

Air quality across the National Capital Region (NCR) remained in the 'moderate' category, indicating a positive shift compared to previous days

Delhi's air quality remains 'moderate' as light rainfall brings relief

Air quality improved across the natonal capital region (NCR) and remained in the 'satisfactory' or 'moderate' category, marking a relief for people, as the 24-hr average AQI remained at 160

Prayagraj water fails bathing standards during Maha Kumbh; key details

Maha Kumbh Mela: A CPCB report dated February 3 highlighted that faecal coliform levels at all monitored locations were above the permissible limit, indicating significant sewage contamination

Delhi air worsens to 'poor' days after seeing 'best' AQI in four months

The fall in air quality is possibly because of the unfavourable weather conditions like partly cloudy sky and lower wind speed

Delhi's air quality still 'moderate' as strong winds clear away pollutants

The 24-hour average AQI in Delhi stood at 131 on February 14, slightly better than 134 the day before - making it the best February air since 2022

Delhi air quality remains 'poor' for third day as mercury keeps rising

AQI levels deteriorated after being in the 'moderate' category until February 9, it was 265 at 7 am on February 12, according to the Central Pollution Control Board

Delhi's air quality deteriorates to 'poor' again as days turn warmer

The six-day forecast suggests that the AQI will fluctuate between 'poor' and 'moderate' in the coming days

Delhi's air quality improves to 'moderate' as cold winds bring back chill

Minimum temperature also saw a sharp drop of over 3 degrees Celsius due to the northwesterly winds that reached upto 30 kmph in the afternoon

Delhi's air quality improves after rainfall, but remains in 'poor' range

Despite the improvement, the AQI still falls under the 'poor' category, marking the fourth consecutive day of the week where the AQI has remained within this range

Delhi continue to battle poor air as light rain spell fails to improve AQI

Delhi air quality: Experts suggest that while light showers may help settle dust particles and provide temporary relief, the extent of the improvement will depend on rainfall intensity