Dramatic satellite footage shows 'notable drop' in air pollution over Italy after coronavirus lockdown restricts transport and industrial activity

Levels of nitrogen dioxide emissions were down across northern Italy in March

The ESA Copernicus Sentinel-5 satellite spotted the emission levels changing 

ESA shared an animation showing the dramatic change from January to March 

It coincided with the announcement of a lockdown in Italy due to coronavirus 

By RYAN MORRISON FOR MAILONLINE UPDATED:16 March 2020

VIDEOS AT THE END OF ARTICLE

Dramatic footage from the European Space Agency Copernicus satellite reveals a 'notable drop' in air pollution over Italy after the coronavirus lockdown.

ESA shared an animation that showed a significant change in the pollution levels over Italy between January and March, particularly over Po Valley in the north.

In an attempt to reduce the spread of the deadly disease, Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a lockdown of the entire country.

The animation is made with data from the a special instrument called Tropomi on the Copernicus Sentinel-5 satellite that maps traces of noxious gases in the atmosphere.

Graphic shows decline of air pollution since Italy lockdown




There are just under 125,000 cases of coronavirus around the world with over 4,500 deaths from the virus as the World Health Organisation says Europe is now the global epicentre

Italy closed schools, restaurants, bars, museums and other venues - as well as limited large gatherings - all of which reduced the number of polluting activities.

ESA's Claus Zehner, Sentinel-5P mission manager, said, 'The decline in nitrogen dioxide emissions over the Po Valley in northern Italy is particularly evident.

'Although there could be slight variations in the data due to cloud cover and changing weather, we are very confident that the reduction in emissions that we can see, coincides with the lockdown in Italy causing less traffic and industrial activities.'

Similar changes in pollution levels were noted by NASA researcher Santiago Gasso when studying other data from Copernicus.

He said: 'In one month, there is a clear decrease of NO2 levels (a pollution marker) in northern Italy according to the satellite sensor.'


‹ SLIDE ME ›
There was a notable drop in Nitrogen Dioxide over Italy between January and March. By March, in line with the lockdown in the Italy, the level of nitrogen dioxide (orange on the map) had started to drop

The satellite that captured the data is the first Copernicus mission dedicated to monitoring our atmosphere.

Its Tropomi instrument maps a range of trace gases such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, sulphur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide and aerosols.

All of these gases affect the air we breathe and therefore our health, says ESA.

The same ESA satellite also revealed a drop in air pollution over China with tiny particles slahed in the wake of coronavirus.

The country's government closed down much of its industrial activity and restricted air and car travel to limit the spread of the killer virus.

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) observed a decrease of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for February relative to the previous three years of between 20 and 30 per cent, Copernicus said in a statement.

PM2.5 is one of the most important air pollutants regarding health impacts according to the World Health Organization.

Nitrogen dioxide is a noxious gas which is released during fuel combustion and emitted by cars, power plants and industrial facilities.

It forms when fossil fuels such as coal, gas or diesel are burned at high temperatures and can cause a range of harmful effects on the lungs including increased inflammation of the airways and a greater risk of asthma attacks.

Satellite images compared this February's air quality with the same month from 2017 and 2019 and found a decrease in the amount of PM2.5 emissions in China of up to 30 per cent (pictured, the percentage difference as shown by the colour bar at the top)

Air quality researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Fei Liu said: 'This is the first time I have seen such a dramatic drop-off over such a wide area for a specific event.'

'Given the growing importance and need for the continuous monitoring of air quality, the upcoming Copernicus Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 missions will monitor key air quality trace gases and aerosols,' the agency said.

'These missions will provide information on air quality, stratospheric ozone and solar radiation, as well as climate monitoring.'

Josef Aschbacher, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes, says the Tropomi instrument on the Copernicus Sentinel satellite was used to capture the changing atmosphere over Italy.

'It's the most accurate instrument measuring air pollution from space,' he said.

'These measurements, globally available thanks to the free and open data policy, provide crucial information for citizens and decision makers.'





Smog has dropped in northern Italy over a three-week period - February 14 (top left), February 24 (top right), March 4 (bottom left) and March 8 (bottom right) - following a month of coronavirus restrictions. The orange shading shows a heavy concentration of air pollution

Medical staff checks the body temperature of a woman in front of the Molinette hospital in Turin as Italy clamps down on public events and travel to halt spread of the virus

Europe is now the 'epicentre' of coronavirus with more daily cases on the continent than China was suffering at the height of its outbreak, the World Health Organisation said today.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the stark assessment today as he bemoaned the 'tragic milestone' of 5,000 global deaths from Covid-19.

He added that Europe now has 'more reported virus cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China'.

In Italy, which is already in lockdown, Catholic churches in Rome have now been shut as the Vatican falls in line with the rest of the country.

Football fixtures across Europe have been taking place behind closed doors amid calls for the Euro 2020 tournament to be postponed.

Meanwhile, some European passengers were boarding the last flights to America this morning before Donald Trump's unexpected travel ban comes into force tonight.

Bulgaria's state of emergency involves the shutting of all shops - except food stores and pharmacies - shopping malls, casinos, bars and restaurants with immediate effect until March 29. 

WHAT IS AIR POLLUTION?

Emissions

Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the biggest contributors to global warming. After the gas is released into the atmosphere it stays there, making it difficult for heat to escape - and warming up the planet in the process.

It is primarily released from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, as well as cement production.

The average monthly concentration of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere, as of April 2019, is 413 parts per million (ppm). Before the Industrial Revolution, the concentration was just 280 ppm.

CO2 concentration has fluctuated over the last 800,000 years between 180 to 280ppm, but has been vastly accelerated by pollution caused by humans.

Nitrogen dioxide

The gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2) comes from burning fossil fuels, car exhaust emissions and the use of nitrogen-based fertilisers used in agriculture.

Although there is far less NO2 in the atmosphere than CO2, it is between 200 and 300 times more effective at trapping heat.

Sulfur dioxide

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) also primarily comes from fossil fuel burning, but can also be released from car exhausts.

SO2 can react with water, oxygen and other chemicals in the atmosphere to cause acid rain.

Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an indirect greenhouse gas as it reacts with hydroxyl radicals, removing them. Hydroxyl radicals reduce the lifetime of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Particulates

What is particulate matter?

Particulate matter refers to tiny parts of solids or liquid materials in the air.

Some are visible, such as dust, whereas others cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Materials such as metals, microplastics, soil and chemicals can be in particulate matter.

Particulate matter (or PM) is described in micrometres. The two main ones mentioned in reports and studies are PM10 (less than 10 micrometres) and PM2.5 (less than 2.5 micrometres).


Air pollution comes from burning fossil fuels, cars, cement making and agriculture

Scientists measure the rate of particulates in the air by cubic metre.

Particulate matter is sent into the air by a number of processes including burning fossil fuels, driving cars and steel making.

Why are particulates dangerous?
Particulates are dangerous because those less than 10 micrometres in diameter can get deep into your lungs, or even pass into your bloodstream. Particulates are found in higher concentrations in urban areas, particularly along main roads.

Health impact

What sort of health problems can pollution cause?

According to the World Health Organization, a third of deaths from stroke, lung cancer and heart disease can be linked to air pollution.

Some of the effects of air pollution on the body are not understood, but pollution may increase inflammation which narrows the arteries leading to heart attacks or strokes.

As well as this, almost one in 10 lung cancer cases in the UK are caused by air pollution.

Particulates find their way into the lungs and get lodged there, causing inflammation and damage. As well as this, some chemicals in particulates that make their way into the body can cause cancer.

Deaths from pollution

Around seven million people die prematurely because of air pollution every year. Pollution can cause a number of issues including asthma attacks, strokes, various cancers and cardiovascular problems.


Asthma triggers

Air pollution can cause problems for asthma sufferers for a number of reasons. Pollutants in traffic fumes can irritate the airways, and particulates can get into your lungs and throat and make these areas inflamed.

Problems in pregnancy

Women exposed to air pollution before getting pregnant are nearly 20 per cent more likely to have babies with birth defects, research suggested in January 2018.

Living within 3.1 miles (5km) of a highly-polluted area one month before conceiving makes women more likely to give birth to babies with defects such as cleft palates or lips, a study by University of Cincinnati found.

For every 0.01mg/m3 increase in fine air particles, birth defects rise by 19 per cent, the research adds.

Previous research suggests this causes birth defects as a result of women suffering inflammation and 'internal stress'.

What is being done to tackle air pollution?

Paris agreement on climate change

The Paris Agreement, which was first signed in 2015, is an international agreement to control and limit climate change.

It hopes to hold the increase in the global average temperature to below 2°C (3.6ºF) 'and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C (2.7°F)'.

Carbon neutral by 2050
The UK government has announced plans to make the country carbon neutral by 2050.

They plan to do this by planting more trees and by installing 'carbon capture' technology at the source of the pollution.

Some critics are worried that this first option will be used by the government to export its carbon offsetting to other countries.

International carbon credits let nations continue emitting carbon while paying for trees to be planted elsewhere, balancing out their emissions.

No new petrol or diesel vehicles by 2040

In 2017, the UK government announced the sale of new petrol and diesel cars would be banned by 2040.

From around 2020, town halls will be allowed to levy extra charges on diesel drivers using the UK's 81 most polluted routes if air quality fails to improve.

However, MPs on the climate change committee have urged the government to bring the ban forward to 2030, as by then they will have an equivalent range and price.

The Paris Agreement, which was first signed in 2015, is an international agreement to control and limit climate change. Pictured: air pollution over Paris in 2019.

Norway's electric car subsidies

The speedy electrification of Norway's automotive fleet is attributed mainly to generous state subsidies. Electric cars are almost entirely exempt from the heavy taxes imposed on petrol and diesel cars, which makes them competitively priced.

A VW Golf with a standard combustion engine costs nearly 334,000 kroner (34,500 euros, $38,600), while its electric cousin the e-Golf costs 326,000 kroner thanks to a lower tax quotient.

Criticisms of inaction on climate change

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has said there is a 'shocking' lack of Government preparation for the risks to the country from climate change.

The committee assessed 33 areas where the risks of climate change had to be addressed – from flood resilience of properties to impacts on farmland and supply chains – and found no real progress in any of them.

The UK is not prepared for 2°C of warming, the level at which countries have pledged to curb temperature rises, let alone a 4°C rise, which is possible if greenhouse gases are not cut globally, the committee said.

It added that cities need more green spaces to stop the urban 'heat island' effect, and to prevent floods by soaking up heavy rainfall.

Fine-particle air pollution has decreased across the US, but poor and minority communities are still the most polluted

by Jonathan Colmer and Jay Shimshack, The Conversation

Fine particulate air pollution is referred to as PM2.5 because the particles are less than 2.5 microns in diameter – 40 times smaller than a grain of sand. Credit: Washington department of Ecology

Air pollution contributes to as many as 9 million premature deaths worldwide each year—twice as many as war, other violence, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Fine particulate matter air pollution is especially dangerous: Microscopic particles readily enter the lungs, bloodstream and brain, with health effects that include infant death, reduced life expectancy for adults, cancer, lung disease and heart disease.


Fine particle matter pollution concentrations in the United States have declined by roughly 70% since 1981. However, in a newly published study, we show that the areas that were most polluted in 1981 are still the most polluted today, and the least polluted areas in 1981 are still the least polluted today.

Areas that were whiter and richer in 1981 have become relatively less polluted over time. Areas that became whiter and richer between 1981 and 2016 have become relatively less polluted over time. In contrast, the neighborhoods and population groups that were most exposed to fine particle pollution 40 years ago—disproportionately low-income and minority communities—are still exposed to higher pollution levels.

As scholars who focus on environmental economics and public policy, we believe that the persistence of air pollution disparities matters. We care about who is advantaged and disadvantaged. In addition, our results have implications for environmental public policy. To the extent that policy aims to reduce pollution disparities, the job is far from finished.

Mapping pollution at a neighborhood scale

Researchers have known for decades that air pollution varies across locations due to economic activity, climate and other factors. It is also well documented that lower-income households, people of color and other disadvantaged communities are disproportionately exposed to air pollution. Since research shows that air pollution is associated with early death, lower educational attainment and lower lifetime earnings, these differences promote economic, health and social inequality.


What has not been clear is how much air pollution disparities have changed over time. We wanted to understand particulate matter air pollution disparities in a more systematic way, for the entire U.S. over many years.

Until recently, the information needed to answer this question simply wasn't available. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors levels of fine particle pollution, known as PM2.5, nationwide. But its monitors offer relatively sparse coverage and are concentrated in disproportionately urban locations.

In our study, we leverage newly available data that captures PM2.5 concentrations at more than 8.6 million distinct U.S. locations from 1981 through 2016. These data were constructed from satellite observations and pollution transport modeling, along with pollution monitor records. They provide a detailed year-by-year picture of fine particulate matter concentrations for each of the roughly 65,000 Census tract "neighborhoods" in the United States.
Fine particle air pollution moves from the lungs into the bloodstream and can have widespread health impacts throughout the body.

Persistent disparities

Our analysis shows that there has been some progress over the past 35 years in reducing gaps between the most polluted and least polluted locations. In 1981 PM2.5 concentrations in the most polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 34 micrograms per cubic meter. PM2.5 concentrations in the least polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 13 micrograms per cubic meter. The difference was 22 micrograms per cubic meter.

In 2016 PM2.5 concentrations in the most polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 10 micrograms per cubic meter. PM2.5 concentrations in the least polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 4 micrograms per cubic meter. The difference was 6 micrograms per cubic meter.

These reduced gaps likely imply that differences in pollution-induced health, wealth and productivity across locations are also declining. But while pollution gaps have declined for some disadvantaged communities, this hasn't been universal.

Next we wanted to see whether specific locations had more or less pollution than other locations, and whether the most polluted locations were the same through time. To explore these questions, we ranked each neighborhood from most polluted to least polluted for every year that we had data.

We then evaluated how these rankings changed between 1981 and 2016, and found that they remained remarkably persistent. The most polluted areas in 1981 remain the most polluted areas today, and the least polluted areas in 1981 remain the least polluted areas today. Communities that were disadvantaged in 1981 remain exposed to higher levels of pollution today. If anything, relative disparities have worsened for poorer and Hispanic communities.

A disproportionate share of the most polluted areas over the past 40 years are in Southern California, while the least polluted areas are more dispersed across the U.S. As an example, a child born in Los Angeles County in 2016 was exposed to 42% more fine particle pollution than the average child born in the United States, and 26% more pollution than a child born in New York City.

A few areas did see improvements or declines in their relative standing. Ohio, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and the Northeast Corridor became relatively less polluted from 1981 through 2016. California's Central and Imperial valleys, southwestern Arizona, southern Texas and portions of Arkansas and Oklahoma became relatively more polluted.

Fairness, equity and public policy

Our findings underline the scope, scale and persistence of air pollution disparities in the United States. But if particulate matter air quality has improved over time—which should translate into improvements in health, wealth and productivity for most Americans—why should we be concerned about relative disparities between some locations and others?

In our view, persistent disparities between the most and least polluted communities matter because fairness, equity and justice are relative concepts. We define them based on who is advantaged and who is disadvantaged at any given time. Pollution disparities translate into health, economic and social disparities.

For decades, federal and state environmental guidelines have aimed to provide all Americans with the same degree of protection from environmental hazards. The EPA's definition of environmental justice states that "no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences." On this front, our research suggests that the United States is falling short.


Explore furtherAir pollution 'greatest risk' to global life expectancy
Provided by The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Air pollution exposure is shifting from outdoor to indoor – here's why

by Nicola Carslaw, David Carslaw, The Conversation

Credit: Olga Soloveva/Shutterstock

You may have seen the before-and-after-lockdown photos of major cities that appear to show dramatic changes in air quality. In one, the India Gate war memorial in New Delhi is barely visible amid the smog. Then, during lockdown, it's clearly visible in its red Bharatpur stone grandness.

Getting vehicles off the road may do wonders for smog, but there's more to air pollution than that. The shift away from vehicles powered by fossil fuels and the improvement of outdoor air quality in urban areas, combined with changes to buildings and lifestyles, means that indoor air pollution will become much more important in the future. And there aren't many easy answers about how much of a risk this will create—or how to address it.

Vehicles have been a dominant source of air pollutants for decades. But the century-long dominance of petroleum-based fuels is drawing to an end with the increasingly rapid rollout of electric vehicles. A consequence of this will be a fall in concentrations of highly reactive gases called nitrogen oxides, which actually neutralize another pollutant from industrial sources, ozone. So fewer petrol and diesel-fuelled cars, coupled with lower emissions from those that remain, could actually result in higher ozone concentrations in urban areas.

Unlike way up in the stratosphere where ozone plays an important role in protecting us from harmful ultraviolet radiation, at the surface, it can act as a respiratory pollutant. This property makes life difficult for those with respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis.

But we are not just exposed to ozone outdoors, it can also move into buildings through windows, doors and cracks in buildings. So it follows that if ozone concentrations increase outdoors, they will also increase indoors. Indeed, computer models predicted that during lockdown, indoor ozone concentrations would increase by 50%.

Once indoors, ozone reacts with the many chemicals that are emitted from common indoor activities, such as cleaning, to form new air pollutants, some of which are harmful to our health.

However, indoor ozone is not the only problem. There are many sources of air pollution indoors. When we cook, particularly with natural gas, and when frying meat at high temperatures, we produce nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Cleaning can produce fragrance compounds (called volatile organic compounds) as well as particulate matter. Burning candles can also produce nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, and also volatile organic compounds if scented.

Some of these compounds are emitted directly and some of them can further react—such as with ozone—to form new air pollutants. Consequently, indoor air quality depends largely on indoor activities and how well-ventilated a building is.

Over the last 50 years or so, buildings have become more airtight with increased energy efficiency measures—a trend that is likely to continue. Over the same period, people in many countries have been spending an increasing amount of time indoors—in homes, commuting or at work. Children in the UK were recently estimated to be spending only just over an hour outdoors each day. As a result, most of our exposure to air pollution happens indoors, even if the pollutants are formed outdoors.

Yet while ventilation will dilute emissions from indoor sources, it will also allow more ozone indoors that could initiate chemical reactions. It is clearly a complex picture.

Air pollution exposure is complex and dynamic

Altering sources of air pollution may reduce the concentration of some pollutants, but could increase those of other pollutants such as ozone. We are exposed to air pollution outdoors and indoors and to mixtures of different air pollutants in each. Even on the same street in identical houses, exposure is likely to differ in the individual houses because of the different behavior within.

The main health effects associated with air pollutants are either from long-term exposure, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer, or arise from short-term exposure, such as damaging the lungs or exacerbating asthma. Although we understand the health effects of some air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter reasonably well, for many airborne pollutants, there is little or no information on how they affect our health.

This absence of information is particularly acute for indoors, where research lags that of outdoor air quality significantly. For instance, indoor air particulate matter is formed or emitted during cooking, and it would be useful to know whether the toxicity of these particles is greater or less than common sources outdoors, such as motor vehicles.

All this means improving outdoor air quality will not necessarily reduce our overall exposure to air pollution. An important future step is to get a better understanding of our total exposure to air pollution, particularly that indoors, and its effects on our health.Study examines indoor exposure to air pollution

Provided by The Conversation 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Breathing is going to get tougher

Hotter temps = more air pollution from natural sources

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - RIVERSIDE

 

IMAGE: CHANGE IN PM2.5 SURFACE CONCENTRATION AFTER 4 DEGREES C OF WARMING. BLACK DOTS SYMBOLIZE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. view more 

CREDIT: JAMES GOMEZ/UCR

Not all pollution comes from people. When global temperatures increase by 4 degrees Celsius, harmful plant emissions and dust will also increase by as much as 14 percent, according to new UC Riverside research.

The research does not account for a simultaneous increase in human-made sources of air pollution, which has already been predicted by other studies. 

“We are not looking at human emissions of air pollution, because we can change what we emit,” said James Gomez, UCR doctoral student and lead author of the study. “We can switch to electric cars. But that may not change air pollution from plants or dust.”

Details of the degradation in future air quality from these natural sources have now been published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. About two-thirds of the future pollution is predicted to come from plants.

All plants produce chemicals called biogenic volatile organic compounds, or BVOCs. “The smell of a just-mowed lawn, or the sweetness of a ripe strawberry, those are BVOCs. Plants are constantly emitting them,” Gomez said.

On their own, BVOCs are benign. However, once they react with oxygen, they produce organic aerosols. As they’re inhaled, these aerosols can cause infant mortality and childhood asthma, as well as heart disease and lung cancer in adults.

There are two reasons plants increase BVOC production: increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide and increases in temperatures. Both of these factors are projected to continue increasing.

To be clear, growing plants is a net positive for the environment. They reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which helps control global warming. BVOCs from small gardens will not harm people. 

“Your lawn, for example, won’t produce enough BVOCs to make you sick,” Gomez explained. “It’s the large-scale increase in carbon dioxide that contributes to the biosphere increasing BVOCs, and then organic aerosols.”

The second-largest contributor to future air pollution is likely to be dust from the Saharan desert. “In our models, an increase in winds is projected to loft more dust into the atmosphere,” said Robert Allen, associate professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UCR and co-author of the study. 

As the climate warms, increased Saharan dust is likely to get blown around the globe, with higher levels of dust in Africa, the eastern U.S., and the Caribbean. Dust over Northern Africa, including the Sahel and the Sahara, is likely to increase due to more intense West African monsoons.

Both organic aerosols and dust, as well as sea salt, black carbon, and sulfate, fall into a category of airborne pollutants known as PM2.5, because they have a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less. The increase in naturally sourced PM2.5 pollution increased, in this study, in direct proportion to CO2 levels.

“The more we increase CO2, the more PM2.5 we see being put into the atmosphere, and the inverse is also true. The more we reduce, the better the air quality gets,” Gomez said. 

For example, if the climate warms only 2 degrees Celsius, the study found only a 7% increase in PM2.5. All of these results only apply to changes found in air quality over land, as the study is focused on human health impacts. 

The researchers hope the potential to improve air quality will inspire swift and decisive action to decrease CO2 emissions. Without it, temperatures may increase 4 degrees C by the end of this century, though it’s possible for the increase to happen sooner. 

Gomez warns that CO2 emissions will have to decrease sharply to have a positive effect on future air quality.

“The results of this experiment may even be a bit conservative because we did not include climate-dependent changes in wildfire emissions as a factor,” Gomez said. “In the future, make sure you get an air purifier.”
 

Coughing 

Air pollution from natural sources is expected to increase alongside an increase in average global temperatures.

CREDIT

GabboT

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JOURNAL

Communications Earth & Environment

DOI

10.1038/s43247-023-00688-7 

ARTICLE TITLE

The projected future degradation in air quality is caused by more abundant natural aerosols in a warmer world

New study to examine link between air

quality, climate change, and birth

outcomes

PSE Healthy Energy and the University of California, Berkeley partner to develop targeted solutions to climate and public health impacts throughout California’s Contra Costa County

Business Announcement

PSE HEALTHY ENERGY

OAKLAND, CA – On Monday February 27, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that nonprofit research institute PSE Healthy Energy has been awarded $1,350,000 to study local disparities in exposure to air pollution, heat, and humidity throughout Contra Costa County. The Contra Costa Climate, Air Pollution, and Pregnancy Study will be conducted in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley and will analyze birth outcomes and develop targeted solutions to protect the region’s most vulnerable populations.

“We know that climate change is already increasing exposure to air pollution, extreme heat, and humidity and that these events increase health risks, particularly for vulnerable populations,” said Elena Krieger, director of research at PSE Healthy Energy and principal investigator for the study. “Our aim is to better understand how these exposures relate to birth outcomes and to work with communities and policy makers to develop targeted, community-led, and effective interventions.”

The study will leverage PSE Healthy Energy’s Richmond Air Monitoring Network (RAMN) in combination with additional low-cost air monitors in place throughout Contra Costa County, enabling the team to study local variations in exposure across the region. Over the course of three years, the study will assess disparities in exposure to air pollution, heat, and humidity and their relationship with birth outcomes. The researchers will also assess areas and populations facing the greatest increase in risk from climate change impacts, such as increased heat, humidity, and wildfire smoke.

“Low-cost air pollution sensors can help us understand microscale variations in exposure to air pollution, temperature, and humidity. This more granular understanding can help us uncover how local climate impacts may compound socioeconomic risk factors, such as poverty, low educational attainment, and linguistic isolation, and lead to greater exposure and health disparities,” said Ajay Pillarisetti, assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences at UC Berkeley and the study’s co-principal investigator.

In the final phase of the project, researchers will work with the identified populations and communities to co-develop a suite of interventions to mitigate exposures, ranging from house-level retrofits to community planning measures such as tree planting. The team will use a mix of cost-benefit and distributional analyses, incorporating community-identified priorities and strategies, to identify policy solutions.

The research grant is part of the EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program and was part of $21M in research grant funding announced to investigate cumulative health impacts of climate change on underserved communities.

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About PSE Healthy Energy
PSE Healthy Energy is a nonprofit research institute dedicated to supplying evidence-based scientific and technical information on the public health, environmental, and climate dimensions of energy production and use. We are the only interdisciplinary collaboration focused specifically on health and sustainability at the intersection of energy science and policy. Visit us at psehealthyenergy.org and follow us on Twitter @PhySciEng.

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METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

Wood burner users needed to take part in new ‘pollution alert’ study

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM

People who use wood-burning stoves are needed to take part in the UK’s first study to understand how an air quality alert system could help reduce the health risks posed by wood smoke around their homes and in their communities.

Academics at the universities of Nottingham and Sheffield are studying the Burner Alert system – the first and only system in the UK.

Using data from official sensor networks, and weather and chemistry modelling, the system allows stove users across the country to check air pollution levels on their street via a website before burning. It is designed to allow them to make an informed choice over whether to light their stove when the air quality outside is poor. 

Participants can read the information sheet and sign up to take part here: https://sway.office.com/7Jc3atVoOuMqunqX?ref=Link

Dr James Heydon, study lead at the University of Nottingham, said: “Air quality can vary between areas and wood burner emissions can make it worse, particularly when many stoves are lit at once. The Burner Alert system provides people with real-time data on the air quality in their area, allowing them to make an informed decision about whether to light their stove. We’re interested in understanding how people with stoves use this system and whether it could help to improve air quality in different areas.”

Before lighting their stove, users can enter their postcode to find out the current status of pollution levels in their area. The Burner Alert system uses traffic light colour coding, indicating a different level of air quality with an accompanying recommendation for stove users:

• Green – no alert: if air pollution over the last 24 hours is well below the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 24 hour average limit, the colour will be green and no alert will be issued.
• Amber – advisory: if air pollution is approaching the WHO’s average 24 hour limit, an advisory alert will be issued. Given that air pollution is approaching the limit, stove users are asked to consider not lighting their stoves, particularly if they have an alternative source of heat.
• Red – burner alert: the highest level of alert available. Particulate pollution in this area is already above the WHO’s recommended limit for a 24 hour period, and as such, stove users are asked to avoid lighting their stoves, unless they have no alternative source of heating.

Wood burner emissions are attracting increased attention because they produce 17% of all particulate matter emissions nationally; a larger proportion than that produced by traffic. When inhaled, these tiny particles pass through the lungs and into the bloodstream, entering every organ in the body. Exposure increases the risk of respiratory infections across age groups and is associated with the onset of asthma in children, as well as strokes, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and lung cancer in adults. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, between 2010 and 2020 stove emissions across the UK increased by 35 per cent.

Other countries have piloted variations of this approach, with a system in California proving to be notably successful, causing particulate matter pollution to fall between 11 and 15 per cent in its first year. As a result, the number of older people admitted to hospital with heart problems dropped by between 7 and 11 per cent.

Stove users from across the UK are being asked to take part in the study by completing a 15-minute survey at the start and end of a two-week period. Over this time, they will be asked to use the Burner Alert website to check air pollution levels on their street prior to lighting their stove. All participants will be entered into a draw to receive one of ten £20 Amazon vouchers.   

Participants will be asked about their knowledge of air pollution, burning behaviour both prior to and following use of the Burner Alert, as well as their experience of using the system itself to understand how far it could be used to control air pollution in communities. 

The team aim to use this information to make recommendations to local authorities and national government on how Burner Alert systems may be introduced to supplement existing regulations, improve local air quality and achieve clean air targets.

The study team includes experts from the universities of Nottingham and Sheffield, along with industry partner AirRated, to understand the potential for Burner Alerts to reduce air pollution across the UK.

Representing cutting-edge efforts at developing interdisciplinary solutions to air quality issues in urban areas, the team draws insights from the fields of behavioural science, politics, social policy, and civil engineering to understand the role of Burner Alerts in addressing air pollution.

The researchers are also looking to speak with professionals who work in the sector to inform their understanding of the Burner Alert system.

The study – along with the Burner Alert system itself – has been funded by the Institute for Policy and Engagement at the University of Nottingham. The study will run over winter, until March 2023.

The interdisciplinary team is made up of:

• Dr James Heydon (Sociology, University of Nottingham – Principal Investigator)
• Dr Chantelle Wood (Behavioural Science, University of Sheffield)
• Dr Matthew Wood (Politics, University of Sheffield)
• Rohit Chakraborty (Civil Engineering, AirRated)
• Vibhuti Patel (Behavioural Science, University of Sheffield)
• Caitlin Bunce (Social Policy, University of Nottingham)

Millions of Indians set Diwali world record as air pollution worries rise

Homes decked with lights as annual Hindu festival celebrated across country

 

 

Devotees light earthen lamps on the banks of the Saryu river in Ayodhya on Saturday. AFP

AP
Nov 12, 2023


Millions of Indians celebrated Diwali on Sunday, setting a Guinness World Record for the number of bright earthen oil lamps, as concerns about air pollution soared in the country.

Across the country, dazzling multi-colored lights decked homes and streets as devotees celebrated the annual Hindu festival of light symbolizing the victory of light over darkness.

But the spectacular and long-awaited lighting of the oil lamps took place as usual on the banks of the Saryu river in Ayodhya, the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama.
READ MORE
When is Diwali 2023 and how will the festival of lights be celebrated this year?

At dusk on Saturday, devotees lit more than 2.22 million lamps and kept them burning for 45 minutes as religious hymns filled the air at the banks of the river, setting a new world record. Last year, more than 1.5 million earthen lamps were lit.

After counting the lamps, Guinness World Records representatives presented a certificate to Uttar Pradesh state’s top elected official, Yogi Adityanath.


More than 24,000 volunteers, mostly college students, helped prepare for the new record, said Pratibha Goyal, vice chancellor of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University in Ayodhya.

Diwali, a national holiday across India, is celebrated by socialising and exchanging gifts with family and friends. Many light earthen oil lamps or candles as fireworks are set off as part of the celebrations.

A Hindu woman holds a clay lamp during a ceremony to celebrate Diwali at Krishna temple in Lahore, Pakistan, on Sunday. AP

In the evening, a prayer is dedicated to the Hindu deity Lakshmi, who is believed to bring luck and prosperity.

Over the weekend, authorities ran extra trains to accommodate the huge numbers trying to reach their home towns to join in family celebrations.

Air quality concerns

The festival came amid rising worries about air quality in India.

A “hazardous” 400-500 level was recorded on the air quality index last week, more than 10 times the global safety threshold, which can cause acute and chronic bronchitis and asthma attacks.

But on Saturday, unexpected rain and a strong wind improved the levels to 220, according to the government-run Central Pollution Control Board.

Fireworks light up the night sky in Mumbai on Sunday. AFP

Air pollution levels are expected to soar again after the celebrations end on Sunday night because of the fireworks used.

Last week, officials in New Delhi shut down primary schools and banned polluting vehicles and construction work in an attempt to reduce the worst haze and smog of the season, which has posed respiratory problems for people and enveloped monuments and high-rise buildings in and around India’s capital.

Authorities used water sprinklers and anti-smog guns to control the haze and many people used masks to escape the air pollution.

Almost every year, New Delhi is named as India's city with the worst air quality, particularly in the winter, when the burning of crop residues in neighbouring states coincides with cooler temperatures that trap deadly smoke.

Some Indian states have banned the sale of fireworks and imposed other restrictions to stem the pollution. Authorities have also urged residents to light “green crackers” that emit less pollutants than normal fireworks. But similar bans have often been disregarded in the past.

This year's Diwali celebrations took place as authorities prepared for the January opening of a temple to Rama at former the site of the 16th-century Babri mosque in Ayodhya.

The mosque was destroyed by a Hindu mob with pickaxes and crowbars in December 1992, sparking violence between Hindus and Muslims that left about 2,000 people dead, most of them Muslims. The Supreme Court’s verdict in 2019 allowed a temple to be built in place of the demolished mosque.

 

Smoke clouds Indian capital on Diwali as revellers defy firecracker ban

Revellers lighting firecrackers on the night of Deepavali in New Delhi on Nov 12

. PHOTO: AFP

NEW DELHI – A toxic haze began to circulate in New Delhi on Sunday as people in the city of 20 million, which has struggled with heavy pollution recently, defied a ban on firecrackers on the night of Diwali, the annual Hindu festival of light.

Smoke plumes were visible across the sky as revellers let off firecrackers in the evening to mark the country’s biggest festival.

Every year government authorities or India’s Supreme Court impose bans on firecrackers – but only rarely do those bans appear to be enforced.


The Air Quality Index (AQI) across all 40 monitoring stations in the capital averaged 219 on a scale of 500, according to the federal pollution control board data, indicating “poor” conditions that can affect most people on prolonged exposure.

The AQI data also showed that the concentration of PM2.5 poisonous particulate matter was around 100 microgrammes per cubic m of air – 20 times higher than the World Health Organisation’s recommended maximum.

Globally, air pollution was the worst in India’s eastern city of Kolkata, while Delhi was the fifth-most polluted, according to Swiss group IQAir.

Doctors say the air quality is likely to worsen on Monday as smoke from firecrackers lingers in the air, potentially causing itchy eyes and irritation in the throat.

“I can see my patients are getting distressed. As a society, we have not understood the value of clean air,” said senior consultant Desh Deepak at Delhi’s Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

Some Hindus resent the Diwali firecracker bans, which they see as an attempt to interfere with their observing their religious festivals.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had urged citizens to steer clear of firecrackers to prevent citizens from having breathing problems later.

Just before the weekend, a spell of rain had brought some relief to the city, where the AQI dipped below 160 after hovering around the 400-500 level over the past week.

The world’s most polluted capital typically experiences heavy smog in the winter months as particulate matter gets trapped in the cold air, leading to spikes in cases of respiratory distress. 

REUTERS

India’s Yearly Air Haze Carnival is Here!

D Raghunandan | 12 Nov 2023

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The real worry for the country should be the high baseline AQI of around 200-250 in almost all major Indian cities.

A thick smog blankets the capital city of Delhi, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Air pollution level is Delhi-NCR has started rising owing much to stubble (parali) burning in adjoining states. Image Courtesy: PTI Photo/Arun Sharma

So here we are once again, regular like the seasons, with Delhi and the entire Indo-Gangetic plains right down to West Bengal, shrouded in a grey haze of pollutants as visible in photographs from space.  As many as 13 of the world’s 20 worst polluted cities or towns in the world are in India, including Delhi, satellite towns and other urban centres in northern and eastern India. This has now become such a hardy and recurrent annual feature that it may as well be declared yet another festival of which we already have so many in this country.

As with other Indian festivals, this one too has by now acquired ritual trappings. The press carries daily articles on different aspects, but really only provides snippets of information with little or no meaningful analysis leading to effective policies. The media discourse has utterly confused the issues, and obscured the basic causes behind high levels of air pollution and its major sources, thereby preventing a clear understanding of the problem and a focused policy direction for a long-term and permanent solution.

The same holds true for establishment political parties. The Union government and the ruling dispensation, which daily clamour for control over the administration of Delhi, now only maintains a studious silence, leaving things to a committee and to the different states, while taking pot-shots at Opposition-rules states.

The Delhi government and its ruling party, which used to cry hoarse against the neighbouring states, especially Punjab and Haryana formerly governed by the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, respectively, now only speaks against pollutants coming from Haryana, obviously because Punjab is now ruled by the Aam Aadmi Party!

Even the august Supreme Court, which often shies away from important decisions which it says may cross the line separating it from executive or legislative jurisdictions, now questions the basis for different executive decisions, but then proceeds to itself pass orders directing this or that policy or executive action, which too have no basis in science or empirical evidence!

Marx said that history repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, and the next time as farce. But what does one say when a sorry history repeats itself annually?  

THE BASICS OF AIR POLLUTION IN DELHI
(AND OTHER INDIAN CITIES)

Let us first get to a basic understanding of the problem of air pollution in urban centres in India.

There is much talk of seasonal or other variations, weather conditions, wind flows, seasonal or other spurts in one or another pollution source, but not clearly identifying the major sources of pollution. Extensive discussions about farm fires in north-western states, the inversion phenomenon in winter wherein cold air stays close to the ground gets trapped, make it appear as if the problem is more acute in North India than in peninsular and southern India. In major coastal cities such as in Mumbai, Chennai and even to some extent Kolkata, sea-breezes regularly flush out air pollutants over these cities, ensuring lower ambient pollution and beguilingly low air quality indices. 

It needs to be clearly understood that total pollutants released into the air, especially over cities, come from specific sources in quantities that can be determined by scientific studies and models. The major sources of air pollution in any urban centre in India would mostly comprise vehicle exhaust, coal-fired power plants in the vicinity, brick and other kilns in the region, construction and ambient dust, domestic, industrial or commercial burning of solid fuels such as coal and firewood, open burning of garbage or waste, industrial air pollution including and especially from burning of highly polluting fuels such as rubber and poor grades of furnace oil etc in boilers or other equipment, diesel generators and some other sources.

Of all these, as numerous studies have shown, vehicular pollution, construction and ambient dust, and industrial pollution are the major sources which account for most of the baseline or uniform, underlying air pollution in almost all Indian cities.

The main point here, however, is that, besides these variations and seasonal factors, a finite and determinate quantity of pollutants are emitted from these sources in or near any given city. Out of this total quantity of pollutants, some will stay over these urban centres and their surrounding areas, and some will be blown away or otherwise diffuse through the air due to seasonal and daily variations including rainfall, winds, summer and winter etc.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a measure of pollutants determined by sensors placed at different points in the city, and often cited and used to categorise conditions as “good,” “poor” or “severe.” AQI is a good indicator of air pollution under current conditions including as influenced by seasonal and weather patterns, and can help guide additional seasonal or other variable responses. But we need to look closer at the main, or baseline, total air pollutants emitted in and around the city in order to determine, plan and implement long-term strategies to curb air pollution on a permanent basis.

So, if one looks at the numbers, Delhi, surrounding National Capital Region or NCR and other Indo-Gangetic belt cities are being driven to panic by AQI numbers of close to 500 due to seasonal spikes in farm fires and winter conditions. While farm fires etc. can be tackled, the real worry should be the high baseline AQI of around 200-250 in almost all major Indian cities.

KNEE-JERK REACTIONS, FALSE SOLUTIONS
This is certainly not what is being done, or even being addressed, in any city in India or in the country as a whole. 

There is a National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in existence which aims at a 20-30% reduction of PM 2.5 and PM 10 (particulate matter of 2.5 or 10 microns or thousandths of a millimetre size), of which the former is particularly dangerous since it can easily penetrate into the lungs and cause serious respiratory diseases, as compared to 2017 levels. The needle has barely moved on these indicators, and funds have mostly been spent only on providing sensors to different cities. No strategy as such is visible, and no effective inter-departmental coordination mechanism has been set up.

Instead, what the country is witnessing is panic-driven knee-jerk reactions and false solutions offered by all and sundry without any scientific basis or evidence-based reasoning based, among other things, on valuable experiences of other countries which have successfully tackled air pollution in cities over decades resulting in steady and continuing low air pollution today. We shall learn about these in the next section.

In the current tragi-comedy in Delhi, there is first the over-concentration on farm fires in Punjab and Haryana, which have been discussed ad nauseam, including in these columns. Stubble burning is, of course, worrying, but the problem is not amenable to short-being caught between high costs and the urgent need to clear fields of straw to enable planting of winter wheat within an extremely short window of two-three weeks.  Various interventions of providing machines and subsidies to various user industries have indeed shown some results, but not enough.

The Centre's Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has reported a substantial decrease in stubble-burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana between September 15 to October 29, of around 56% and 40%, respectively, compared with the same period last year. Yet, as harvest time neared, this has risen again and spiked.

Clearly, more holistic, end-to-end solutions, which cannot simply be left to market forces, are required by state governments with pro-active support and coordination by the Centre. It is pointless for the Supreme Court to peremptorily order the state governments concerned to ensure that all farm fires should be stopped forthwith, as it did earlier this week.

Besides this, the Delhi government decided to introduce its vehicle-rationing “odd-even” (now deferred) scheme under which vehicles with number plates ending with odd or even numbers would ply only on alternative days. The Supreme Court sneered at this idea, asked for evidence to prove that such a scheme works, and sharply called it “sheer optics''. But surely, in theory, a scheme which reduces vehicles on Delhi’s roads by half would cause a substantial dent in air pollution. This was clearly evidenced during the pandemic lockdown when, due to lack of vehicular movement, air quality in Indian cities was better than it had been in several decades!

International experience in Mexico, China and Brazil has shown that such schemes to reduce numbers of vehicles on the roads do indeed work, but have been thwarted to cunning vehicle-owner dissenting response of buying additional vehicles with different number plates to circumvent the “odd-even” norms. In Delhi, two-wheelers which account for 7 million vehicles, have been exempted!

At the same time, the SC asked the Delhi government to consider banning app-based taxis, with the latter then proposing to stop out-of-state taxis from entering Delhi. This would only curb a tiny fraction of the one million vehicles on Delhi’s roads! What evidence does the august court have that this scheme would work?

The same applies to the infamous “smog towers” which the Supreme Court ordered to be installed in 2020 despite evidence-based reluctance of various agencies and academic institutions. Yet, in the past few days, the SC ordered the by now dysfunctional smog towers in Connaught Place to be restarted, even though studies have shown that the tower is effective only over a few tens of metres.

And now the Delhi government is preparing for cloud seeding to produce rain!

More pipedreams.
 
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
In sharp contrast to India, Europe as a whole has substantially improved its air quality over the past two decades by concerted and holistic efforts, including strict enforcement of high standards for industrial, vehicular and domestic air pollution by cooking and heating fuels especially coal. These measures have been backed by EU and national legislation, national commitments with strict timelines, and a comprehensive approach tackling all sources of pollution and all major pollutants. 

As a result, more than half of EU countries, mostly in Western Europe, have brought down average PM 2.5 levels to under the EU standard of 25 micrograms per cubic metre, compared with the India average of well over 100, and aim to achieve the WHO (World Health Organisation) standard of matter, especially PM 2.5.

The EU has also sharply focused on the dangerous nitrogen dioxide emanating mainly from vehicles and thermal power plants, on surface level ozone, a major carcinogen, and on toxic carbon monoxide, which hardly find mention in the discourse in India. Having earlier tackled power generation and polluting industries, most present efforts are aimed at vehicular pollution.

Another outstanding example is Beijing, widely studied and appreciated by UN agencies and other international agencies. About a decade or two ago, Beijing had the dubious distinction of consistently ranked the most polluted city in the world, with PM 2.5 well in excess of 100. Its smog was notorious, driving many multinational companies and diplomatic missions to seriously consider and publicly speak about relocating out of Beijing.

Even though China as a whole ranked quite poorly in international pollution rankings, it put in highly focused and major efforts into tackling air pollution in Beijing. It moved all coal-based power plants and industries out of the city, ensured phasing out of older and more polluting vehicles, and introduced low-emission zones in the city where only the cleanest or electric vehicles were allowed, an idea also enforced in London and other European cities.

Beijing has been transformed from a car-centred city to what agencies have described as an example of sustainable mobility, expanding urban rail, bicycle and pedestrian mobility. A major afforestation effort was also taken in the northern regions from where recurring dust-storms bringing fine dust into Beijing were curbed.

Widespread use of domestic coal-burning stoves was also curbed. As a result of all these measures, Beijing’s air pollution levels have been reduced by almost half its earlier levels, also bringing down pollution in the huge extended tri-city “megapolis” area.

There is no reason at all why India cannot emulate these international examples. But this would call for political will, planning and enforcement… and stop tilting at windmills!

The writer is with the Delhi Science Forum and All India People’s Science Network. The views are personal.

Killer Delhi Air Reminds, Pollution Needs National Solution

Rashme Sehgal | 10 Nov 2023

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Experts say air pollution needs a regional approach, not finger-pointing, and certainly not complete neglect.

Commuters cross railway tracks amid low visibility due to smog, in Gurugram, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. Image Courtesy: PTI

Delhi’s air quality worsens every Diwali season, and this year is no exception. The rainfall in parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) brings some relief, but will hardly change things unless the rainfall is widespread and prolonged—which will have other negative consequences for the economy and people. Hence, Delhi and its surroundings, with the air quality index hitting 500, 100 times above what the World Health Organization (WHO) has deemed healthy, needs to be part of a national solution for the pollution crisis.

The 3.3 crore people living in the NCR are only too aware that the cold-weather smog sees the PM2.5 levels register a dangerous 100% increase, piercing the lungs of citizens and precipitating a host of diseases. On November 2 alone, they recorded a 68% increase in 24 hours. Similar statistics emerged from around the country, making people worried about what miseries the expected spike in pollution with Diwali cracker-burning will bring. 

The weary citizens, and especially the elderly and young of this mega city, are asking why the central and state governments, including those of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have failed to get together and draw up a game-plan that will resolve this annual catastrophe that afflicts all? They know that blaming seasonal factors like crop-residue burning and festival-related pollution is not the answer. 

However, the seriousness of this matter seems lost on our decision-makers. A few years ago, Dr Arvind Kumar, who headed the Lung Care Foundation at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, recreated a pair of large human lungs with the help of HEPA (High-efficiency Particulate Air) filters, which are used to trap dust in operation theatres. These “lungs’ were designed to mimic the workings of a pair of human lungs. Dr Kumar had expected the lungs to become dark (signifying high pollution) over time, but they started to darken in just one day and went utterly dark within six days. Dr Kumar said, speaking not only about the effects of pollution in the capital and the entire country, “There are no non-smokers left in India. We have become a nation of smokers.”

The point Dr Kumar was trying to make was that in Delhi, to cite an example, the PM 2.5 levels are high around the year, with doctors insisting this toxic air is the equivalent of smoking over ten cigarettes a day, even for newborn children. With air pollution levels having risen alarmingly across all the major cities of the Indo-Gangetic plain, the situation has become alarming throughout the country. 

“This is a failure on the part of individuals, officials, organisations to take cognisance of the fact that breathing is killing [us],” he said in a widely-circulated interview. 

Dr Piyush Ranjan from the Department of Medicine AIIMS recently warned, “Air pollution affects various systems of the body apart from causing respiratory diseases. Pollution has direct relations with coronary artery diseases like heart attack, brain stroke and arthritis, and there is scientific evidence to show its relationship with different types of cancer.”

Delhi has set up a Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for strategies to combat pollution. It has prepared a graded response plan, and the Grade 4 response has kicked in under the present circumstances. The CAQM has banned diesel BS-4 and all BS-3 private cars and banned diesel-run medium goods vehicles and heavy goods vehicles in the city. But despite a ban on construction activities and the closure of schools until November 26, the ambient air quality has not improved. This is because the root of the problem is not being addressed. 

The political class does a great deal of name-calling, with each blaming this mess on the rival party. The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress are pointing fingers at the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, blaming it for the present situation given that farm fires are spiking in Punjab. Indeed, reports of these fires continue to come in despite the Supreme Court ordering the Punjab and Haryana governments to ensure farmers stop burning stubble in their fields.

Can AAP escape blame for the crisis in Delhi? According to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the party has failed to provide alternatives to the farmers, resulting in farm fires. Priyanka Kakkar, a party spokesperson, defended her party and called the criticism baseless as she believes Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has taken steps to clear Delhi’s air. This includes introducing electric buses, stopping waste burning, and ensuring all industries run on CNG.

According to Kakkar, there were 81,000 farm fires in Punjab in 2016 and only 19,000 in 2023. However, this is contradicted by NASA figures, which paint a very different picture. 

She says ensuring 24x7 electricity supply reduced diesel generator use in the capital, unlike Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where power cuts force industry and housing societies to use diesel generators.

Herein lies the crux of the problem. While there is no doubt that the farm fires helped accelerate the crisis, several neighbouring cities including Ghaziabad, NOIDA, Greater NOIDA and Faridabad report highly hazardous air. According to the Central Pollution Control Board data for the first week of November, Greater NOIDA has the dubious distinction of being the country’s most polluted city. Meanwhile, last year, the World Air Quality Report ranked Delhi the fourth most polluted of 50 cities in the world. This year, Delhi is in an equally bad, if not worse, situation.

How, then, should our planners bring about a turnaround? How should PM 2.5 levels be immediately reduced by 60% to meet the National Ambient Air Quality standards? For one, they must recognise the different sources causing 24/7 pollution around the year. However, the government must also ensure a significant transition from private vehicles to public transport use. In New York and London, exorbitant parking fees have made even the wealthy feel the pinch of driving personal cars and two-wheelers.

By contrast, 1.2 crore vehicles in Delhi were recorded as registered in 2020, though this dipped in the following year. Still, the number of vehicles plying in Delhi on any day exceeds the registered vehicles figure because of cabs from neighbouring cities (which are banned now). Further, trucks and buses using BS 3 diesel supply essential commodities to the city. The government will have to introduce strict laws and restrictions to control private vehicles, but this will only work if there is efficient, reliable and inexpensive last-mile connectivity for public transport, especially the Delhi Metro and bus services.

By and large, industries in Delhi have switched to CNG, but the government needs to take adequate steps to ensure that CNG remains a viable option against the price of coal. If not, people will rely on coal, whatever the environmental consequences.

The other major problem in Delhi is waste management. The CPCB’s annual report for waste management in 2021 revealed that Delhi had the highest per-capita waste generation (450 grams per day), while 263 tonnes of solid waste was generated daily, which is unaccounted for. This is because a lot of trash has been outsourced to private players and is not handled by municipal corporations.

Delhi’s waste-to-energy plants also need to be more efficient. For every tonne of burnt waste, 300 kg of trash is dumped in landfills. 

Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of the Centre for Science and Environment, says, “The states and Centre need to act on a massive scale and with rapid speed to fill some glaring gaps in policy. They must realise that transportation remains the biggest polluter in Delhi, much more than farmers’ fires. The 1.2 crore vehicles plying in the capital add to the traffic congestion on the streets. The government needs to follow a regional approach to resolve this issue, a Delhi-centric approach alone will not work.”

Medical experts say that all sections of society, including politicians, religious leaders and others, must join hands. As Dr Kumar has said, he tried to engage with spiritual figures so they could tell followers what steps to take to curb pollution. Sadly, he claims, he met with little success.

The government continues to be one of the biggest polluters in the NCR, given the number of building projects being undertaken by the Centre. Dust and smoke remain two of the biggest polluters, which can only be curbed if all non-essential construction stops immediately. 

Pollution is a deadly killer, and it is questionable how ‘slow’ it is in claiming victims, for India has had unacceptably poor air quality for well over a decade. Unfortunately, governments are blind to the consequences and the toll it has been taking on the country’s entire population.

The author is an independent journalist. The views are personal. 

 

Delhi: Air Quality Severe Again; PM 2.5 at 30 to 40 Times Healthy Limit set by WHO

PTI | 08 Nov 2023

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Smoke from post-harvest paddy straw burning in neighbouring states accounts for one-third of the air pollution in the national capital, say officials.

Representational Image. Image Courtesy: Flickr

New Delhi, Nov 8 (PTI) Air quality in Delhi and its suburbs dropped to the severe category again on Wednesday morning, with smoke from post-harvest paddy straw burning in neighbouring states accounting for one-third of the air pollution in the national capital.

The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 421, worsening from 395 at 4 p.m on Tuesday.

Despite a marginal dip, the concentration of PM2.5, fine particulate matter capable of penetrating deep into the respiratory system and triggering health problems, exceeded the government-prescribed safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre by seven to eight times in the capital.

It was 30 to 40 times the healthy limit of 15 micrograms per cubic metre set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Several cities across the Indo-Gangetic plains reported hazardous air quality. Neighbouring Ghaziabad (382), Gurugram (370), Noida (348), Greater Noida (474), and Faridabad (396) also reported hazardous air quality.

According to data from the Decision Support System, a numerical model-based framework capable of identifying sources of particulate matter pollution in Delhi, stubble burning in neighbouring states, especially Punjab and Haryana, accounted for 37% of the air pollution in Delhi on Tuesday. It is likely to be 33% on Wednesday.

The Delhi government on Monday announced the return of its flagship odd-even scheme after four years anticipating further deterioration of air quality post-Diwali.

The odd-even scheme, under which cars are allowed to operate on alternate days based on their odd or even number plates, will be implemented between November 13 and November 20. The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and Evidence for Policy Design had analysed the impact of the odd-even system in 2016 and found that Delhi saw a 14-16 per cent reduction in PM2.5 levels during the hours it remained in force in January that year. However, there was no reduction in pollution when the scheme was brought back in April that year.

To protect the health of school children, the government also decided to suspend in-person classes in all schools, except for students in grades X and XII preparing for board exams, until November 10.

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi-NCR, the region is likely to experience severe air quality for another five to six days.

Doctors say breathing in the polluted air of Delhi is equivalent to the harmful effects of smoking approximately 10 cigarettes a day.

Prolonged exposure to high levels of pollution can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and can dramatically raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, said Rajesh Chawla, senior consultant in pulmonology and critical care at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.

Stringent restrictions mandated under the final stage of the Central government's air pollution control plan for Delhi-NCR, called the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), have also been implemented in Delhi.

The restrictions under stage IV of GRAP, including a ban on all kinds of construction work and the entry of polluting trucks into the capital, took effect on Sunday after air quality in the capital dropped to severe plus (AQI above 450) levels.

GRAP categorises actions into four stages: Stage I - Poor (AQI 201-300); Stage II - Very Poor (AQI 301-400); Stage III - Severe (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV - Severe Plus (AQI above 450).

Unfavourable meteorological conditions, combined with vehicular emissions, paddy straw burning, firecrackers, and other local pollution sources, contribute to hazardous air quality levels in Delhi-NCR during the winter every year.

According to a Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) analysis, the capital experiences peak pollution from November 1 to November 15 when the number of stubble-burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana increases.

Air quality in Delhi-NCR declined over the last two weeks due to a gradual drop in temperatures, calm winds that trap pollution, and a surge in post-harvest paddy straw burning across Punjab and Haryana.

Delhi's air quality ranks among the worst in the world's capital cities.

A report by EPIC in August said that air pollution is shortening lives by almost 12 years in Delhi.