Air quality in Delhi

The air quality in Delhi, the capital of India, according to a WHO survey of 1600 world cities, is the worst of any major city in the world.[1][2] Two other cities in India have worse air quality than Delhi: Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, and Raipur in Chhattisgarh.[1]

Air pollution in India is estimated to kill 1.5 million people every year; it is the fifth largest killer in India. India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases and asthma, according to the WHO. In Delhi, poor quality air damages irreversibly the lungs of 2.2 million or 50 percent of all children.

In November 2017, in an event known as the Great smog of Delhi, the air pollution spiked far beyond acceptable levels. Levels of PM2.5 and PM 10 particulate matter hit 999 micrograms per cubic meter, while the safe limits for those pollutants are 60 and 100 respectively.[3]

Particulate matter levels in Delhi

Air quality or ambient/outdoor air pollution is represented by the annual mean concentration of particulate matter PM10 (particles smaller than 10 microns) and PM2.5 (particles smaller than 2.5 microns, about 25 to 100 times thinner than a human hair).[4]

The world's average PM10 levels, for the period 2008 and 2013, based on data of 1600 cities in 91 countries, range from 26 to 208 micrograms per cubic meter of air (μg/m3), with the world average being 71 μg/m3.[1] 13 of the 25 cities worldwide with the highest levels of PM are in India.[5]

In 2010, the year of the WHO survey, the average PM10 level in Delhi was 286 μg/m3. In 2013, the PM2.5 level was 153 μg/m3. These levels are considered very unhealthy. In Gwalior, the city with the worst air quality in India, the PM10 and PM2.5 levels were 329 μg/m3 and 144 μg/m3 respectively. For comparison, the PM10 and PM2.5 levels in London were 22 μg/m3 and 16 μg/m3 respectively. The PM levels in Delhi have become worse since the WHO survey. In December–January 2015, in Delhi, an average PM2.5 level of 226 μg/m3 was noted by US embassy monitors in Delhi. The average in Beijing for the same period was 95.[6] Delhi’s air is twice as bad as Beijing’s air.[5]. As of October 2017, experts in several monitoring stations have reportedly measured an air quality index (AQI) of 999. According to said experts this is the equivalent of smoking 45 to 50 cigarettes a day. This has led to some government officials, such as Arvind Kejriwal calling the nation's capital a "gas chamber".[7]

Safe levels for PM according to the WHO's air quality guidelines are 20 μg/m3 (annual mean) for PM10 and 10 μg/m3 (annual mean) for PM2.5.[8]

Causes of poor air quality

  • Motor vehicle emissions are one of the causes of poor air quality. Other causes include wood-burning fires, fires on agricultural land, exhaust from diesel generators, dust from construction sites, and burning garbage.[9][10] and illegal industrial activities in Delhi.
  • The Badarpur Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant built in 1973, is another major source of air pollution in Delhi. Despite producing less than 8% of the city's electric power, it produces 80 to 90% of the particulate matter pollution from the electric power sector in Delhi.[11] During the Great smog of Delhi in November 2017, the Badarpur Power Plant was temporarily shut down to alleviate the acute air pollution, but was allowed to restart on 1 February 2018.[12]
  • Although Delhi is kerosene free and 90% of the households use LPG for cooking, the remaining 10% uses wood, crop residue, cow dung, and coal for cooking. (Census-India, 2012)
  • Fire in Bhalswa landfill is a major reason for airborne particles in Delhi.[13]
  • Agricultural stubble burning also affects Delhi's air quality when crops are being harvested.[14]
  • Lack of active monitoring and reaction by authorities.
  • Lack of political priority.

Effects of poor air quality

Effects on children

2.2 million children in Delhi have irreversible lung damage due to the poor quality of the air. In addition, research shows that pollution can lower children’s immune system and increase the risks of cancer, epilepsy, diabetes and even adult-onset diseases like multiple sclerosis.[15]

Effects on adults

Poor air quality is a cause of reduced lung capacity, headaches, sore throats, coughs, fatigue, lung cancer, and early death.[8][15]

Air quality monitoring stations

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has air quality monitoring stations in Mathura Road, IMD Delhi (Jor Bagh area), IGI Airport, IITM Delhi, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (Ghaziabad area), Dhirpur, Delhi Technological University, Pitampura, Aya Nagar (Gurgaon), and Noida.[16] The air pollution monitor of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi covers the area of Chanakyapuri.[17]

Response of expatriates

To contend with the poor air quality, embassies and international businesses in Delhi are considering reducing staff tenures, advising staff to reconsider bringing their children to Delhi, providing high-end air purifiers, and installing expensive air purifiers in their offices.[2]

Students of Delhi University initiated a project (http://delhicleanairforum.tk) () to combat air pollution by increasing awareness about causes, effects, ways to protect and tackle air pollution in Delhi, of groups most exposed and most responsible; in order to decrease pollution and exposure or impact on those most exposed and vulnerable.

Major incidents

In December 2017 during a test match between Sri Lankan and Indian cricket teams in New Delhi, Sri Lanka players began to feel breathing problems and several players vomited both in the rest rooms and in the field and had to use face masks until the match was stopped.[18] However Indian side was unsympathetic to the Sri Lankan team, Hindi commentators joked on air that Sri Lankan players were using masks to hide their faces after having taken the beating of their lives while prominent people lauded Indian cricket team's nationalism on Twitter claiming that they sacrificed their health to entertain the crowd that had turned up, while Virender Sehwag called it an act to stop Virat Kohli from scoring a triple century.[19][18] However, after the resumption of the match Indian player Mohommad Shami also vomited. Before Shami had said that while pollution levels are a concern, Indian players are used to such conditions.[20][21] In the opinion of the Indian Medical Association president the match should never have taken place and the ICC should have a policy on pollution.[22]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ambient (outdoor) air pollution in cities database 2014". WHO. 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 Harris, Gardiner (14 Feb 2015). "Delhi Wakes Up to an Air Pollution Problem It Cannot Ignore". New York Times. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  3. ↑ Express Web Desk (1 November 2016). "Diwali effect: Pollution worsens, particulate matter soars in Delhi". Indian Express.
  4. ↑ "Ambient (outdoor) air pollution database, by country and city". WHO. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 Alissa Walker, Alissa (29 May 2015). "India's Air Pollution Is So Bad It's Causing Lung Damage in Kids". gizmodo. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Air Pollution in India: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map, http://aqicn.org/map/india/
  7. ↑ Roli Mahajan (15 March 2018). "10% of the disease burden". D+C, development and cooperation. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  8. 1 2 "WHO Air quality guidelines for particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide Global update 2005 Summary of risk assessment" (PDF). WHO. 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  9. ↑ Bengali, Shashank. "To fight the world's worst air pollution, New Delhi forces cars off the roads". LA Times. pp. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  10. ↑ HT Correspondent (4 January 2016). "A history of Delhi's air pollution: Can road rationing even the odds?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  11. ↑ "The Badarpur Plant's effect on Air Pollution and why it needs to be shut down". The Economic Times. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "Badarpur thermal power plant to remain shut till Jan 31 2018". Indian Express. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Bhalswa landfill site major factor of air pollution: Jain". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  14. ↑ "Stubble burning begins: Hold your breath Delhiites, that deadly smog is coming". 9 October 2017.
  15. 1 2 HARRIS, GARDINER (29 May 2015). "Holding Your Breath in India". SundayReview, New York Times. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "Monitoring Stations". System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune. Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt.of India. 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  17. ↑ US Embassy (30 May 2015). "Air Quality Data". New Delhi, India: usembassy. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  18. 1 2 Safi, Michael (2017-12-03). "Pollution stops play at Delhi Test match as bowlers struggle to breathe". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  19. ↑ "Sehwag slams SL players for complaining about smog". Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  20. ↑ "Mohammed Shami vomiting, tests in Sri Lanka camp add to pollution debate in Delhi". Hindustan Times. 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  21. ↑ "India vs Sri Lanka: Mohammed Shami pukes at Feroz Shah Kotla". The Indian Express. 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  22. ↑ "Cricketers Crumple in Delhi Smog, Doctors Call Time-Out". AFP-The Guardian. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017 – via teleSUR English.

Further reading

  • Cherni, Judith A. Economic Growth versus the Environment: The Politics of Wealth, Health and Air Pollution (2002) online
  • Currie, Donya. "WHO: Air Pollution a Continuing Health Threat in World's Cities," The Nation's Health (February 2012) 42#1 online
  • Amann, M., Purohit, P., Bertok, I., Bhanarkar, A.D., Borken‐Kleefeld, J., Cofala, J., Harshvardhan, B., Heyes, C., Kiesewetter, G., Klimont, Z., Jun, L., Majumdar, D., Ngyuen, B., Rafaj, P., Rao., P.S., Sander, R., Schöpp, W., Shrivastava, A. 2017. Managing future air quality in megacities: A case study for Delhi. Atmospheric Environment, 161: 99–111.
  • Bhanarkar, A.D., Purohit, P., Rafaj, P., Amann, M. et al. 2018. Managing future air quality in megacities: Co-benefit assessment for Delhi, Atmospheric Environment, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2018.05.026
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