Page 6 - Pollution

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.

Reports of extra 10% GST on diesel cars false, says Union Minister Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari said that it is essential to clarify that there is no such proposal currently under active consideration by the government

Intensity of heatwaves worsen air quality due to climate change: WMO

The 2023 WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin, the third in an annual series, puts the spotlight on heatwaves to draw attention to the fact that it is not just high temperatures that are a hazard

World losing race to meet climate change commitments: COP28 president

The summit, which opened on Monday, is focused on mobilising financing for Africa's response to climate change

Major wildfires burn in Greece, Spain's Canary Island of Tenerife

Major wildfires were burning in Greece and on one of Spain's Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa Monday, with hot, dry and windy conditions hampering the efforts of hundreds of firefighters battling the blazes, two of which have been burning for several days. European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017. In Greece, authorities ordered the evacuation of two villages in the central Viotia region, about 100 kilometres northwest of Athens, after a forest fire broke out Monday morning. The coast guard put two patrol boats and several fishing boats and private vessels on standby in case an evacuation by sea was necessary. Authorities said the body of a man was recovered from a sheep pen in the area under evacuation, with local media reporting the man apparently died of smoke inhalation while trying to save his ...

Oceans release microplastics waste back into atmosphere: Research

In order to reach the Arctic region, the researchers collected air samples from several points along the Norwegian coast

Particulate air pollution growing risk for premature death globally: Study

The total number of premature deaths and years of disability from cardiovascular diseases attributable to particle air pollution rose from 2.6 million in 1990 to 3.5 million in 2019, a 31 per cent worldwide increase, according to a study. The research, published on Wednesday in Journal of the American Heart Association, analysed particulate matter (PM) pollution as a risk factor for death and disability using freely available data from 204 countries collected between 1990 and 2019 and detailed in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. PM pollution consists of small particles of liquid and solids suspended in the air and inhaled into the lungs, such as vehicle emissions, smoke, dust, pollen and soot. Exposure to PM pollution was estimated using a tool from the 2019 update to the GBD study that incorporated information from satellite and ground-level monitoring, computer models of chemicals in the atmosphere and land-use data. The researchers from Tehran University of Medical ...

Kejriwal gives call to make fight against pollution into people's movement

CM mentioned the implementation of the 'Yuddh Pradushan Ke Virrudh' campaign, and efforts aimed at reducing pollution caused by stubble burning

World Environment Day 2023: A global call to action for sustainable future

Established by the United Nations in 1972, World Environment Day serves as a global platform to engage people and governments in environmental initiatives that promote sustainable development

33 teams to inspect Delhi industrial units to curb pollution: Gopal Rai

The Delhi government has constituted 33 teams to regularly inspect industrial units and bring pollution in the city under control, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday. He was speaking at a review meeting on industrial pollution with officers of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), environment department and Delhi Development Authority (DDA). "It has been decided to deploy 141 patrolling teams comprising 472 personnel during the day time and 108 patrolling teams comprising 397 personnel at night from three departments all over Delhi to monitor dumping of industrial waste. "As many as 1,721 registered industrial units in Delhi have switched to PNG," Rai said. The teams will oversee all industrial units in Delhi and implement immediate measures to curb pollution, he said. Periodic reports will be submitted to the environment department based on their findin

Long-term exposure to diesel pollution bad for health, suggest experts

Prolonged exposure to diesel pollution, which includes a complex mixture of pollutants, can have serious health effects on humans, said experts here even as the government contemplates a ban

NGT directs Rajasthan to pay Rs 100 cr interim compensation for pollution

The National Green Tribunal has directed Rajasthan to pay an interim compensation of Rs 100 crore for damage to the environment, including pollution of the Dravyavati river, caused allegedly by textile printing industries in the Jaipur district. The NGT also formed a 10-member joint committee to plan and oversee remedial action and said the compensation amount has to be utilised for restoration of the environment. The NGT was hearing two petitions claiming violation of environmental norms by the industries which adversely impacted the water quality of the river. A bench of chairperson Justice A K Goel noted a report by a panel constituted earlier and said it presented a dismal picture of the area. The industrial siting was faulty, most industries were located in the non-conforming areas and industrial effluents were being discharged into the Dravyavati River and Chandalai and Nevta dams. The bench, also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert members A Senthil

High on promise

Details of High Seas Treaty will have to be worked out

High-end sound meters to be installed in different parts of Bengal

In order to detect location-specific levels of sound pollution, West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) has now decided to set up high-end sound meters in different corners of the state

Arvind Kejriwal launches mechanism to track realtime pollution sources

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday launched a study to gather realtime information on sources of pollution and help the government launch a targeted response. He said the reason for pollution changes on an hourly basis and until "we calculate the source of the pollution on a realtime basis, we cannot have an effective policy on the issue". Kejriwal inaugurated the 'realtime source apportionment supersite' at Rouse Avenue here along with an air quality monitoring van. "Today launched one such van, but once this stabilises and the data from this van comes in, we will launch several other such vans that can provide us data from the different wards of Delhi. "We will also use these vans to study the source of pollution in hotspot areas and once the data comes in, it will tell us about the main source of pollution and then we will take action on the data. "There will be a super site on the second floor of this building, there will also be a mobile air quality monitoring sys