Cleaning up Delhi's air requires "uncomfortable and inconvenient" decisions, and it cannot be achieved by being nice to everyone, particularly the affluent residents who significantly contribute to the problem, leading environmentalist Sunita Narain has said. In an interaction with PTI editors, Narain said although central and state governments have taken several steps to control air pollution in the national capital, including banning coal and introducing BSVI fuel, erratic weather patterns due to climate change and the inadequate speed of addressing the crisis continue to exacerbate the problem. Narain, the Director General of the Centre for Science and Environment, said the episodic burning of crop residue by farmers in winter is not the primary concern. Instead, the persistent and major sources of pollution within the city, including transport and industries, are more worrisome, she said. "My only request for the new government is to take some uncomfortable, inconvenient decisio
Delhi pollution news today: The AQI at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was recorded at 345 on Thursday at 7 AM and RK Puram saw an AQI of 360
Of this, around Rs 105 crore has already been released to Punjab, which records the highest incidents of stubble burning, while Rs 90 crore has been allocated for Haryana
Ground reports show much of the paddy is yet to be harvested in North India due to the delayed withdrawal of the southwest monsoon
In 2018, Narendra Modi's administration set out to tackle the problem by establishing a fund to help farmers get rid of rice paddy straw
The Centre must hold an "emergency" meeting of states neighbouring Delhi to devise a mechanism to deal with crop residue burning Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Sunday.
India is ranked at the top in emissions related to crop burning, accounting for 13 per cent of total global emissions for the 2015-2020 period, according to a new report
A latest data analysis has shown that compared to the previous three years, there has been an increase in emissions due to crop fires in 2019-2020 by 12.8 per cent
A market for paddy biomass is the only sustainable solution
Farm fires are likely to exacerbate this year
The government would earmark funds for the project that would make it attractive for farmers to sell their waste rather than burn it
Blaming farmers will not solve the problem. Stopping free power for irrigation and the transfer of the same subsidy to farmers in other forms alone will make a significant difference
The tribunal, however, said that it wanted to verify the statement and asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to file an affidavit within a week
Burning of crop residue needs a lasting solution
Delhi High Court has now asked the Punjab government to file a report on the steps being taken to halt this crop burning