Delhi Air pollution Causes of Air pollution Steps taken to curb air pollution

1. Delhi air pollution and its control
measures
Dr Aninda Debnath
Centre for Community Medicine
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi

2. Ambient air
(outdoor)
pollution
Indoor
Air pollution
Air pollution
“Air pollutant” - Any solid,
liquid or gaseous substance
present in the atmosphere in
such concentration as may be
or tend to be injurious to
human beings or other living
creatures or plants or
property or environment
“Air pollution” - The
presence in the atmosphere of
any air pollutant
Ref - THE AIR (PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF POLLUTION) ACT, 1981

3. Dr Aninda Debnath
Type of air
pollutants
Primary air pollutants: Emitted
directly from any emission source
in the atmosphere
• Sulphur dioxide (SO2),carbon monoxide
(CO), lead (Pb), ammonia (NH3),et
Secondary air pollutants: Formed
by the reactions between primary
air pollutants and normal
atmospheric constituents
• ozone, peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) etc

4. Dr Aninda Debnath
• Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen
Dioxide(NOX), Ozone(O3), Carbon
Monoxide(CO),etc.
Gaseous air pollutants:
Pollutants which are in the
form of gas
• PM10: less than 10 μm in diameter.
• PM2.5: less than 2.5 μm in
diameter.
• PM1.0: less than 1 μm in diameter.
Particulate air pollutants:
Microscopic solid or liquid
matter suspended in the
earth’s atmosphere. There
are various subtypes of
particulate matter:

5. Dr Aninda Debnath

6. Dr Aninda Debnath
WHO Air quality guidelines - 2005
Pollutant Limit Source Health Effect
Fine particulate
matter (PM2.5)
10 μg/m3 annual mean
25 μg/m3 24-hour mean
household combustion of polluting fuels
on open fires or traditional stoves for
cooking, heating and lighting
o acute lower respiratory infections
o cardiovascular disease
o chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease
o lung cancer
Coarse particulate
matter (PM10)
20 μg/m3 annual mean
50 μg/m3 24-hour mean
Ozone (O3) at the
ground level
100 μg/m3
8-hour mean
Reaction with sunlight (photochemical
reaction) of pollutants such as nitrogen
oxides (NOx) from vehicle and industry
emissions and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) emitted by vehicles,
solvents and industry
o Damages cell lining of Respiratory
system
o breathing problems
o trigger asthma
o reduce lung function and cause
lung diseases

7. Dr Aninda Debnath
WHO Air quality guidelines - 2005
Pollutant Limit Source Health Effect
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
- form an important
fraction of PM2.5,
40 μg/m3 annual mean
200 μg/m3 1-hour mean
o combustion processes (heating,
power generation, and engines in
vehicles and ships)
o Formed by oxidation of NO
o symptoms of bronchitis in asthmatic children increase
o Reduced lung function growth
o Precursor of ozone formation
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
- colourless gas with a
sharp odour
20 μg/m3 24-hour mean
500 μg/m3 10-minute mean
o burning of fossil fuels (coal and
oil)
o smelting of mineral ores that
contain sulfur
o Inflammation of the respiratory tract causes coughing, mucus
secretion,
o aggravation of asthma
o chronic bronchitis
o makes people more prone to infections of the respiratory tract
o causes irritation of the eyes
o Hospital admissions for cardiac disease and mortality increase
on days with higher SO2 levels
o SO2 combines with water, it forms sulfuric acid = acid rain

8. How Air Pollution affects our
health ?

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Possible mechanistic effects of air pollution on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality
Newby DE, Mannucci PM, Tell GS, Baccarelli AA, Brook RD, Donaldson K, Forastiere F, Franchini M, Franco OH, Graham I, Hoek G. Expert position paper on air pollution and
cardiovascular disease. European heart journal. 2015 Jan 7;36(2):83-93.

10. Dr Aninda Debnath
PM2.5 in the pathogenesis of lung cancer
Li R, Zhou R, Zhang J. Function of PM2. 5 in the pathogenesis of lung cancer and chronic airway inflammatory diseases. Oncology letters. 2018 May 1;15(5):7506-14.

11. Dr Aninda Debnath
Proposed relationship between air pollution exposure and interstitial lung disease (ILD)
Johannson KA, Balmes JR, Collard HR. Air pollution exposure: a novel environmental risk factor for interstitial lung disease?. Chest.
2015 Apr 1;147(4):1161-7.

12. Dr Aninda Debnath
Reason for Delhi Air Pollution
Vehicular pollution
As per the Economic Survey of
Delhi 2016-17,
The total number of motor vehicles
= 97.05 lakh (9.94% Increase),
Excessive usage of cars and motor
cycles are the pertinent causes for
rising vehicular pollution load.
This leads to rising NO2 as well as
particulate matter concentration.
Particulate matter (PM10 and
PM2.5) emanates especially from
the vehicular exhausts; particularly
diesel vehicles

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Industrial
Emission

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Stubble burning
The share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution can range from 1% to
42%, depending on wind speed and direction
Environment ministry report says the average contribution has grown
from 10% in 2019 to 15% in 2020.
Farmers burn stubble twice a year - in summer and at the onset of
winter. The first time they do it, the warm breeze disperses it quickly.
But the second time, in September or October, plummeting
temperatures and low wind speed spread the smoke far and wide.

15. Dr Aninda Debnath
Meteorological
issues
Delhi, being a land-locked territory, is unable to
dilute its emission using the moderating effects of
sea; the opportunity availed by other metropolitan
cities, such as Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.
Surrounded by the regions of varied climate
• In its west, there is Great Indian desert (Thar desert) of
Rajasthan
• In the north and east direction there are cool hilly regions.
• In its south, there are central hot plains.
Thus, Delhi is located in the subtropical belt with
extremely scorching summers, moderate rainfall,
and chilling winters.

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Delhi Winters
The winters are dominated by cold, dry air, and ground based inversion with low wind conditions
Which are responsible for increasing concentration of pollutants
High concentration of pollutants is trapped close to earth’s surface because a layer of warm air acts as a lid on
top of this layer
Moreover, dense smog formation during winter months has also been witnessed in Delhi, the reason of which
is vehicular pollution as well as the prevailing meteorological conditions in the months of December and
January.

17. Dr Aninda Debnath
Energy and
Resources Institute
(TERI) and the
Automotive
Research
Association of India
released a report in
2018
In one approach, the team collected particulate samples at
20 locations—9 in the city and 11 in neighboring states
(NCR)
During one winter and one summer in 2016–17.
They categorized their compositions into species like ions,
metals, and carbon compounds, and then used computer
simulations to trace them to sources like transportation
exhaust, power plant emissions, road dust, and diesel
generators.
The other approach involved starting with various sources of
particulates in the National Capital Region, as well as
pollutants transported from outside, and then using
meteorological and chemical modeling to simulate how they
would disperse and react.

18. Dr Aninda Debnath
Both
approaches
show
that,
• In the winter,
• Vehicles are responsible for about 30% of
Delhi’s PM2.5pollution.
• Industries, including power plants,
contribute about 30%
• Burning of biomass in kitchens and
agricultural fields results in 14–23%
• and dust kicked up by vehicles and from
the region’s unchecked construction boom
contributes another 17%.
• During the summer, the transportation sector’s
share of particulate pollution goes down
considerably while that of dust doubles.
https://www.teriin.org/sites/default/files/2018-08/Exec-summary.pdf

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National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP)
• Nationwide Programme for ambient air quality, Implemented by CPCB
• Network of 683 stations in 300 cities/town
• 4 air pollutants are monitored –SO2, NO2, PM10 and PM2.5
• Monitoring of meteorological parameters - wind speed and direction, relative
humidity and temperature was also integrated with the monitoring of air quality
• Monitoring of pollutants is carried out for 24 hours
• 4-hourly sampling for gaseous pollutants
• 8-hourly sampling for particulate matter
• frequency of twice a week (to have 104 observations in a year)
• Co-ordinates with for support and uniformity – State PCB, Pollution Control
Committees, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) –
Nagpur, other agencies
Central Pollution Control Board - http://cpcbenvis.nic.in/airpollution/monetoring.htm

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National Air
Quality Index
(AQI)
Launched in 2014 under “Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan” by
Environment Ministry – IIT-Kanpur (technical)
Transforms complex air quality data of various
pollutants into a single number (index value),
nomenclature and colour
composed of 8 pollutants - PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2,
CO, O3, NH3, and Pb
Minimum – 3 pollutants needed (One should be
PM10/ PM2.5) and 16 hours of data

21. Dr Aninda Debnath
AQI
• 6 category
• Based on the
measured
ambient
concentrations of
a pollutant, sub-
index is
calculated, which
is a linear function
of concentration

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Health Impact based on Air Quality Index (AQI)

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https://app.cpcbccr.com/AQI_India/

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System of Air
Quality and
Weather Fore
casting And R
esearch
(SAFAR)
Developed by Indian Institute of Tropical
Meteorology, Pune, along with ESSO partner
institutions namely India Meteorological
Department (IMD) and National Centre for
Medium Range Weather Forecasting
(NCMRWF)
Objective - To increase awareness among
general public regarding the air quality in their
city well in advance so that appropriate
mitigation measures and systematic action can
be taken up for betterment of air quality and
related health issues

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India Meteorological Department - Delhi

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Air Quality Monitoring Station - Lodhi Road
• Pollutants tested – PM10, PM 2.5, PM 1, NOX (NO+
NO2), CO, CO2, O3, Black Carbon, Benzene, Xylene,
Toulene
• Air sample enters through a pipe every 15
minutes(flow rate – 67.5 rpm) and is distributed into
different chambers to check for various pollutants
• monitored at about 3 m height
• Each chamber contains filter tape for trapping a
particular pollutant
• Mass of pollutant collected
• Air Quality Index value which is displayed at the
display screens at 29 locations in Delhi

28. Dr Aninda Debnath
IMD Delhi – Ozone Lab
• Ozonesonde - lightweight
balloon-borne instrument
with a meteorological
radiosonde; released once in
every 15 days for vertical
profile of Ozone
Dobson’s Manual Spectrophotometer
Ozonesonde

29. Dr Aninda Debnath
STEPS
Reduce AIR
POLLUTION
VEHICLES
•Regulations
•BS4- BS6 Switch
•Incentives on Electrical Vehicles
•Odd – even
•Light on – Engine off
Stubble burning
•Bio-decomposer for stubble buring
•Happy seeder
Factories
•Closer of the factories
Specific smog related actions
•Smog towers
•Anti Smog Guns
Fines
Other steps
•Increasing the carbon sink
•SAFAR and SAMEER app

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Vehicular
pollution
Control
Major source for - CO and oxides of nitrogen, Hydrocarbons, O3, PM
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas constituted committee on Auto
fuel Policy – Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
• Compulsory switch to CNG/LPG in highly polluted cities is being considered
• Use of ethanol (2-3%) blended petrol and biodiesel – for emission control
• Standards for quality of fuel – unleaded petrol, Sulphur reduction in diesel (10ppm),
Benzene reduction
• Checking adulteration of fuel
• Upgradation of 2 stroke engines to 4 strokes in two wheelers
• Improvement of public transport system
• Optimisation of traffic flow and improvement in traffic management
Emission standards for vehicles – Bharat stage
Phasing out of grossly polluting vehicles
Technology - high air fuel ratio (less CO and hydrocarbon) and
catalytic reactors (CO -> CO2 and nitrogen oxides to Nitrogen)

31. Dr Aninda Debnath
Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate
• As per the Central Motor Vehicles
Act, 1989, it is mandatory
Vehicle Prescribed
Std CO
Prescribed Std
hydrocarbon
2 and 3
wheeler
3.5 % 4500 PPM
4
wheelers
0.3% 200 PPM

32. Dr Aninda Debnath
Bharat stage
Emission
Standard
Reference
Year of
Introduction
India 2000 EURO 1 2000
Bharat Stage II
(BS2)
EURO 2 2005
Bharat Stage III
(BS3)
EURO 3 2010
Bharat Stage IV
(BS4)
EURO 4 2017
Bharat Stage V
(BS5)
EURO 5 To be skipped
Bharat Stage VI
(BS6)
EURO 6 2020
Fuel Type Pollutant Gases BS6 (BSVI) BS4 (BSIV)
Petrol
Passenger
Vehicle
Nitrogen Oxide
(NOx) Limit
<60mg> <80mg>
Particulate
Matter (PM)
Limit
<4.5mg/km -
Sulphur, total,
max
10 mg/kg 50 mg/kg
Diesel
Passenger
Vehicle
Nitrogen Oxide
(NOx) Limit
<80mg> <250mg>
Particulate
Matter (PM)
Limit
<4.5mg/km <25mg>
HC + NOx 170mg/km <300mg>
Sulphur, total,
max
10 mg/kg 50 mg/kg
Implementation by CPCB under Ministry
of Environment, Forest and Climate
change

33. Dr Aninda Debnath
EV Policy
Replacement of the existing auto rickshaws and State-run
buses with e-autos and e-buses respectively.
Increasing road tax for fuel-based vehicles.
It has a ‘scrapping incentive’ for those people who want to
make the switchThe government will also offer low-interest
rate loans to people interested in buying commercial EVs.
The policy also offers subsidies and road tax and registration
fee waivers, for EVs bought in the capital.
•At present, road tax ranges from 4% to 10% of the cost of the vehicle, while
the registration fee could cost up to Rs. 3,000.
•In addition, a subsidy of Rs. 5,000 per kWh of the battery capacity up to Rs.
30,000 will be given on the purchase of each EV.
•For the first 1,000 e-cars or electric four-wheelers, a subsidy of Rs. 10,000
per kWh will be given, capped at Rs. 1,50,000 per vehicle.

34. Dr Aninda Debnath
Odd -even
• China, France, Italy, Mexico already adopted it
• Reduction in road congestion
• Slight drop in pollution levels
• These restrictions on cars have been followed up with measures to
boost public transport, including more buses and increased frequency
of metros.

35. Dr Aninda Debnath
Red Light On,
Gaadi Off
It has been seen that we often do not switch off
our vehicle engines while waiting at traffic
signals. That is called idling.
The ‘’ campaign will aim to bring a behavioural
change in that regard. It will help reduce air
pollution
Around 10 million vehicles are registered in Delhi.
Even if one million of them actively follow the
campaign, experts suggest that it can reduce
PM10 emissions by 1.5 tonnes a year and PM2.5
emissions by 0.4 tonnes a year

36. Dr Aninda Debnath
Stubble burning
The Happy Seeder offers the
means of drilling wheat into rice
stubble without burning,
eliminating air pollution and loss
of nutrients and organic carbon
due to burning
Another potential game-changer, a
bio-decomposer developed and tested
by the PUSA Institute. The solution can
be sprayed on the fields after
harvesting to turn the hard stubble
and straw into manure. The solution
will be provided to the farmers of
Delhi and sprayed on their farmlands
by the Delhi government, without the
farmers having to bear the cost of the
same.

37. Dr Aninda Debnath
Closer of
factories
• Since thermal energy is one of the most
polluting sources of energy, the Delhi
government has also shut down two thermal
plants in the city and has also appealed to
the other states to shut down 11 thermal
power plants around Delhi which continue
to be one of the major causes of pollution.

38. Dr Aninda Debnath
Specific SMOG related action
• The towers are designed to suck in polluted air, which passes
through multiple layers of filters before being released back into
the environment.
• On 3 January, Delhi’s first smog tower came up at the Lajpat
Nagar Central Market.
• In November 2019, an expert panel estimated that Delhi will
need a total of 213 anti-smog towers to battle the pollution
crisis.
Smog towers
• Anti-smog guns have been deployed at large construction sites
amid rising pollution levels in the national capital.
• The anti-smog gun sprays nebulised water droplets into the air
through high-pressure propellers, which help dust particles
settle down
• Over 10 anti-smog guns have been installed for dust control.
Anti-smog guns

39. Dr Aninda Debnath
Fine
Fine of 20 lakhs for violating dust control norms (CPCB)
50 lakhs for not following dust pollution control norms as NCRTV construction sites (CPCB)
Construction sites and levy heavy fines if they are found to be violating anti-pollution
guidelines, which include such rules as covering trucks that carry construction material,
protective gear from workers, and a licence from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.

40. Dr Aninda Debnath
Other actions
Increasing carbon Sink
The tree transplantation policy of the Delhi government mandates 80% of the
trees affected by construction and development activities must be
transplanted, along with 80% out of them surviving after a year.
This is in addition to the mandatory requirement of planting 10 saplings in case
one tree is cut for construction purposes, which has helped increase the green
cover in Delhi.

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SAFAR and
SAMEER APP
Real time monitoring
of AQI Status
Forecasting
Public advisory

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GRAP
• GRAP has been successful in doing
two things that had not been done
before creating a step-by-step plan
for the entire Delhi-NCR region, and
getting on board several agencies: all
pollution control boards, industrial
area authorities, municipal
corporations, regional officials of the
India Meteorological Department,
and others

43. Dr Aninda Debnath

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Thank
You