Contact Your Financial Adviser Money Making MC
28
October 2016
As Delhis air quality begins to
deteriorate with Diwali, new government data indicates that the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) governments restrictions on cars based on odd-even number plates-between
January 1-15, 2016, and April 15-30, 2016-did not improve the air quality in
the worlds 11th most polluted city. The Total Investment & Insurance
Solutions
The main reason the odd-even system
cannot check air pollution is because no more than 25 per cent of fine, toxic
particles are emitted by cars and trucks in winter, according to a 2016 Indian
Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) study, which was commissioned by the
Delhi government.
The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
The failure of the odd-even system
and the data were cited by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last week,
validating similar findings in January 2016 by IndiaSpend‘s network of
#Breathe air-quality sensors, which were disputed by the AAP government.
Three sources of Delhi air-quality
data now confirm that the odd-even system did not lower pollution levels: The
union government's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); the Delhi's
government's Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC); and IndiaSpend's #Breathe
network.
Particulate matter, or PM, is the
term for particles found in the air, including dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and
liquid droplets, classified according to diameter. Particles less than 2.5 µm
(micrometres) are called PM2.5, roughly 1/30th the average width of a human
hair. Particles between 2.5 to 10 µm in diameter are called PM10.
While pollution from vehicles
comprises a quarter of the air pollution in winter, as we said, it is less than
a tenth in summer -- pointing at sources other than private vehicles, according
to the IIT-K study. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
The implied consensus from
government-owned air quality devices, independent monitoring networks and IIT-K
data is that it is necessary to regulate other sources of pollution-not just in
but also around Delhi -- instead of just barring odd-numbered vehicles on
alternate days.
40 per cent of toxic particles from
road dust, 10 per cent from power plants
Vehicles rank second in PM 2.5
emissions and fourth in PM 10 emissions.
Aside from vehicles, smoke from
power plants burning coal and dispersing fly ash, dust from roads and fields
surrounding the city, smoke from non-LPG cooking and tandoors in Delhi
restaurants contribute to Delhi's worsening air quality, the IIT-K study found.
Air pollution from nitrogen oxides
-- mainly emitted by power plants, refineries and vehicles -- also worsened
over the odd-even periods, data from devices maintained by the CPCB and the
DPCC show.
The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
Road dust is the chief contributor
to PM 10 and PM 2.5 pollution, 56 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively. Power
plants contribute to 90 per cent of Delhi's SOx pollution and half the NOx
pollution.
The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
Vehicles occupy the main polluter
slot only as regards carbon monoxide in Delhi's air.
The intensity of polluting sources
varies according to season.
Secondary particles, such as oxides
of nitrogen and sulphur pollute the winter ambient air the most. Vehicles also
contribute to ambient air pollution in winter, lesser in summer.
Vehicles contribute only 6-9 per
cent of ambient air pollution from particulate matter in summer. Coal ash, fly
ash from power plants, soil and road dust-including the dust from construction
activities-affect the summer air the most. The Total Investment & Insurance
Solutions
During the monsoon -- which lasts
for roughly three months every year in Delhi -- the ambient air quality
improves because of high wind speeds and moisture, which gathers particles and
wipes the air clean.
When the monsoon recedes and the
October heat makes way for winter, ambient air is affected the most by SOx and
NOx (mostly from power plants and refineries), followed by vehicular
pollutants.
The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
Biomass burning -- which pertains to
post-monsoon burning of the crop residue -- takes place mostly in Punjab and
Haryana, but affects Delhi as the third most ambient air-polluting element, as
Indiaspend reported in January 2016. The Total Investment & Insurance
Solutions
As winter passes and summer sets in,
ash from burning of coal in power plants, dust from roads and construction
activity remain in the air for a longer time and become the worst air
pollutants.
Air pollution levels in Delhi rose
23 per cent during the second phase of the odd-even registration rule, from
April 15 to April 29, over the previous 14 days (April 1 to April 14),
IndiaSpend had reported on April 30, 2016.
Eight of the11 CPCB sensors showed
deterioration in PM concentration (air quality) during the odd-even period. The Total Investment
& Insurance Solutions
"On a fair analysis of the
report submitted by the DPCC, it is clear that the odd-even scheme have not led
to any substantial improvement in the ambient air quality of NCT, Delhi,"
the NGT order said.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
No comments:
Post a Comment