Air pollution: South Asia
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Delhiites may be exposed to the worst air pollution at night and early morning, indicates a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). CSE chose eight people and monitored their exposure to pollution for 24 hours using a portable device. It also found that situation in the Lutyens' zone, where the rich and the powerful reside, is no better despite the greenery and sparse traffic. | Delhiites may be exposed to the worst air pollution at night and early morning, indicates a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). CSE chose eight people and monitored their exposure to pollution for 24 hours using a portable device. It also found that situation in the Lutyens' zone, where the rich and the powerful reside, is no better despite the greenery and sparse traffic. | ||
The study found PM 2.5 (fine, respirable particulate) levels to be the highest at night and during hours when these people go for morning walk. In some cases, even indoor air quality was extremely poor. | The study found PM 2.5 (fine, respirable particulate) levels to be the highest at night and during hours when these people go for morning walk. In some cases, even indoor air quality was extremely poor. | ||
Revision as of 08:08, 18 December 2014
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
South Asia: 2014
The Air We Breathe
In May this year, a WHO report revealed that Delhi was the world's most polluted city. So which other cities suffer particularly bad smog?
It turns out India dominates the list, with more than half of the world's 20 most polluted cities.Including cities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, South Asia has a shocking 85% of them.
Not surprisingly, air pollution is the fifth largest killer in India, the cause of 6.2 lakh deaths last year.
The most polluted cities were determined by the annual mean of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns, considered the most harmful for health
Air pollution: the economic cost
‘Air pollution costing economy 3.75L cr a year’
Dipak Kumar Dash | TNN 2013/07/18
New Delhi: Outdoor air pollution in urban areas by itself claims 1.09 lakh lives of adults and 7,513 lives of children below 5 years, annually, says a latest report of World Bank. The study released on Wednesday revealed that the annual cost of environmental degradation in India is about Rs 3.75 lakh crores, which is equivalent to 5.7% of the country’s GDP.
The study commissioned by the central government has brought out how urban growth centres are choking and claims that outdoor and indoor air pollution have the maximum share of this annual burden on India’s economy. According to the estimates of the bank, outdoor air pollution accounts for 29% of this, followed by indoor air pollution (23%), cropland degradation (19%), water supply and sanitation (14%), pasture (11%) and forest degradation (4%).
The first national level economic assessment of environmental degradation in India focuses on particle pollution (PM10) from the burning of fossil fuels. This has serious health consequences, amounting up to 3% of India’s GDP and results in losses due to lack of access to clean water and sanitation, besides depletion of natural resources.
The Pollutants
EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE
Rukmini Shrinivasan | TIG
First the bad news: More than half of 130 Indian cities being monitored for air pollution are at critically polluted levels.
Now the good news: Air pollution in Indian cities has been proved to be reversible, with improvements in public transport or changing over to greener fuels, reducing pollution levels.
But, now the really bad news: With industries being relocated to the peripheries of cities, growing urbanization and poor scrutiny outside big cities, small towns are emerging as India’s pollution hotspots.
According to WHO estimates, roughly 0.1 million premature deaths annually can be attributed to air pollution. Exposure to air pollution causes both short-term and long-term health effects, from eye irritation and headaches to reduced lung capacity and lung cancer, with vehicular pollution being particularly harmful. The poor are the worst off, facing higher exposure and being unable to afford high healthcare costs. A 2005 World Bank report estimated that 13,000 lives and $1279 million were saved annually between 1993 and 2002 in five cities Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad — as a result of measures taken to improve air quality.
A look at data for 2008 recorded by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows that Indian cities are choked. Of the 130 cities monitored, 70 have hit levels defined as critical for the presence of PM10, tiny particles of less than 10 microns in size regarded as the most dangerous pollutant as they can go deep into the lungs. However, the top five cities are Ludhiana, Khanna (both in Punjab), Ghaziabad, Khurja and Firozabad (all in UP). Delhi, the city where judicial activism for cleaner air has led to the ejection of polluting industries, comes in at sixth place. The improvements in some major cities and the simultaneous emergence of several smaller towns as pollution hotspots shows that what we are seeing is national policy failure, says Anumita Roychowdhury, associate director of the CSE.
Northern India is far more polluted than the south, with Gobindgarh (Punjab), Kanpur (UP), Indore (MP) and Raipur (Chhattisgarh) rounding out the top-10 list. Some cities in south are showing rising PM10 trends — Hyderabad, Tuticorin, Bangalore and Coimbatore in particular. While particulate matter comes from a variety of sources, PM10 is largely from vehicles.
Eastern India, meanwhile, shows high levels of nitrogen dioxide which is fast emerging as a national challenge, according to the Centre for Science and Environment. In 1998, only five cities exceeded the national standards for presence of NO2. In 2008, 15 cities showed violations, most of them in eastern India: Howrah, Asansol, Durgapur and Kolkata have India’s highest NO2 levels. Increasing numbers of diesel cars, particularly in Delhi, is also a major cause of rising NO2 levels, according to the CSE.
The pollution control efforts in Indian cities show, however, that air pollution is not irreversible and this is not a lost battle. Public and judicial activism have resulted in eight cities — Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, and Sholapur being directly monitored by the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority under Supreme Court orders. Mumbai and Kolkata are under the scrutiny of their high courts. According to a CSE report, Ahmedabad has reduced its PM10 levels by nearly 50%, Solapur (Maharashtra) by 57% and Chennai, Pune and Kolkata have stopped its growth.
Pollution levels have stabilized to some extent in some of these cities, but in the absence of aggressive action, these gains are in danger of being reversed. In Delhi, for example, the significant gains made from decades of public activism have been reversed and PM10, NO2 and ozone levels are rising fast according to CPCB data.
At the heart of the matter lies the fact that the bulk of pollution in Indian cities is caused by cars, and despite changes to greener fuels and improvements in public transport, direct curbs on number of cars on roads seems to be inevitable to manage pollution. In Delhi alone, 1100 vehicles are being added to the city’s five million every day, with car ownership growing at 10% annually since 1995.
Public ridership, meanwhile, has dropped from 60% in 2000-1 to 43% in 2008. In addition to investing in public transport, restraints on car ownership and usage are unavoidable if pollution is to be brought down to acceptable levels, says Roychowdhury. SMOKE ALARM 70 ( cities in terms have of hit PM ‘critical 10 presence ’ levels )
The top five polluted cities are Ludhiana, Khanna (both in Punjab), Ghaziabad, Khurja and Firozabad. Delhi is at number six
Northern India is far more polluted than the south, with Gobindgarh (Punjab), Kanpur (UP), Indore (MP) and Raipur (Chhattisgarh) rounding out the top-10 list
Some cities in south showing rising PM10 trends — Hyderabad, Tuticorin, Bangalore and Coimbatore
Eastern India shows high levels of nitrogen dioxide. Asansol, Durgapur and Kolkata, all in West Bengal, have India’s highest NO2 levels
Ahmedabad has reduced its PM10 levels by nearly 50%, Solapur (Maharashtra) by 57% and Chennai, Pune and Kolkata have stopped its growth
PM10 are tiny particles of less than 10 microns in size regarded as the most dangerous pollutant as they can go deep into the lungs
While particulate matter comes from a variety of sources, PM10 comes largely from vehicles Increasing numbers of diesel cars is a major cause of rising NO2 levels
Indoor air pollution is mainly due to burning of wood in rural India.
PM10 stands for particulate matter up to 10 micrometers in size and include smoke, dirt and dust from factories, construction sites, farming and roads. Annually, over 3.7 lakh hospital admissions are reported due to outdoor air pollution in urban areas.
According to the report, India can make green growth a reality by putting in place strategies to reduce environmental degradation at the minimal cost of.02% to .04% of average annual GDP growth rate.
Health threat in cities
Air pollution back as big health threat in city
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
The Times of India, Sep 1, 2011
New Delhi: Ten years after the city’s public transport switched to CNG, air pollution has again become a major threat to public health in Delhi, say environmentalists. With 69 lakh vehicles plying on city roads, a growth of about 60 lakh in 20 years, experts say oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) are now at critically high levels.
NOx and PM are known to cause cancer and asthma. Medical experts say signs of deteriorating health are already manifest. The Delhi cancer registry maintained by AIIMS shows a 2-3% rise in lung cancer cases every year.
Dr Vinod Raina, a cancer specialist at AIIMS says till some years ago, 14-15 lung cancer cases were reported for every 1 lakh cancer patients. “Of late, we have been getting about 13,000 new cases of cancer each year, of which 10% come in with lung cancer. And, 30% of lung cancer patients have nothing to do with smoking,” he said.
The Centre for Science and Environment says vehicular pollution has returned as a big threat in Delhi. “About 55% of Delhiites stay within a 500m distance from main roads where vehicular pollution is at an all-time high. After public transport was converted to CNG, pollution has become invisible but is still on the rise,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, associate director, CSE.
In the 1990s, when the issue of air pollution was first raised, only particulate matter was being monitored. Now there is also a red alert on NOx and PM. AIIMS has been tracking hospital admissions and has found that they have been rising in winter months when pollution levels rise,” Roychowdhury said.
Delhi: Breath Of Foul Air
Delhi cancer registry at AIIMS shows 2-3% rise in lung cancer cases every year. 30% of these patients don’t smoke 55% of Delhiites stay within 500m from main roads, where vehicular pollution is at all-time high Commuters travelling in AC vehicles suffer 35-55% less pollution as compared to those in autos Environmentalists say levels of NOx and particulate matter in Delhi’s air now a major threat to public health AC cars may keep you fit.
New Delhi: Air pollution is posing serious health hazards for the people of the national capital.
Researchers from Berkeley University carried out a survey in Delhi between February and May 2010 to analyse the impact of pollution on those using public transport.
The study – Concentration of fine, ultrafine and black carbon particles in autorickshaws in New Delhi, India – published in Atmospheric Environment, says those travelling in autos and cars with windows rolled down are exposed to 1.5 times more PM 2.5 concentrations than the ambient air. Exposure to ultrafine particles are 8.5 times higher. Joshua Apte, who headed the research, said those travelling in air-conditioned vehicles suffered 35-55% less pollution as compared to those in autos.
Delhi: air pollution
Delhi has the worst air pollution in the world: WHO PTI | May 7, 2014
NEW DELHI: Delhi is the most polluted city in the world when it comes to air quality, according to a WHO study released today.
The 2014 version of the Ambient Air Pollution (AAP) database contains results of outdoor air pollution monitoring from almost 1600 cities in 91 countries.
India's national capital has the highest concentration of PM2.5 — particulate matters less than 2.5 microns— form of air pollution, which is considered most serious.
This form of concentration consists of tiny particles that put people at additional risk of respiratory diseases and other health problems, the World Health Organization said.
The situation is so bad in Delhi that its air has PM2.5 concentrations of 153 micrograms and PM10 concentrations of 286 micrograms — much more than the permissible limits.
In comparison, Beijing, which was once considered one of the most polluted cities, has PM2.5 concentration of 56 micrograms and PM10 concentration of 121 micro grammes.
Air quality is represented by annual mean concentration of fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5, particles smaller than 10 or 2.5 microns).
The database covers the period from 2008 to 2013, with the majority of values for the years 2011 and 2012.
"Many factors contribute to this increase, including reliance on fossil fuels such as coal fired power plants, dependence on private transport motor vehicles, inefficient use of energy in buildings, and the use of biomass for cooking and heating," WHO said.
Air pollution at public places: Delhi
Jayashree Nandi, Dec 11 2014 The air in which one breathes through the day may be far worse than what the government's pollution monitoring. Because we often spend long hours near emission sources--on footpaths, along heavily congested roads, in an auto rickshaw in peak traffic and even in parks during morning walks. To assess what our real exposure may be like, TOI, in association with Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), spent a day monitoring hourly PM 2.5 (fine, respirable particles) on CSE's portable air quality monitoring device in front of schools, hospitals, shopping areas and traffic cop booths.
The idea was to understand what kind of air pollution levels children on their way to schools or patients outside hospitals may be exposed to. The hourly PM 2.5 averages logged at these locations were compared with the ambient air quality monitored by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC)'s monitoring stations near the locations.
The results were very disturbing -outside Mother's International School on Aurobindo Marg, for instance, the average for 8 am to 9 am was 718 micrograms per cubic metre! While there is no official safe standard for an hourly average, the 24-hour average for PM 2.5 in India is about 60 micrograms per cubic metre. The machine-TSI DustTrak DRX Aerosol Monitor 8533 showed peaks up to 800 micrograms per cubic metre, about 13 times the daily standard. During the same period, DPCC's RK Puram monitoring station recorded an hourly average of just 325 micrograms per cubic metre.
Inside All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) campus, between 9.10 am and 10.10 am, the hourly average was 493 micrograms per cubic metre. Considering that patients with low immunity go to the hospital, they may be exposing themselves to more complications in such conditions.
As it got warmer and sunnier, PM 2.5 concentrations started plunging. At RK Puram, in front of Delhi Public School, the hourly average was 248 micrograms per cubic metre and later at Saket, in front of a shopping mall, the concentration was about 178 micrograms per cubic metre.
The exercise of monitoring exposure levels through the day also revealed the diurnal variation in pollution levels with air quality improving considerably in the afternoon (1 pm to 4 pm), especially if it is sunny and warm. The air quality started declining once again after 4.30 pm. This exercise also revealed that areas with a smooth but less vehicular traffic can have relatively much better air quality . In front of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, for instance, traffic flowed smoothly . Here, the PM 2.5 concentrations ranged between 100 and 180 micrograms per cubic metre, far lower than other locations.
Government pollution monitoring agencies have claimed that such exposure monitoring may be “unscientific“ as such devices are mainly meant for “industrial“ projects and that there is no official standard for hourly readings. “Both pieces of information are valuable. The legal standard is indeed based on daily average concentrations measured at a fixed location. As our research demonstrates, air pollution levels in Delhi vary substantially with time and place, depending on where one is. In many locales, like in traffic, particulate matter levels are much higher than what official monitors indicate,“ said Joshua Apte of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , who has done similar research in Delhi.
Air quality is worst at night and early morning: Delhi
Delhiites may be exposed to the worst air pollution at night and early morning, indicates a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). CSE chose eight people and monitored their exposure to pollution for 24 hours using a portable device. It also found that situation in the Lutyens' zone, where the rich and the powerful reside, is no better despite the greenery and sparse traffic. The study found PM 2.5 (fine, respirable particulate) levels to be the highest at night and during hours when these people go for morning walk. In some cases, even indoor air quality was extremely poor.
The study involved monitoring the personal exposure of Bhure Lal, chairperson, Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), a resident of Lodhi Estate, Harish Salve, senior Supreme Court advocate who lives in Vasant Vihar, Ashok B Lall, architect and resident of Civil Lines, Randeep Guleria, head of pulmonary medicine department at AIIMS, William Bissel, head of Fabindia and resident of Hauz Khas enclave.The group also had people who suffer from asthma--Bharati Chaturvedi who lives in Ravindra Nagar in central Delhi, head of Chintan, Kaushik Das Gupta, a journalist and Avikal Somvanshi, a research professional and cyclist.
The 24-hour average exposure of each individual was compared with the readings of the nearest monitoring station of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) which revealed that the real exposure levels were much higher than the official figures. Lal who lives in Lodhi Estate was monitored on November 12 to 13.
Asthmatics are already facing a tough winter. “I was having breathing problems.Doctors recently told me I am borderline asthmatic and may get better if I am in a city with lower pollution levels,“ he said. Sunita Narain, director general of CSE, said she had stopped going for morning walks.
“Our data shows that for a couple of years after introducing CNG the pollution levels had stabilized, but they started to rise steeply with the increase in the number of vehicles. Our soft options are over, we need tough measures now,” Narain said.
Pollution and Old Vehicles
Rumu Banerjee & Jayashree Nandi, Dec 06 2014
For the owners, old vehicles are still gold.
Some Don't Want To Give Them Up For Old Times' Sake whereas others can't afford to buy again.
The government says old vehicles are not good for the environment. Even if they are properly maintained, they cannot comply with current emission norms. A research paper published in Energy Policy journal by air pollution and transport experts Sarath Guttikunda and Dinesh Mohan states, “The share of emissions from older vehicles, especially among light and heavy duty vehicles, is significant. ... We estimate that at least 30% to 50% of the total road emissions originate from vehicles older than 10 years”.
