Page 5 - Pollution

GRAP III invoked, anti-smog guns deployed to fight against pollution

Invoking stage III of pollution control plan, deploying anti-smog guns and re-launching the 'Red light on, Gaadi off' campaign are among the measures taken by the Delhi government and other agencies with the city's air quality entering the 'severe' category, officials said. According to a Delhi government official, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stage 3 has been implemented in the national capital with a complete ban on construction or demolition activities. The Centre's pollution control panel invoked the GRAP III on Thursday, directing a halt on non-essential construction work, stone crushing and mining in Delhi-NCR. Under this stage, restrictions are also imposed on the operation of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar. The Delhi administration, which has stepped up measures to tackle the pollution menace, has deployed anti-smog guns in several places such as Anand Vihar, Kashmiri Gate ISBT, ITO, Pusa

BMC plans to set up office to seek hyper local data to tackle air pollution

Mumbai's civic body is in the process of setting up a command and control centre to collect data using sensor-based air quality index (AQI) monitoring devices, an official said on Thursday. The proposal is in the "pipeline", an official told PTI, adding devices will be installed in various areas of the metropolis for "hyper local" information. He, however, said no formal proposal has been prepared in connection with the initiative. A day earlier Mumbai guardian minister Deepak Kesarkar had told reporters six technologies, including vehicle-mounted air filters, have been identified for reducing air pollution in the city. As many as 350 buses of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) will be fitted with "vehicle-mounted filters" for "removal of impurities" from dust and other particles, Kesarkar had said while addressing a press conference. As per the latest data of the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR-India), the overall AQI in Mumbai was

Let the India party continue...

Among the movers and shakers in India's financial capital, there is a distinct sense of optimism about the future

Delhi's AQI remains 'very poor' for 3rd day, pollution turns 'severe'

The national capital's air quality remained 'very poor' for the third straight day as the pollution levels entered the 'severe' zone in parts of the city, weather data showed. The city saw a warm day on Monday with a maximum temperature of 33.5 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average, while the mercury settled at 16.2 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year, the India Meteorological Department said. The city's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 347 at 4 pm, worsening from 325 on Sunday, 304 on Saturday and 261 (poor) on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Rohini (406), Wazirpur (416), and Mundka (414) recorded their air quality in the 'severe' zone (AQI above 400). The AQI was 272 in neighbouring Ghaziabad, 300 in Faridabad, 203 in Gurugram, 303 in Noida and 336 in Greater Noida. The city's air quality deteriorated to 'very poor' on October 28 due to slow wind speed at night and a dip in the temperatures

Mumbai second most polluted major global city as air quality worsens

The AQI in Mumbai was 160 on October 23 as of 5 pm. Ahmedabad, too, recorded the same index value. Delhi was further behind with an index value of 135

CPCB fines IOC, BPCL for not installing pollution control devices

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has fined state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) for not installing pollution control devices at their petrol pumps. IOC has been fined Rs 1 crore and BPCL Rs 2 crore, the two firms said in separate stock exchange filings. "The company has received a direction from CPCB to pay compensation of Rs 1 crore for non-installation of Vapour Recovery Systems (VRS) at retail outlets in National Capital Region (NCR)," IOC said adding the fine was for not installing VRS at petrol refuelling stations within the timeline prescribed by the Supreme Court. When a vehicle is refilled at a fuel station, petrol vapour tends to dissipate into the atmosphere. The vapour contains cancer-causing substances like benzene, toluene and xylene. Petrol pumps were in 2016 ordered to install VRS at fuel stations to prevent petrol vapours from escaping. "There is no impact on the operation and other activities of the company. ...

Yamuna cleaning far from satisfactory: NGT on report filed by agencies

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has observed the cleaning of Yamuna is far from satisfactory. The NGT also observed that the reports filed by agencies, including the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the Delhi government and others, were deficient on various issues, including not providing the details of the drains being discharged in the river, monitoring the functioning of the sewage treatment plants (STPs) and restoration of the river's floodplains and wetlands. A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted that based on the tribunal's earlier directions, the Delhi government, DJB, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Haryana had filed status reports about the river. The bench, also comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel, said the reports were deficient on various issues, including details of the drains discharging both treated and untreated wastewater in the river and the quantity and quality of the discharged wastewater. Also, there was n

Air quality likely to turn 'very poor', Govt invokes Grap Stage 2 measures

Amid a likely increase in pollution levels, the Centre's air quality panel on Saturday directed authorities in the National Capital Region to increase parking fees to discourage private transport and enhance CNG or electric bus and metro services. The action comes as part of 'Stage II' of the central government's pollution control plan known as the 'Graded Response Action Plan' (GRAP), which is implemented in the Delhi-NCR to combat air pollution during the winter season. At a meeting to review the air quality situation in the Delhi-NCR, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for proactively implementing GRAP, said forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) suggest Delhi's overall air quality is likely to dip and enter the 'very poor' category on October 23 and 24, owing to unfavourable meteorological and climatic conditions. Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) sto

Mumbai air quality deteriorates for second day, local trains delayed

Mumbai's air quality reported worse that Delhi's on Wednesday, following rise in temperatures

Carbon pricing challenges

India's piecemeal approach to carbon pricing, driven by emerging trade barriers, is not a long-term strategy

PM's Principal Secy chairs task force meeting on air quality in NCR

The Principal Secretary emphasised the need to shift to cleaner fuels and EVs and develop EV Charging facilities

Teams formed to improve air quality at 13 pollution hotspots in Delhi

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said the city government has formed interdepartmental teams to improve air quality at the 13 air pollution hotspots in the capital. The 13 identified hotspots are Narela, Bawana, Mundka, Wazirpur, Rohini, R K Puram, Okhla, Jahangirpuri, Anand Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Mayapuri, Dwarka. These hotspots were identified based on the annual average concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 in these areas. At a press conference, Rai said specific action plans have been developed to identify and mitigate local sources of air pollution, with the goal of achieving an immediate improvement in air quality. He said an inventory of pollution sources reveals that construction work, emissions from diesel vehicles, broken roads, and traffic congestion are the primary reasons for poor air quality at Anand Vihar. Rai said, "Interdepartmental teams have been established to address these issues. We will deploy 12 mobile anti-smog guns to control dust pollution in t

SC seeks report on steps being taken to control air pollution in Delhi-NCR

On Wednesday, Priyanka Kakkar, a spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the air quality in Delhi has been the best this year

Delhi's 'Green War Room' to combat air pollution begins operations

The Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday launched the 'Green war room' which is set up in Delhi to curb the persisting problem of air pollution in the city

Delhi 'Green War Room' to combat pollution will function from October 3

The Delhi government's control centre to monitor air pollution and redress complaints -- 'Green War Room' -- will start functioning round-the-clock from October 3, officials said on Monday. Launched in 2020, the Green War Room has state-of-the-art air quality monitoring equipment and a team of experts, including scientists and data analysts, which keeps an eye on all sources contributing to Delhi's air pollution and helps the city administration implement its action plan. Though the Green War Room functions round-the-year, the 24X7 monitoring will start Tuesday onwards, an official said. The Delhi government on Friday launched a 15-point action plan to mitigate air pollution in the capital during the winter season, with a strong emphasis on addressing dust pollution, vehicular emissions and the open burning of garbage. During a press conference, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that separate and specific action plans have been designed for each of the 13 air pollution hotsp

Gurdaspur district launches novel initiative to curb stubble burning

Stop stubble burning and get special treatment at government offices. The Gurdaspur district administration has come up with this novel idea to curb crop residue burning, one of the major reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution in the national capital region in October and November. Farmers who abstain from stubble burning will be recognised as environment protectors ('vatavaran de rakhe') and given appreciation certificates. By showing it, they can avoid queues at government offices. Not just farmers, villages which report zero stubble burning in the harvesting season will also get the 'vatavaran de rakhe' certificates and will be prioritised for any development project. The window for sowing wheat, a Rabi crop, is very short after paddy harvest. Hence, farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear the crop residue and prepare the sowing of the next crop. With about 31 lakh hectares of paddy sowing area, Punjab produces around 180 lakh to 200 lakh tonnes of paddy st

Pollution declined due to govt steps: Delhi CM announces winter action plan

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said pollution levels declined in the national capital due to government initiatives as he announced a 15-point winter action plan to curb pollution. The number of days witnessing severe pollution levels declined in the last eight years due to several initiatives of the city government, such as the introduction of electric buses and the EV Policy, closure of thermal power plants, 24X7 electricity and the tree transplantation programme, among others, he said at a press conference. Kejriwal also thanked the people of Delhi for their support in helping the government reduce pollution levels. Announcing the winter action plan, Kejriwal said the Pusa biodecomposer that prevents stubble burning will be sprayed on 5,000 hectares of farmland this year against 4,400 hectares last year. The Pusa biodecomposer, developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), is a microbial solution that can turn paddy straw into manure in 15-20 ..

Delhi implementing comprehensive strategy to tackle pollution: Centre

Delhi is implementing a comprehensive strategy to tackle air pollution with a focus on reducing dust pollution and emissions from transport and firecrackers, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Wednesday. Delhi currently boasts a fleet of 7,041 buses, including 4,088 Delhi Transport Corporation buses and 2,953 cluster buses. These include 456 e-buses and 94 mini electric buses. To bolster public transport and reduce individual vehicle emissions, the city plans to add 850 more buses by September 2023 and an additional 650 by March 2024, the Centre's air quality panel said. As of September 23, Delhi has 943 operational Pollution Under Control certification stations and a staggering 33.56 lakh PUC certificates have been issued. In a bid to promote eco-friendly mobility, Delhi has seen a surge in the registration of electric vehicles with more than 2.38 lakh EVs registered as of September 22, the CAQM said in a statement. The city currently has 3,100 charging ...

Emissions from Tata Steel's Dutch plant reduce life expectancy: Research

The Dutch government, which commissioned the research, said in a statement that living conditions around the plant - on the country's North Sea coast - have to be improved

Delhi govt to explore cloud seeding to check air pollution: Gopal Rai

In a bid to mitigate air pollution in the national capital during winter, the Delhi government is mulling over the use of cloud seeding technology to induce artificial rain, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday. Rai added that the government is preparing a separate action plan for each of the air pollution hotspots in the city. Rai's announcement came after his meeting with 24 environmental experts to discuss the 'Winter Action Plan' where scientists from IIT-Kanpur gave a presentation on inducing artificial rain in Delhi. At this meeting, suggestions were also taken from 24 members and researchers from the Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), and Environmental Defense Fund, among others. "The experts brainstormed ways to reduce vehicular pollution, dust pollution, biomass burning, and other kinds of pollution. Scientists from IIT-Kanpur gave a presentation on inducing artificial rain in Delhi and the costs involved.