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India reaches record levels of dirty air … again

A mix of factors, including vehicular, agricultural and industrial emissions, dust and weather patterns, make Delhi the world’s most polluted capital. The levels are especially bad during periods of biomass burning for heat and burning of crop residues combined with meteorological factors such as low wind speed that traps the pollutants in the lower atmosphere. Delhi’s air quality has remained in the “very poor” category for several days, with areas such as Jahangirpuri in the “hazardous” category, with the season’s highest AQI at 566. This year’s October Air Quality Indexes are higher than the two previous years due to lack of rain and lack of effective mitigation measures. The air did not clear in November with levels after Diwali, breaching 900 on the morning of Monday 13th of November. In the India Gate area in the heart of the city, the AQI level stood at 999.

For a week starting on 13 November, Delhi will implement restrictions on vehicles. The ‘odd–even rule’ means that between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., only vehicles with number plates ending in odd numbers can drive on odd-numbered dates, and only those with number plates ending in even numbers can drive on even dates. But the effectiveness has been discussed as the often more polluting motorcycles are exempt from the rules, and people drive before 8 am and after 8 pm to avoid the ban. In 2021, the government installed a smog tower in Delhi’s main business district, intended to reduce pollution using air filters. But Vinayak Sinha, an atmospheric chemist is sceptic of their impact. “They shouldn’t be used at all,” he says. “Air filters work in confined spaces indoors, but “if you talk of the open atmosphere, there is no way that any smog tower in the world is actually able to clean it”, he says.

Karthik Ganesan, a policy researcher in New Delhi says that governments at all levels need to make clean air a priority the whole year — by, for example, improving public transport and waste collection, and ensuring that people have access to clean fuel for cooking and heating.

https://aqicn.org/city/delhi

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03517-1

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Main menu

India reaches record levels of dirty air … again

In this issue

Countries are not on track to achieve the 1.5°C target

Editorial: Canada not happy with EU Deforestation Regulation

Five key global 2030 targets aligned with 1.5°C

Crowdfunding and energy communities take centre stage

Green governance innovation curbs climate impact from public canteens

Car-free city improves health

Ban fossil industry funding in medical research

India reaches record levels of dirty air … again

Targeting two pollutants at a single stroke

2023 from the corals’ perspective: heatwaves and backlashes

Action to triple renewable power and double energy efficiency

The importance of Electricity Market Design trilogues and recommendations

Phasing out coal in the EU by 2030 at the latest

Northern forests and climate change project

Flora and fauna of the Siberian forest

Forests are especially valuable natural resources in Georgia

Publications

SINK OR SOURCE? Northern Forests at a crossroads

The role of northern forests in limiting warming to 1.5°C

Protecting Northern Forests crucial for biodiversity, the climate and indigenous rights

The 100 largest industry emitters in EU-27

Road to Nowhere

Bioenergy CCS – too little, too expensive, and not net negative

Direct air carbon capture and storage - A waste of time and energy

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What we do

Air pollution

Climate Change

Policy initiatives

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