Rare Summer Dust Pollution in Delhi Attributed to the Loss of Aravali Barrier to Mining and Destruction 

Amid the heatwaves the air quality index in Delhi has mostly hovered in the low- to mid-200s, even reaching 300 one morning -- levels the city routinely records in its smoke-choked winters but rarely in summer, which according to meteorological experts, is the result of destruction of the barrier provided by Aravalli ranges, the HT reported. The weather department attributed the Delhi dust to that lifted from the deserts and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan by the hot, dry winds blasting through northwest India .

The outlet says the spike in pollution brings back into focus the destruction of the Aravalli ranges, which for centuries acted as a natural barrier. Oriented almost precisely across the corridor through which northwesterly winds carry Thar dust toward the capital, the range’s function today has been dismantled, the report said.

Decades of mining, quarrying and encroachment — particularly acute in Alwar and Bharatpur districts, the precise geography through which this week’s dust plume travelled — have breached the ridgeline. The dust moves through unimpeded

Milk and Saree Submersion Ritual in Narmada: NGT Seeks Report From Centre State Pollution Bodies 

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) sought responses from the Central and state pollution control boards over a plea seeking action against pouring of 11,000 litres of milk and 210 sarees in the Narmada River during a religious event in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district, polluting the water body, ET reported. 

The plea against the Madhya Pradesh government led the court to order a probe into whether such religious rituals violate existing environmental guidelines or require fresh anti-pollution norms. About pollution caused by pouring milk into rivers, the green court noted that section 24 of the Water Act prohibits the discharge of polluting matter into streams and wells.

The tribunal further observed that pouring milk into the Narmada during rituals had become a matter of environmental and public concern requiring examination by pollution control authorities. The ritual took place at the culmination of a 21-day religious event in Satdev village in the Bherunda area on April 8. The court said that organic substances may increase Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), potentially affecting aquatic life.

The tribunal further observed that pouring milk into the Narmada during rituals had become a matter of environmental and public concern requiring examination by pollution control authorities.

Where Do Pollution Compensation Funds Go? Green Court Seeks Audit of Central and State Pollution Control Boards 

 The National Green Tribunal (NGT) bench directed the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, and other state pollution control boards across India, to disclose details of expenditure from environmental compensation funds received during the past three years, Bangalore Mirror reported. 

KSPCB had submitted a report to the NGT last week stating that the funds were being utilised as per norms, but it did not disclose details of their utilisation. “PCBs and PCCs are required to disclose full details of utilisation of environmental damage compensation funds for at least three years,” the NGT noted in its order passed on May 14.

The Tribunal also directed state pollution control boards, including KSPCB, to disclose the audit status of environmental compensation funds.

KSPCB affidavit to the green court said that it received a little over Rs 13.6 crore as environmental compensation during the last five years.

US: Trump to Ease Restrictions on Climate 'Super Pollutants'

US president Donald Trump announced an easing of restrictions on climate “super pollutants” used in air-conditioners and refrigerators, reported the New York Times. 

The newspaper added that the “administration framed it as an effort to lower grocery prices that are testing voters’ finances before November’s midterm elections”. 

The outlet said, Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, joined Trump at the White House to “announce the relaxation of requirements for grocery stores, air-conditioning companies, semiconductor plants and others to reduce production and use of the chemicals”, known as hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs.

Plastic Food and Drink Packaging ‘World’s Most Common Coastal Litter’

Plastic food boxes, bottles, lids and caps are the most common items of litter found on the world’s coasts, a study found, reported the Guardian, adding that the study looked at data from more than 5,300 surveys of coastal litter to produce the first global analysis of its kind. They found the data in 355 existing studies on the subject.

Richard Thompson, the founder of the University of Plymouth’s international marine litter research unit told the outlet :”Even in countries with fairly advanced waste management, those are the dominant items on the shoreline.” He said the fact those items turned up so consistently along coastlines across all seven continents had taken him aback.

The study also noted that a ban on plastic bags did not necessarily mean a country had less of such waste – poor policy enforcement or other countries exporting their waste was suggested as a reason for this.

The study did not include microplastics or unidentifiable plastics, but the authors noted these tended to originate from larger identifiable litter.