air pollution

The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was announced in 2018 and the draft was accepted in 2019. The programme is designed to build institutional capacity and initiate studies to better understand the pollution load in cities.  122 cities from 20 states and 3 union territories were declared “non-attainment” cities, based on the observed particulate matter pollution trends from the national ambient monitoring program (NAMP).  These cities were required to submit action plans outlining how to achieve 20-30% reduction in the ambient PM 2.5 levels by 2024, when compared to 2017. As of May 2020, there are 102 approved action plans.…

The clampdown on all non-essential activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant decline in air pollution levels in major cities across India. Researchers from Respirer Living Sciences and Carbon Copy have analysed average air quality during all four lockdown phases in India as well as concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and Benzene during individual phases for Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, as part of their on-going National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) Tracker project to monitor the implementation of the NCAP. Four cities witness clean air From March 25 to…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on both lives and livelihoods in India -- the virus has claimed 239 lives, the lockdown has reportedly claimed another 20. While there's not much cause for cheer in what's being observed all around, a recent briefing released by Climate Trends points to a possible silver lining: a drastic reduction in air pollution. 'Good-air days' for many Indian cities The briefing paper says that over 90 Indian cities showed minimal air pollution since the lockdown. 35 cities ranked "good" on the fourth day of the lockdown. These levels have been seen for…

Atithi Devo Bhava – the guest is God! While it is cited ad nauseam in both academic and popular conversations on Indian culture, never does the concept become as real and palpable as when important heads of state visit us. Cities are decked up like a bride on her wedding day; streets get cleaned, riverfronts along the route are beautified, walls and facades are decorated with paintings depicting the culture of the two countries…and so on. We have seen it in Varanasi ahead of the 2015 meet between Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi, or when the French President…

This article is part of our special series on Delhi Elections 2020 In 2014, when the World Health Organisation declared Delhi as the world’s worst polluted city, the national capital became the face of air pollution for India. Since then, Delhi has been branded as a “gas chamber” by its own ruling government. Courts have called out the Delhi government for committing “genocide,” allowing a public health emergency of such mass scale. Every year since then, from Diwali and stubble burning season till the end of winter, politicians announce a slew of measures which fail to address the root cause of…

As rapidly-expanding Guwahati, northeast India’s largest metropolis, gears up to clean its air under the National Clean Air Policy (NCAP), a study suggests a cocktail of natural and man-made pollutants wafting through the air is tinkering with the city’s rainwater quality. Guwahati in Assam is among the 122 ‘non-attainment’ cities identified for implementing mitigation actions under the national policy, which means it does not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Researchers said pinpointing critical sources of air pollution and their contributions to the problem are essential to crafting effective city and region-specific air pollution control plans. Connecting the dots between the origin of…

On 7th September 2017, a 7-year-old school-going child was run over by a school bus while he was trying to cross Old Madras road (OMR). He was rushed to the hospital in an auto-rickshaw. The doctors examined the boy, and proclaimed that he suffered severe head injuries and had died on the way to the hospital. On 14th March 2017, a male pedestrian, 45, was hit and run by an unknown vehicle near Battarahalli junction on OMR when he tried to cross the road. He too sustained serious injuries and died on the way to the hospital. In another three…

Air pollution is now the leading cause of death in India. It accounts for 1.2 million deaths, more than the number of people killed by malaria, smoking or road accidents. Last year, a study by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) found that Bengaluru topped the list of major polluting cities in India. More recently, measurements of pollution level using hand-held devices show that particulate matter pollution levels in many places in Bengaluru are substantially higher than the levels in Beijing, China and yes, even New Delhi.  More alarmingly, pollution levels in Bengaluru are expected to skyrocket over the next…

Since schools have reopened, children, who are more at risk from air pollution, have been facing high levels of exposure. Air Quality Index (AQI), measured by monitors across the city, show that air quality is often poor. For example, on June 5th, the AQI at BTM Layout was 159, which falls in the 'unhealthy' category. At this air quality, children and the elderly, as well as people with lung and heart diseases, may have discomfort breathing. Anti-pollution masks can help reduce exposure to pollutants and minimise health impacts. Here is an overview of different types of anti-pollutant masks, and tips…

‘Beat Air Pollution’ is the rallying call issued by China, which is hosting this year’s World Environment Day celebrations.  And China knows how to beat air pollution, for it has worked hard the past two decades doing just that. According to a report released this March by the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, 20 years of tough action has produced the following results: “the average concentrations of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particle PM10 dropped by 93.3, 37.8 and 55.3 percent respectively in Beijing. The PM 2.5 content in the air reduced by over 40 percent.” United Nations…