New Delhi offers residents ₹1 lakh to scrap old cars for EVs to curb air pollution

New Delhi will give “₹1 lakh cash incentive” to car owners “willing to scrap their old vehicle for an E according to a new ‌policy to cut high levels of air pollution, Reuters reported. 

Delhi government finalised new electric vehicle policy with an outlay of 150 billion rupees ($1.59 billion) over four years to incentivise buyers of electric two-wheelers, cars and small trucks, as well as setting up EV chargers.

Government will offer about ₹1 lakh as scrapping incentive to those who trade in cars bought before April 1, 2020 for an EV, the report said. 

Those buying a battery EV priced at up to 3 million ‌rupees ⁠will be exempt from paying road tax and registration fees, which typically amount to 4%-10% of the car's price.

Buyers of electric scooters and motorbikes will get a cash incentive of 30,000 rupees in the policy's first year, reducing to 10,000 ⁠rupees by year three.

Delhi government will only register electric two-wheelers from April 1, 2028, forcing buyers to move away from gasoline and other powertrains. Delhi will also incentivise setting up ⁠32,000 EV charging points across Delhi.

How AI-based system is expected to make AQI forecast sharper in Delhi

To make air pollution forecasts sharper, IIT-Kanpur’s Airawat Research Foundation (ARF) has been building a system under a pilot initiative, The Indian Express reported.

The Decision Support System (DSS) — the current model used for identifying sources and air quality forecasts — suffers from several issues, including an ageing emissions database and accuracy that tails off outside the peak winter months, the newspaper said, adding that to fix these issues, IIT-K will help Delhi. Drawing on a constant stream of live pollution data, the new AI-based DSS will use artificial intelligence (AI) to spot the first signs of a worsening episode early, so that action can be taken before conditions worsen, sources said.   This marks a shift from the system that the Capital currently relies on, which produces a single forecast each day from a fixed scientific model. The new system, by contrast, continuously learns from patterns — studying the city’s AQI data from the past to anticipate how it will behave next, and improving its predictions in the long run, sources added

NGT asks department to take action against 'illegal' groundwater extraction by builders in Noida, Greater Noida

The National Green Tribunal has directed the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water Department to investigate allegations of illegal groundwater extraction by builders, industries, and individuals in Noida and Greater Noida, ET reported. Environmental activist Vikrant Tongad filed a petition after previous complaints to authorities yielded no action. The tribunal mandates ground verification and appropriate remedial and punitive measures if illegal borewells are found, with the process to be completed within three months

The appellants had written to the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) and other concerned authorities seeking action to prevent illegal groundwater extraction, but to no avail. The tribunal pointed out that, in the first instance, the applicant is required to make an appropriate complaint to the competent authority, which is the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water Department.

Court asked the authority will get the ground verification done and if any tube wells/ bore wells are found to be illegally operating, will take appropriate remedial and punitive action in accordance with law all within three

Five Americans die every hour from toxic vehicle emissions, study finds

At least five Americans die every hour due to exposure to toxic road vehicle pollution caused by vehicles running on petrol and diesel, a new study found, the Guardian reported. 

In 2024 alone, the study found, more 41,800 premature deaths in the US were attributable to road pollution.

The analysis from the non-profit research group International Council on Clean Transportation quantified the emissions from producing and consuming fuel for auto vehicles, using measurements collected via sensors by the group in partnership with the UK-based Fia Foundation. They then calculated the health impacts of that pollution using methods established by scholars.

The research also found that the US has more new pediatric asthma cases attributable to vehicle pollution annually than any other country. In 2024, US children accounted for one in 10 new pediatric asthma cases attributable to vehicle pollution globally.

By accelerating the transition to zero-emission vehicles, decision makers could significantly reduce these harmful effects, the authors say. In fact, they found that if the nation reaches 100% market share for electric cars, trucks and buses by 2040, it could avert more than 100,000 premature deaths and prevent more than 42,000 children from developing asthma by 2050, compared with the currently expected rate of adoption.

Appeals court rejects Trump EPA bid to abandon rule restricting deadly soot pollution

A US court rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to abandon a Biden-era rule that sets tough standards for deadly soot pollution.

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel is a setback for the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda and its repeated efforts to boost coal, a reliable but polluting energy source.

The decision for the District of Columbia circuit leaves intact, for now, a tighter standard set in 2024 on pollution from coal-fired power plants, factories and other industrial sources.

The ruling leaves in place an annual ⁠limit of 9 micrograms of fine particle pollution – often called soot – per cubic meter of air, down from 12 micrograms established more than a decade ago.

The EPA’s effort to walk away from the Biden-era rule came in response to a lawsuit by 25 Republican-led states and a host of business groups that attempted to block the 2024 rule in court.

The EPA under Biden had said the tighter limits would prevent more than 800,000 ‌cases ⁠of asthma symptoms, 2,000 hospital visits and 4,500 premature deaths.