Pollution

High on promise

Details of High Seas Treaty will have to be worked out

High-end sound meters to be installed in different parts of Bengal

In order to detect location-specific levels of sound pollution, West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) has now decided to set up high-end sound meters in different corners of the state

Arvind Kejriwal launches mechanism to track realtime pollution sources

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday launched a study to gather realtime information on sources of pollution and help the government launch a targeted response. He said the reason for pollution changes on an hourly basis and until "we calculate the source of the pollution on a realtime basis, we cannot have an effective policy on the issue". Kejriwal inaugurated the 'realtime source apportionment supersite' at Rouse Avenue here along with an air quality monitoring van. "Today launched one such van, but once this stabilises and the data from this van comes in, we will launch several other such vans that can provide us data from the different wards of Delhi. "We will also use these vans to study the source of pollution in hotspot areas and once the data comes in, it will tell us about the main source of pollution and then we will take action on the data. "There will be a super site on the second floor of this building, there will also be a mobile air quality monitoring sys

Indian industry turns to biomass as capital bans coal in pollution fight

The change in air quality is as yet hard to quantify

Deaths caused due to pollution should be matter of concern: NGT Chairperson

National Green Tribunal Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said that apart from the lives lost due to road accidents, deaths caused on account of pollution should be a matter of concern

CAQM rolls back Stage-III of GRAP as pollution levels in Delhi improve

Decision was taken after observing declining trend in the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi and also considering the meteorological/ weather forecasts by India Meteorological Department (IMD)

Plan prepared to control pollution from 11 drains in Yamuna: Haryana min

The Haryana government has prepared an action plan to control pollution in all the 11 major drains that discharge treated or untreated effluent into the Yamuna river, the state assembly was informed here on Wednesday. "Due to the control of pollution in these drains, the polluted water will not fall into the Yamuna river, from which the Agra and Gurugram canals emerge," Transport Minister Mool Chand Sharma said. He said this in response to a calling attention motion regarding polluted water in Agra and Gurugram canals. Sharma informed the House that the Haryana government has constituted a committee in this regard. The MLAs of Gurugram, Mewat, Faridabad and Palwal districts were made its members and member secretary, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, as Member Convener, the house was informed. Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, and Principal Secretary, Irrigation, have also been nominated as members. Five meetings of this committee have been held, he said. The ministe

K'taka State Pollution Control Board to incentivise environment compliance

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on Friday announced to incentivize environment compliance.

Air pollution linked with multiple long-term health conditions: Study

Exposure to traffic related air pollution is associated with an increased risk of multiple long-term physical and mental health conditions, according to a study. This is the largest study worldwide -- conducted on over 364,000 (over 3.6 lakh) people in England -- to examine whether air pollution exposure is linked with the occurrence of multiple long-term health conditions, the researchers said. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, showed that high levels of traffic-related air pollution - fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were associated with an increased risk of having at least two long term health conditions. The strongest associations were observed for co-occurring neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular and common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, the researchers said. "People with more than one long-term health condition have a lower quality of life and greater dependence on the healthcare system,"

Significant rise in Yamuna pollution since 2017: Delhi govt report

As the Delhi government has promised to clean the Yamuna to bathing standards by 2025, the pollution load in the river has increased substantially over the last five years, according to a report by the environment department. The report shows that barring Palla, the annual average level of biological oxygen demand (BOD) increased at every location of water sample collection for testing in the national capital. BOD, an important parameter for assessing water quality, is the amount of oxygen required by aerobic microorganisms to decompose organic material present in a water body. BOD levels less than 3 milligram per litre (mg/l) is considered good. There was no immediate reaction available from the environment department. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) collects river water samples at Palla, where the Yamuna enters Delhi; Wazirabad, ISBT bridge, ITO bridge, Nizamuddin bridge, Agra Canal at Okhla Barrage, Okhla Barrage and Asgarpur. The DPCC data showed while there has b

Jharkhand may witness 5% rise in aerosol pollution in 2023, says study

Aerosol pollution is expected to rise by five per cent in Jharkhand next year, which may lead to a drop in visibility levels and pose a host of health problems for its citizens, a study by a premier research organisation said. Such pollution is likely to remain in the "highly vulnerable" red zone in the eastern state, it said. The study found that emission from thermal power plants was the main contributor to high aerosol amounts comprising particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), sea salt, dust, sulphate, black and organic carbon. Rising aerosol pollution might aggravate asthma, lung and cardiovascular diseases. Children, women and elderly people might be the worst sufferers, Kolkata-based Bose Institute's associate professor of environmental sciences Dr Abhijit Chatterjee told PTI. He also said, Aerosol pollution is expected to rise by five per cent, pushing the AOD level over 0.6 within the vulnerable (red) zone in 2023. Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) is a quantitative estimate of the

Punjab may witness 20% rise in aerosol pollution in 2023, says study

Aerosol pollution in Punjab is anticipated to rise by 20 per cent in 2023, and continue to remain in the "highly vulnerable" red zone for aerosol pollution, says a study.

Stubble burning incidents in Punjab cross 30,000-mark, shows data

Farm fire incidents crossed the 30,000 mark in Punjab with the state witnessing 2,487 stubble-burning cases on Monday. With fresh crop residue burning incidents, the cumulative farm fire cases from September 15 to November 7, rose to 32,486, according to the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data. The state reported 57,696 and 37,933 farm fires during the same period in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Out of a total of 2,487 farm fire incidents on Monday, Ferozepur witnessed 353 crop residue burning incidentsthe highest in the state, followed by 268 in Moga, 257 in Muktsar, 256 in Batala, 218 in Faridkot, 202 in Barnala, 180 in Sangrur, 177 in Fazilka and 165 in Mansa, according to the data. Punjab had seen 4,716 and 5,199 active fire incidents on November 7 in 2020 and 2021, respectively, as per the data. Currently, the districts in the Malwa region are reporting a rising number of stubble-burning incidents. Due to stubble burning, many places in Haryana on Monday evening

Loss & damage funding makes it to COP27 agenda for the first time ever

Countries agree to 20-point agenda ahead of climate negotiations in Egypt

Delhi govt orders WFH for half its staff, primary schools to be shut

As capital chokes with air pollution, AAP takes responsibility for excessive stubble burning in the last few days

Air pollution: SC to hear PIL seeking guidelines on farm fires on Nov 10

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to list for hearing on November 10 a PIL seeking fresh guidelines on stubble burning to curb rising air pollution in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR). A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi took note of the submissions of lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha, who filed the PIL in his personal capacity, that the air pollution situation has worsened due to stubble burning in areas close to Delhi. "Even normal people cannot walk in such a situation," the lawyer said, adding that "Air Quality Index (AQI) level has risen due to stubble burning." "List it on November 10," the CJI said. The petition also sought a direction to the schools, colleges and government and private offices to go virtual/online. The lawyer alleged that the problem of pollution arises every year and that there was a serious threat on life and liberty due to the smog in Delhi NCR. "The matter is of grave concern which requires immediate ...

GRAP curbs will not impact Noida Airport construction, say officials

Implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to check pollution in Delhi-NCR will not impact the construction work of the upcoming Noida International Airport, officials said on Thursday. The greenfield airport is coming up in Jewar, some 75 km off Delhi, along the Yamuna Expressway. The airport is being developed in four phases and the first phase is scheduled to be completed by September 2024. According to the officials, a delay in the completion of the project would also leave the Swiss concessionaire Zurich International Airport AG under a penalty of Rs 10 lakh per day. "According to the order of the Commission for Air Quality Management dated October 29, 2022, there is no obstacle in the construction work of the Noida International Airport," said an official of the Yamuna Expressway Authority. The Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a fully-owned subsidiary of Zurich International Airport, said according to GRAP orders, airport construction is ...

Half of PM 2.5 pollution in Delhi around Diwali was from vehicles: Report

Vehicular emission contributed half of PM 2.5 pollution from local sources in Delhi during the Diwali week between October 21 and October 26, according to the latest assessment by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). It said that when pollution concentrations from all sources -- local, NCR and beyond -- are added, Delhi's vehicles account for nearly 17 per cent of total PM2.5 concentration. But, according to CSE's indicative data, vehicles' daily share of pollution varied between 49.3 per cent and 53 per cent during the week of Diwali. "The vehicular contribution was followed by household pollution (residential) at 13 per cent, industries at 11 per cent, construction at 7 per cent, waste burning and the energy sector at 5 per cent each, and road dust and other sources at 4 per cent each. This observation is consistent with the trends evaluated during the previous winter in Delhi," principal programme manager at CSE's Clean Air and Sustainable Mobility unit Vivek Chattopadhya

Child rights body asks Delhi govt to shut schools till pollution reduces

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked the Delhi government to shut schools till air quality in the national capital improves. The national capital's air quality has deteriorated to 'severe' in the last few days, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. Air pollution in the 'severe' category affects healthy people and seriously impacts children and those with existing diseases, according to the CPCB. The apex child rights body said it had taken a serious view of the matter and expressed concern over the 'severe' air quality impacting the health of children. NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo has written to the chief secretary and strongly recommended considering appropriate action. He has urged the Delhi government to consider shutting schools in the interest of the children till air quality in the national capital improves.

Post-Diwali air quality better than 2021 in several cities, shows CPCB data

Delhi air quality 'very poor' the day after; improvement over previous years