Byrnihat in Meghalaya, Begusarai in Bihar more polluted than Delhi

Byrnihat in Meghalaya remained the most polluted town all of 2023 and most of 2024, more polluted than Delhi and any other city in the plains, reported TOI.

Clusters of small industries are choking Byrnihat, the report said, adding that spread across the Meghalaya-Assam border, the town is an industrial area, home to clusters of small-scale units producing ferroalloys, tyres and tubes, cement and polythene items. The close proximity in which these industries operate results in Byrnihat’s noxious pollution levels, the outlet said.

“Since it’s on the border of two states, it witnesses huge interstate truck movement. As a result, the emission levels are high,” Sunil Dahiya, analyst at Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) told TOI. Byrnihat is also representative of India’s under-studied and under-attended air pollution problem in cities beyond Delhi, especially tiers II and III. In the 2023 overall pollution index, Delhi, in fact, was at eighth spot. Begusarai in Bihar was second after Byrnihat. Other places more polluted than the Capital in 2023, were all small cities, and among them, only Greater Noida is in the NCR. For Byrnihat, the trend has continued into 2024, with the northeast town consistently ranking number one, the TOI report noted.

Ahead of winter pollution, revised graded action plan to be on from October 1

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) updated the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on September 17, 2024. The plan was first notified in January 2017 for Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas, reported DTE.

The outlet noted that initially, focus of the GRAP implementation was based on PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations. Now it has been based on the city’s air quality index (AQI) levels, which are calculated based on the eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ground-level ozone, ammonia and lead).

The report pointed out that the severity of pollution for implementation of GRAP has been categorised into four stages, based on Delhi’s AQI levels: Stage I — ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II — ‘Very Poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III — ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV — ‘Severe+’ (AQI > 450). Each stage outlines specific actions that must be implemented to curb pollution levels. The outlet said earlier, the actions were implemented when the air quality was at a dangerous mark (Very Poor, Severe or Severe+) levels for three consecutive days. The new system developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research forecasts the pollution levels for the following three days, which helps the government to take pre-emptive actions. 

The new additions related to vehicular emissions include the Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management developed by IITM provides data on real-time source apportionment of PM2.5. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) analysed the DSS data showing that around half of Delhi’s particulate pollution during winter months come from vehicles.

PM2.5 pollution dipped slightly in India but remains top health threat: Study

India’s particulate pollution fell from 51.3 in 2021 to 41.4 μg/m³ in 2022, adding one year to the country’s average life expectancy, said the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) annual Air Quality Life Index 2024 report, which added that despite this decline, the annual average particulate pollution level in most areas exceeds WHO guidelines, reported Mongabay. 

The outlet reported that in districts home to cities covered by India’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), PM_2.5 concentrations declined by 19% on average, and in the districts not covered by the programme this stood at 16%. 

The report noted that the most significant drop in particulate pollution in 2022 occurred in the Purulia and Bankura districts of West Bengal and the Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, with pollution levels dropping by over 20 μg/m³ in each of these areas. However, South Asia continues to be the world’s most polluted region, the AQLI report said, adding that of the total life years lost globally to high pollution, South Asia accounts for 45%. Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan are among the most polluted countries in the world.

Mercedes Benz served notice from Maharashtra pollution board

German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz received a notice from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), accusing the company of violating environmental pollution rules, NDTV reported. 

The report said clarifiers and centrifuge units in the sewage treatment plant were not working and the company’s failure to comply with the requirement to install emission control devices for diesel engines was also the reason for the pollution control board action. 

“Sub-divisional officers of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board had inspected Mercedes Benz’s Chakan plant (100 acres, near Pune). Several pollution rules were found to be violated in it. Therefore, the company has been issued a notice and asked to respond within 15 days,” said Jagannath Salunkhe, the regional officer of the state pollution control board was quoted as saying in the report.

Stick to 27 point air pollution guidelines, Mumbai builders told ahead of winter 

Mumbai’s municipal corporation (BMC) directed builders to adhere to the 27-point guidelines for the mitigation of air pollution ahead of winter after air quality worsened in October 2023 and had remained in the moderate and poor category for some time thereafter, reported TOI. 

The newspaper reported that civic officials asked members of the construction industry to minutely check their activities and ensure that all measures are carried out, including the procurement of necessary paraphernalia for maintaining air quality around their sites.

The developers were also told to develop a green perspective in their projects and made aware of the heat spots in the city. The report explained that in 2019, 133 of 182 days were bad air quality days, while in 2023, the number of bad days increased to 162. The outlet pointed out that after the air quality declined in October 2023,  the government released the 27-point guidelines for the mitigation of air pollution. A large number of construction sites were inspected, stop-work notices and sealing action were carried out at construction and infrastructure project sites, including those of Metro contractors and various other government agencies. Besides, penalties were also imposed on construction sites. The civic body even washed city roads.

Incomplete biomass combustion, traffic fuel pollute Delhi the most: CPCB to green court

Incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuels, including those in traffic, contributed most to air pollution in the national capital, said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its reply to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), according to TOI.

The NGT had earlier sought the board’s reply regarding air pollution in Delhi from sources, such as incomplete combustion of various fuels, biomass burning, vehicular pollution, especially from old and poorly maintained vehicles and usage of coal.

The CPCB said it conducted a study, which attributed “incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuels, including traffic, as the dominant contributor to OP (oxidative potential of particulate material)”.OP reflects the health effects of exposure to airborne particulate material (PM), which is a mixture of solids, chemicals, liquids and aerosols.

The newspaper cited CPCB report noting that ammonium chloride, and organic aerosols from traffic exhaust, residential heating, and oxidation of unsaturated vapours from fossil fuels were the dominant PM sources inside Delhi. About incomplete burning of biomass such as crop stubble, the report said, “A scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for providing subsidy for purchase of crop residue management machinery and establishment of custom hiring centres in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and NCT of Delhi.”

It said the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had issued directions for co-firing of 5-10 per cent biomass with coal in thermal power plants located within 300 km of Delhi, and in captive power plants of industrial units located in NCR.

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