Page 2 - Pollution

Delhi AQI remains 'very poor' 2 days after Diwali, other metros fare better

Delhi's AQI was recorded at 335 as of 9 am on Wednesday, placing it in the 'very poor' zone, according to the data by Central Pollution Control Board

GRAP Stage 2 curbs kick in across NCR as Delhi's air turns 'very poor'

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has invoked Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR as the city's air quality slipped into the "very poor" category, with the AQI crossing 300 mark. The move came after the Sub-Committee on GRAP on Saturday reviewed the worsening pollution levels and forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), which warned of further deterioration in the coming days. "The AQI of Delhi has shown an increasing trend since morning and has been recorded as 296 at 4 pm and 302 at 7 pm," the CAQM said, directing authorities to implement all Stage II measures with immediate effect, in addition to Stage I actions already in force since October 14. The Centre's air quality panel also asked all implementing agencies to keep strict vigil, particularly on dust mitigation and to ensure compliance with targeted timelines laid down under the comprehensive policy to curb a

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)

NCAP directs Delhi, Noida to improve pollution control fund utilisation

A central panel monitoring the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) has directed the municipal corporations of Delhi and Noida, which are lagging in pollution control fund utilisation, to take immediate corrective measures. The decision was taken at the 18th meeting of the Implementation Committee (IC) under NCAP, held on August 21 and chaired by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) chairman, to review and oversee the programme's implementation. The committee said that "all implementing agencies must accelerate fund utilisation, ensuring that it is not below 75 per cent in any city", according to the minutes of the meeting published recently. Launched in 2019, NCAP is India's first national initiative to set clean air targets, aiming for a 40 per cent reduction in particulate pollution by 2026, using 2019-20 as the base year. Of the cities covered under NCAP, 82 receive direct funding from the Union environment ministry, while 48 cities and urban agglomerations with population

Air pollution shortens average Indian's life by 3.5 years: Report

All of India's 1.4 billion people live in areas where annual average particulate pollution levels exceed the WHO guideline and even those in the cleanest regions of the country could live 9.4 months longer if the air quality met global standards, according to a new report. The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago's (EPIC) 2025 report said PM2.5 concentrations in India in 2023 were higher than in 2022. These levels are more than eight times higher than the WHO guideline and reducing them to permanently meet the global standard would add 3.5 years to the average life expectancy of Indians. According to the WHO's 2021 air quality guideline, the annual average limit for PM2.5 is 5 micrograms per cubic metre, while for PM10 it is 15 micrograms per cubic metre. These limits are far stricter than India's own standards, which currently allow 40 micrograms for PM2.5 and 60 micrograms for PM10. The report said 46 per cent of India's population lives in areas where annual PM2

Heat-house plants: Lack of anti-polluting FGD systems in TPPs a concern

These alarming figures underscore the urgent need for stronger environmental policies

China's $167 billion mega dam faces setback as weak rains hit hydropower

China has increased the capacity of its hydro generators by more than a third since 2020, but so far this year their electricity production is up only 11 per cent

Investigation continues into Pennsylvania steel plant blast that killed 2

An explosion at a US Steel plant near Pittsburgh left two dead and sent at least 10 to hospitals Monday and heavily damaged the sprawling facility, officials said. One worker was pulled from the wreckage hours after the explosion sent black smoke spiraling into the midday sky in the Mon Valley, a region of the state synonymous with steel for more than a century. Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10.51 am. Authorities later said a second person had died. The explosion, followed by several smaller blasts, could be felt in the nearby community and prompted county officials to warn residents to stay away from the scene so emergency workers could respond. It felt like thunder, Zachary Buday, a construction worker near the scene, told WTAE-TV. Shook the scaffold, shook my chest, and shook the building, and then when we saw the dark smoke coming up from the steel mill and put two and two together, and it's like something bad happened. **Cause unde

Pollution boards can impose compensatory environmental damages, says SC

In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court has upheld the powers of the pollution control boards to impose restitutionary and compensatory damages for environmental harm, saying that prevention and remediation must be at the heart of environmental governance. A bench comprising justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra held that under provisions of the Water Act and the Air Act, pollution control boards are constitutionally and statutorily empowered to levy damages for actual or potential environmental harm. Having considered the principles that govern Indian environmental laws, we have held that the environmental regulators, the Pollution Control Boards exercising powers under the Water and Air Acts, can impose and collect restitutionary or compensatory damages in the form of fixed sum of monies or require furnishing of bank guarantees as an ex-ante measure to prevent potential environmental damage, Justice Narasimha wrote in the judgement delivered on Monday. The verdict said these .

Green regulators can seek bank guarantees from polluters: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that Pollution Control Boards can impose environmental compensation and seek bank guarantees as preventive measures for potential environmental damage

Wildfires threaten Turkiye's fourth-largest city as locals evacuated

Wildfires that have engulfed Turkiye for weeks threatened the country's fourth-largest city early Sunday, causing hundreds of people to flee their homes. Overnight fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwest Turkiye spread rapidly, bringing a red glow to the night sky over the city's eastern suburbs. Bursa governor's office said in a statement Sunday that 1,765 people had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast as more than 1,100 firefighters battled the flames. The highway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara, was closed as surrounding forests burned. Orhan Saribal, an opposition parliamentarian for the province, described the scene as an apocalypse. By morning, lessening winds brought some respite to firefighters, who continued efforts to bring down the flames. However, TV footage revealed an ashen landscape where farms and pine forests had earlier stood. Turkiye has been hit by dozens of wildfires daily since late June. Forestry Minister Ibrahim

SC to hear plea on July 28 over end-of-life rules for BS-VI vehicles in NCR

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on July 28 a plea questioning whether BS VI-compliant vehicles should have an end-of-life period of 15 years for petrol variants and 10 years for diesel variants in the National Capital Region. A bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran agreed to hear the plea after a counsel mentioned it for urgent listing, saying the government cannot override the court's earlier directions on pollution control. The government cannot alter the limits already set by the apex court for curbing vehicular emissions to check pollution in Delhi, the counsel said.

Coal, clean air, and a welcome resolution on India's emission norms

The changes to India's policy on emissions from coal plants are not a rollback - but a confident assertion of regulatory maturity, scientific integrity, and rational national interest

Vietnam to ban fossil-fuel motorcycles in central Hanoi from July 2026

Vietnam will ban fossil-fuel motorcycles and mopeds in the heart of the capital, Hanoi, starting July 2026, as part of a nationwide effort to curb air pollution, state media reported. The directive issued by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh applies to the area inside and along the main ring road that encircles the centre of Hanoi. The local government has been tasked with phasing out the two-wheelers by the deadline. Like the rest of Vietnam, motorcycles are the main mode of transport for most of Hanoi's 8 million residents. The city has nearly 7 million motorcycles and just over a million cars. But as incomes rise and more people switch to private vehicles, air pollution from traffic has become a growing concern. Hanoi is often enveloped in thick smog, ranking among the most polluted cities worldwide. Vietnam also wants to switch from fossil-fuel to electric vehicles to cut pollution and tackle climate change. Local EV maker VinFast is leading the shift by holding nearly a

Independent report flagged misuse of studies before SO2 rollback nod

Before India significantly relaxed sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission control norms exempting a large number of coal-fired power plants, an independent analysis had warned that key scientific studies being cited to justify the move were riddled with contradictions and risked undermining public health. In an analysis released last month, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) alleged that studies by institutions such as NEERI, NIAS and IIT Delhi were being "selectively used to justify inaction" by power plants across the country, which continue to delay the installation of flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) units to control SO2?? emissions -- a major air pollutant. India established stringent sulphur dioxide emission standards for coal-based power plants in December 2015, requiring compliance within two years. Even after multiple extensions, 92 per cent of coal-fired power plants have not yet installed flue gas desulphurization units to control SO2 emissions, a major air ...

Delhi govt welcomes CAQM relief on vehicle ban, CM lauds decision

The Delhi government on Tuesday welcomed the Centre for Air Quality Management's (CAQM) decision to defer the implementation of the fuel ban on overage vehicles until November 1. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the "commendable decision" taken in public interest reflects a balanced and humane approach towards environmental concerns and citizens' livelihoods. "The CAQM issuing revised guidelines on the request of the Delhi government is an important and commendable decision that has been taken keeping in mind the public interest. The government welcomes this," the chief minister said in a post in Hindi on X. She said the Delhi government will use the time given by CAQM to provide further relief to residents and work collaboratively toward a long-term and practical solution. "As much as it is necessary to protect the environment, it is equally important that no decision affects the livelihood and dignity of common citizens," she added. Meanwhile, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder

SpaceX seeks return of debris, rejects Mexico's pollution complaint

Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that SpaceX's Starship rocket launches in Texas have polluted an area in Mexico with debris

Kerala's fishing economy reels from back-to-back maritime disasters

Back-to-back ship accidents in the Arabian Sea halt fishing, stir fears of contamination, and threaten the livelihoods of over a million people in Kerala

Smog, Yamuna pollution biggest environment issues in Delhi: SC judge

Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Karol on Thursday said smog and Yamuna River pollution were the biggest environmental issues in the national capital. The judge was speaking at the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) Climate Change Conference and Awards 2025 when he emphasised on environmental protection. Each citizen, he said, was responsible to protect the environment and the onus wasn't just on the judiciary, the executive and the legislature. "We have to make sure that the environment, be it in any form, has to be protected. I would also say this, that over the years we have developed certain principles, and the public trust doctrine is one such doctrine which we must always keep in mind," Justice Karol said. He continued, "But I would say this, if you were to see our report card in the last 75 years, or since the 1980s, what have we done? Have we done enough to protect the environment? My view is that a lot needs to be done, at all levels. And I would borrow an expression, th

'Noida is a hell': Investor shares why he quit India to live in Luxembourg

Himanshu Upadhyay, now based in Luxembourg, says poor infrastructure, social decay, and safety fears pushed him to leave India despite living in a 'posh' locality