By Nikunja Bihari Sahu
The national capital on Sunday woke up to a thick layer of smog, with air quality lingering in the ‘severe’ category.’ The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 462 in the morning. All 40 monitoring stations in Delhi showed ‘red’, meaning AQI in the ‘severe’ category. Several areas also reported low visibility conditions due to smog as people were found driving with headlights on. In light of this worst air quality of the season, the Centre invoked the toughest emergency measures under GRAP-4 in Delhi-NCR on 13 December.
Delhi battles chronic winter smog every year due to the accumulation of deadly pollutants in the air, mostly from coal-fired power plants outside the city, fumes from vehicles, construction activities, and open burning of rubbish. Low wind speed also plays a part as it traps the pollutants in the lower atmosphere, making them difficult to disperse.
One of the key contributors to the air pollution in winter is the smoke due to stubble burning by farmers in neighbouring states. Also, heavy fireworks during the festival of Diwali add to the woes and worsen the air quality. At this mark of air quality, the quantum of pollution has reached a critical level, and the air is highly unhealthy. Elderly individuals, in particular, can feel its immediate effects and are at risk in falling sick to various respiratory tract diseases like pneumonia, asthma and even lungs cancer. Even healthy people may show symptoms for short exposures.
As per a study car ried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO), among 1600 cities of the world, Delhi is one of the worst in terms of air pollution. Delhi’s population continues to grow unabated as thousands of migrants arrive in the city each year in search of better opportunities. Dust-generating construction sites, industrial emissions, as well as proliferation of coal-fired power plants contribute to the deterioration of air quality.
Car sales have also been soaring as nearly 10 million vehicles jostle for space on the roads of Delhi everyday. Thousands of diesel-guzzling trucks rumble across the capital every night, bringing in essential commodities from neighbouring states. As a long-term goal, Delhi must find ways to curb all the pollutant sources, point or non-point origins, so as to reverse the trend and allow its citizens to breathe clean air.
The writer is Education Officer, Regional Science Centre, Bhubaneswar.
