A PROJECT REPORT ON

DELHI’S AIR POLLUTION’S EFFECTS

Submitted by: SWAPNIL YAMGAR

Roll No.: M19130

MMS: MARKETING

BATCH: 2019-2021

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Prof. Pratik Shetty

SYDENHAM INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES,

RESEARCH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION

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 DELHI’S AIR POLLUTION’S EFFECT
This project report in the area of Marketing Specialization based on the in-depth study
of the project theme is submitted in March, 2021 to Sydenham Institute of
Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the two years Full Time Degree,
Master in Management Studies (MMS), affiliated to Mumbai University

Submitted by

Name: Swapnil Yamgar Roll No: M19130

Through
Name of the Guide: Prof. Pratik Shetty

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this project report on Social Relevance is entitled Delhi’s Air Pollution’s
Effect is submitted in March, 2021 to Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research
and Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE) by Mr. Swapnil Yamgar bearing Roll No.
M190130 (2019 - 2021) in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of two years Full
Time Degree, Masters in Management Studies (MMS) affiliated to Mumbai University.

This is a record of his own work carried out under my guidance. I am satisfied with the quality,
originality and depth of the work for the above qualification.

Place: Mumbai

Date:

(Signature of the Guide)

Prof. Pratik Shetty

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This report is a culmination of my efforts during fourth semester of Master of
Management Studies in Marketing Specialization at SIMSREE, Mumbai. This project
has been a great learning experience for me and I have been ably guided and supported
in my endeavor by many people.

I would like to extend my heart-felt gratitude to my guide for her constant support and
help during the course of the entire period. This project would not have been possible
without her guidance. I am grateful to her for her efforts in helping me to make this
project report, which I believe, has enhanced my knowledge by applying the skills on
the topic I had chosen.

I gratefully thank The Director, SIMSREE for giving me an opportunity to undertake

such a useful thesis. I am also thankful to the respectable faculty members at SIMSREE
for their teachings and thorough concept building in various managerial disciplines,
which helped a lot during the course of this project.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Over the past 30 years, researchers have unearthed a wide array of effects which are believed
to be associated with air pollution exposure. Among them are respiratory diseases (including
asthma and changes in lung function), cardiovascular diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes
(such as preterm birth), and even death.
Air Pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) has been in the public eye
since the mid-2010s. It was in 2015-16 that the various stakeholders
— media, civil society and citizen’s groups — started taking serious note of the poor air
quality in the region

Recently, the capital of India, Delhi earned the unenviable distinction of becoming the most
polluted city on Earth this month, as air quality has reached epically bad proportions.
On November 8, pollution surged so high that some monitoring stations reported an Air
Quality Index of 999, way above the upper limit of the worst category, Hazardous.

Urgent actions are required to help reduce air pollution in Delhi, one of the most polluted cities
in the world, and restore various air parameters to levels safe for the health of its citizens and
visitors

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 INDEX

Sr. Page
Topic
No. No.

1 Introduction to Air Pollution 6

2 Air Quality Index 12

3 Air Pollution in Delhi 16

a) History 16

b) Current Scnario 22

4 Effects of air pollution in Delhi 25

5 Suggested Solutions 26

6 Findings and Recommendation 29

7 Bibliography 30

8 Student Data Profile 31

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INTRODUCTION TO AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution is a mixture of natural and man-made substances in the air we

breathe. It is typically separated into two categories: outdoor air pollution and
indoor air pollution.

Outdoor air pollution involves exposures that take place outside of the built
environment. Examples include:

 Fine particles produced by the burning of fossil fuels (i.e. the coal and
petroleum used in energy production)
 Noxious gases (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide,
chemical vapors, etc.)
 Ground-level ozone (a reactive form of oxygen and a primary component
of urban smog)
 Tobacco Smoke

Indoor air pollution involves exposures to particulates, carbon oxides, and

other pollutants carried by indoor air or dust. Examples include:

 Gases (carbon monoxide, radon, etc.)

 Household products and chemicals
 Building materials (asbestos, formaldehyde, lead, etc.)
 Outdoor indoor allergens (cockroach and mouse dropping, etc.)
 Tobacco smoke
 Mold and pollen

In some instances, outdoor air pollution can make its way indoors by way of
open windows, doors, ventilation, etc.

Air pollution can further be classified into two sections- visible air pollution and
invisible air pollution. Another way of looking at air pollution could be any
substance that holds the potential to hinder the atmosphere or the well being of
the living beings surviving in it. The sustainment of all things living is due to a
combination of gases that collectively form the atmosphere; the imbalance
caused by the increase or decrease in the percentage of these gases can be
harmful to survival.

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Types of Pollutants

In order to understand the causes of Air pollution, several divisions can be

made.

Primarily air pollutants can be caused by primary sources or secondary

sources. The pollutants that are a direct result of the process can be
called primary pollutants. A classic example of a primary pollutant would be the
sulfur-dioxide emitted from factories

Secondary pollutants are the ones that are caused by the intermingling and
reactions of primary pollutants. Smog created by the interactions of several
primary pollutants is known to be as a secondary pollutant.

Various Causes of Air pollution

1. The burning of fossil fuels

Sulfur dioxide emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum
and other factory combustibles are one the major cause of air pollution.
Pollution emitting from vehicles including trucks, jeeps, cars, trains, airplanes
cause an immense amount of pollution. We rely on them to fulfill our daily
basic needs of transportation.

But, their overuse is killing our environment as dangerous gases are polluting
the environment. Carbon Monoxide caused by improper or incomplete
combustion and generally emitted from vehicles is another major pollutant
along with Nitrogen Oxides, that is produced from both natural and man-made
processes.

2. Agricultural activities

Ammonia is a very common byproduct from agriculture-related activities and is

one of the most hazardous gases in the atmosphere. Use of insecticides,
pesticides, and fertilizers in agricultural activities has grown quite a lot. They
emit harmful chemicals into the air and can also cause water pollution.

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3. Exhaust from factories and industries

Manufacturing industries release a large amount of carbon monoxide,

hydrocarbons, organic compounds, and chemicals into the air thereby depleting
the quality of air. Manufacturing industries can be found at every corner of the
earth and there is no area that has not been affected by it. Petroleum refineries
also release hydrocarbons and various other chemicals that pollute the air and
also cause land pollution.

4. Mining operations

Mining is a process wherein minerals below the earth are extracted using large
equipment. During the process dust and chemicals are released in the air
causing massive air pollution. This is one of the reasons which is responsible for
the deteriorating health conditions of workers and nearby residents.

5. Indoor air pollution

Household cleaning products, painting supplies emit toxic chemicals in the air
and cause air pollution. Have you ever noticed that once you paint the walls of
your house, it creates some sort of smell which makes it literally impossible for
you to breathe?

Suspended particulate matter popular by its acronym SPM, is another cause of

pollution. Referring to the particles afloat in the air, SPM is usually caused by
dust, combustion, etc.

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Disastrous Effects of Air pollution

Over the past 30 years, researchers have unearthed a wide array of effects which
are believed to be associated with air pollution exposure. Among them are
respiratory diseases (including asthma and changes in lung function),
cardiovascular diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes (such as preterm birth),
and even death.

1. Respiratory and heart problems

The effects of air pollution are alarming. They are known to create several
respiratory and heart conditions along with Cancer, among other threats to the
body. Several million are known to have died due to direct or indirect effects of
Air pollution. Children in areas exposed to air pollutants are said to commonly
suffer from pneumonia and asthma.

2. Global warming

Another direct effect is the immediate alterations that the world is witnessing
due to global warming. With increased temperatures worldwide, increase in sea
levels and melting of ice from colder regions and icebergs, displacement and
loss of habitat have already signaled an impending disaster if actions for
preservation and normalization aren’t undertaken soon.

3. Acid rain

Harmful gases like nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into the
atmosphere during the burning of fossil fuels. When it rains, the water droplets
combine with these air pollutants, becomes acidic and then falls on the ground
in the form of acid rain. Acid rain can cause great damage to human, animals,
and crops.

4. Eutrophication

Eutrophication is a condition where a high amount of nitrogen present in some

pollutants gets developed on sea’s surface and turns itself into algae and
adversely affect fish, plants and animal species. The green colored algae that are
present on lakes and ponds is due to the presence of this chemical only.

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5. Effect on wildlife

Just like humans, animals also face some devastating effects of air pollution.
Toxic chemicals present in the air can force wildlife species to move to a new
place and change their habitat. The toxic pollutants deposit over the surface of
the water and can also affect sea animals.

6. Depletion of the ozone layer

Ozone exists in the Earth’s stratosphere and is responsible for protecting

humans from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Earth’s ozone layer is depleting due
to the presence of chlorofluorocarbons, hydro chlorofluorocarbons in the
atmosphere. As the ozone layer will go thin, it will emit harmful rays back on
earth and can cause skin and eye related problems. UV rays also have the
capability to affect crops.

When you try to study the sources of Air pollution, you enlist a series of
activities and interactions that create these pollutants. There are two types of
sources that we will take a look at Natural sources and Man-made sources.

Natural sources of pollution include dust carried by the wind from locations
with very little or no green cover, gases released from the body processes of
living beings (Carbon dioxide from humans during respiration, Methane from
cattle during digestion, Oxygen from plants during Photosynthesis). Smoke
from the combustion of various inflammable objects, volcanic eruptions, etc
along with the emission of polluted gases also makes it to the list of
natural sources of pollution.

While looking at the man-made contributions towards air pollution, smoke

again features as a prominent component. The smoke emitted from various
forms of combustion like in biomass, factories, vehicles, furnaces, etc. Waste
used to create landfills generate methane that is harmful in several ways. The
reactions of certain gases and chemicals also form harmful fumes that can be
dangerous to the wellbeing of living creatures.

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How is air pollution linked to climate change?

While climate change is a global process, it has very local impacts that can
profoundly affect communities, not the least of which is air pollution.

Increasing temperatures are directly linked to poor air quality which, in turn,
can affect the heart and exacerbate cardiovascular disease. Examples of this
may include a rise in pollen, due to increased plant growth, or a rise in molds,
due to severe storms — both of which can worsen allergies and other lung
diseases, such as asthma.

Air pollution and climate change are closely related. As well as driving climate
change, the main cause of CO2 emissions – the extraction and burning of fossil
fuels – is also a major source of air pollutants. What’s more, many air pollutants
contribute to climate change by affecting the amount of incoming sunlight that
is reflected or absorbed by the atmosphere, with some pollutants warming and
others cooling the Earth. These short-lived climate-forcing pollutants (SLCPs)
include methane, black carbon, ground-level ozone, and sulfate aerosols. They
have significant impacts on the climate: black carbon and methane in particular
are among the top contributors to global warming after CO2.

Scientists say an increasing rise in ozone levels are also a concern.

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AIR QUALITY INDEX

In order to understand air pollution, it is very important to know how it is

measured. The index that determines whether or not a particular region is
polluted is called the “Air Quality Index.”

The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or
polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for
you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours
or days after breathing polluted air. EPA calculates the AQI for five major air
pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution
(also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and
nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air
quality standards to protect public health .Ground-level ozone and airborne
particles are the two pollutants that pose the greatest threat to human health in
this country.

How Does the AQI Work?

Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI
value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern.
For example, an AQI value of 50 represents good air quality with little potential
to affect public health, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air
quality.

An AQI value of 100 generally corresponds to the national air quality standard
for the pollutant, which is the level EPA has set to protect public health. AQI
values below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. When AQI values are
above 100, air quality is considered to be unhealthy-at first for certain sensitive
groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher.

Understanding the AQI

The purpose of the AQI is to help you understand what local air quality means
to your health. To make it easier to understand, the AQI is divided into six
categories:

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 Air Quality Index Levels of Health
Colors
(AQI) Values Concern

When the AQI is in this ..air quality conditions ...as symbolized by this
range: are: color:

0 to 50 Good Green

51 to 100 Moderate Yellow

Unhealthy for Sensitive

101 to 150 Orange
Groups

151 to 200 Unhealthy Red

201 to 300 Very Unhealthy Purple

301 to 500 Hazardous Maroon

(Values above 500 are considered Beyond the AQI)

Each category corresponds to a different level of health concern. The six levels
of health concern and what they mean are:

"Good" AQI is 0 to 50. Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution
poses little or no risk.

"Moderate" AQI is 51 to 100. Air quality is acceptable; however, for some

pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of
people. For example, people who are unusually sensitive to ozone may
experience respiratory symptoms.

"Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" AQI is 101 to 150. Although general public is
not likely to be affected at this AQI range, people with lung disease, older adults
and children are at a greater risk from exposure to ozone, whereas persons with
heart and lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from the
presence of particles in the air.

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"Unhealthy" AQI is 151 to 200. Everyone may begin to experience some
adverse health effects, and members of the sensitive groups may experience
more serious effects.

"Very Unhealthy" AQI is 201 to 300. This would trigger a health alert
signifying that everyone may experience more serious health effects.

"Hazardous" AQI greater than 300. This would trigger a health warnings of
emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.

AQI colors

EPA has assigned a specific color to each AQI category to make it easier for
people to understand quickly whether air pollution is reaching unhealthy levels
in their communities. For example, the color orange means that conditions are
"unhealthy for sensitive groups," while red means that conditions may be
"unhealthy for everyone," and so on.

Air Quality
Numerical
Index Levels of Meaning
Value
Health Concern

Air quality is considered satisfactory, and

Good 0 to 50
air pollution poses little or no risk.

Air quality is acceptable; however, for some

pollutants there may be a moderate health
Moderate 51 to 100
concern for a very small number of people
who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.

Members of sensitive groups may

Unhealthy for 101 to
experience health effects. The general
Sensitive Groups 150
public is not likely to be affected.

Everyone may begin to experience health

151 to
Unhealthy effects; members of sensitive groups may
200
experience more serious health effects.

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 201 to Health alert: everyone may experience more
Very Unhealthy
300 serious health effects.

Health warnings of emergency conditions.

301 to
Hazardous The entire population is more likely to be
500
affected.

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AIR POLLUTION IN DELHI

History:

Air Pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) has been in the
public eye since the mid-2010s. It was in 2015-16 that the various
stakeholders — Media, civil society and citizen’s groups — started taking
serious note of the poor air quality in the region. This was spurred by the
increase in the particulate matter (PM) concentration.
But it was in the 1990s that Indian cities started turning into a toxic hell. This
deterioration took place despite a spate of strong legislation on pollution control
during the 1980s. These include the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act, 1981 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Apex institutions like the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and state
pollution control boards came into existence. In 1996, the Supreme Court, upon
the release of Slow Murder, a report by Delhi-based non-profit Centre for
Science and Environment on air pollution in Delhi, issued a suo moto notice to
the Delhi government to submit an action plan to control air pollution in the
city.
The report was triggered by a series of high air pollution episodes in the city,
accompanied by the visibly dirty, soot-laden emissions belched by vehicles.
This was then merged with an ongoing public interest litigation against air
pollution, filed by Mahesh Chandra Mehta, an environmental public interest
attorney and an activist.
In December 1996, the Delhi government submitted to the court its first action
plan to combat air pollution. But civil society groups soon realised that the state
action and implementation of this plan would not take place without public
pressure.
In recognition of the need for technical support to guide the decision-making
process and to ensure implementation, the Supreme Court directed the Union
Ministry of Environment and Forest, or MOEF (now the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, or MOEFCC) to set up an authority
to advise the courts on pollution and to monitor implementation of its orders.
In January 1998, MOEF constituted the Environment Pollution (Prevention and
Control) Authority (EPCA) for NCR. The government launched the National

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Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP), a network of monitoring stations
across the country to constantly monitor key pollutants round the year. This was
tied with the Air Quality Standards for the ambient air quality to provide a
uniform yardstick for assessment of air quality at the national level.
In June 1998, after taking stock of the key actions needed to reduce air
pollution, EPCA submitted Report on monitoring and priority measures
proposed by the authority for air pollution control to the Supreme Court. The
report framed an action plan with a target of reducing air pollution over the next
two years.
Subsequently, in July 1998, on the basis of this report, the Supreme Court
issued directions to all authorities to comply with the timeframe given by EPCA
to implement action points. The government plan included the conversion of
vehicles (including the entire city bus fleet, replacement of pre-1990 auto
rickshaws and taxis with new vehicles on clean fuels) to run on compressed
natural gas (CNG) as an important measure to contain pollution.
EPCA took this action point, among other, and established a schedule for
implementation. The pressure from such reports brought about a serious of
policy action in Delhi-NCR.
Since these first-generation actions, the sources of pollution in Delhi-NCR have
been significantly growing. For instance, in spite of tightening the emission
norms, the total number of vehicles increased from 4.24 million in 2004 to more
than 10.8 million in March 2018. It must be noted that this is the vehicle
registration data for Delhi alone, not including the various cities and urban areas
of NCR.
At the same time, the growth in public transport fleet in Delhi-NCR did not
keep pace. Another reason for increased emissions was industrial sources.
Although through its citation policy for industries, Delhi moved the worst
category of industries out of Delhi, these units relocated to towns and industrial
areas just outside the borders of Delhi, within NCR.
Additionally, at a regional level in north India, seasonal sources such as crop
residue burning also intensified during the years between the first-generation
actions and now. Multiple new settlements developed in the region and
construction activities boomed. The population of NCR also increased from
16.6 million in 2001 to 46.1 million in 2011 — an annual growth rate of 10.75
per cent.

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As a result, the gains in the first wave of action were lost. The momentum too
was lost. The state machinery became reticent to the cause of improving the air
quality. However, the situation would have been much worse if Supreme Court
orders had not been implemented.
Second wave of (in) action
The second wave of action can be categorized as a period of inaction. From
2010 to 2015-16, the various governments — central and state — took few
concrete measures. At the same time, the growth in pollution sources continued
at record levels, both inside Delhi (vehicles and municipal solid waste) as well
as in NCR (construction and industry).
The government implemented BSIV standards for vehicular technology and
fuel, in Delhi and other metropolitan cities of India in 2010. However, after this,
there was considerable delay to extend it to the rest of India. Only in April 2017
the entire country switched to BSIV. Neither was any movement made on
rapidly moving to higher standards (BSV, VI).
Although there was some movement to create a fuel policy to move to more
stringent standards and cleaner fuel, the targets set for bsVI were for as far away
as 2025. Also, there was little effort to control the demand aspect of mobility,
either in terms of replacing personal vehicles through public transport, nor in
terms of regulating the form of urbanisation prevalent in many of our cities to
promote smaller, more compact cities.
Notable efforts in this period to control air pollution were related to monitoring
and transparency. In 2009, MOEFCC revised the previous standards (which
were different for residential and industrial areas) and notified the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards for 12 pollutants, revising the existing standards
for clean air.
These standards created a uniform baseline for acceptable ambient
concentrations of 12 pollutants, and introduced regulatory monitoring of PM2.5.
Along with the creation of standards, several hundred monitoring stations were
established across India in this period. These were still inadequate in number
and were mostly manual monitoring stations, as opposed to real-time automatic
stations.
In 2014, MOEFCC, along with inputs from experts and civil society as well as
the Union the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, created the National Air

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Quality Index (NAQI). It was a tool that would create transparency and
accessibility in the availability of air quality data. It would convert complex
numbers relating to air pollutant concentrations to a simple index, which would
indicate the state of air quality in terms of an adjective —
Good/Satisfactory/Moderate/Poor/Very Poor/Severe — and an associated
colour and health advisory for people.
Third (current) wave of action
In 2015, the Supreme Court delivered a number of significant orders on air
pollution in Delhi. These included orders on public transport, clean fuels,
vehicular emissions and infrastructure in NCR. These orders indicated the
seriousness that the judiciary treated the issue of air pollution with. However,
this judicial intervention, in addition to the resistance faced from the central and
state governments, was indicative of the manner in which the government was
dragging its feet on key actions to control air pollution.
In October 2016, Delhi faced one of its worst smog episodes. From November
8, the PM2.5 levels rose to over 750 microgramme per cubic metre (µg/m3),
over 12.5 times the permissible limit. The thick, inescapable smog that
descended onto Delhi’s streets had one major consequence — it woke up all the
stakeholders out of their slumber.
In response to the 2016 smog incident, the Delhi government took steps curb the
number of private vehicles operating in the city. The ‘Odd-Even’ measure, as it
was popularly known, was intended to reduce vehicular emissions and traffic
congestion, thereby improving the air quality. It was rolled out in two fortnight-
long phases in January and April 2017.
While it certainly reduced peak pollution loads, its implementation left much to
desire, neither fulfilling its role effectively as a tool for emergency action nor
creating much impact in the long term. But it did lead to a city-wide discussion
on air pollution and its sources. It also spurred discussion among the middle
class which had so far been unconcerned. Other stakeholders, including the
media and civil society, plunged headfirst into mainstreaming air pollution and
discussed its sources and solutions.
The smog episode also led to a flurry of action, mostly in the realm of advocacy
and litigation. The Supreme Court, in November 2016, asked the key authorities
and governments in NCR to formulate a plan to deal with such pollution

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episodes and on January 12, 2017, MOEFCC notified the Graded Response
Action Plan (GRAP).
GRAP, for the first time, sought to create a coordinated response to pollution
episodes that involved action from various regulatory bodies across NCR, with
the different measures being linked to the prevalent Air Quality Index
(AQI). GRAP contains measures to reduce addition of fresh emission load
during high pollution episodes, such as those that have been observed in Delhi
in November every year since 2016. It is a graded plan, where the severity of
action increases on the basis of aqi levels.
GRAP has been in effect in Delhi-NCR since February 2017 and contains
actions categorised under four categories — Moderate to Poor, Very Poor,
Severe and Severe+ or Emergency. Of these, the actions under the ‘Moderate to
Poor’ category are enforced round the year, or permanently. The higher
categories, ‘Very Poor’ and ‘Severe’, have been put into effect for the winter
months — October to March, which usually see very high pollution days. The
highest category of pollution actions, ‘Severe+ or Emergency’, come into effect
on the basis of air pollution levels.
For implementation of GRAP, it was important to understand the key problem
areas for air pollution control in Delhi-NCR. For this, a focus on enhancing the
monitoring capability of the region was imperative. In 2015-16, the monitoring
network of Delhi was disaggregated and data was hard to come by.
Although there were 12 automatic monitoring stations, these were owned and
operated by different organizations — Delhi Pollution Control Committee under
the Delhi government; System of Air Quality, Weather Forecasting and
Research under the Ministry of Earth Sciences; and, CPCB under MOEFCC.
Although these stations were selectively putting out data into the public domain,
it was hard to access and rarely consolidated.
Tasked with the implementation of GRAP, EPCA worked on the expansion of
the monitoring network, as well as on forecasting and weather-tracking for air
quality management. To monitor real time ambient concentrations of PM2.5 and
PM10 — the primary pollutants in Delhi-NCR — CPCB set up a centralised
open access portal that provides data from 52 monitoring stations in NCR.
This real-time data allows for reliable inputs for policy decisions as well as to
make executive decisions on the control of air pollution sources. The portal is

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also designed to allow individuals and citizen groups to identify the state of air
quality in their immediate surroundings.
This portal has lead to the identification of pollution hot spots — sub-regions
within Delhi-NCR — which consistently have elevated PM levels. For
example, EPCA identified Anand Vihar as a hot spot for pollution in the winter
of 2016-17.The next step was the formulation of a local action plan, which
identified the local sources of particulate pollution, as well as the actions needed
to control these sources.
Based on this intervention by EPCA, the local stakeholders — the East Delhi
Municipal Corporation, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, Uttar Pradesh
Pollution Control Board, Uttar Pradesh State Road Travel Corporation and
Delhi Transport Corporation — as well as local municipal bodies were asked to
work on measures to reduce particulate emissions in the region.
Similarly, in October 2018, EPCA identified nine pollution hotspots, including
Mundka, Bhiwadi, Dwarka, Faridabad, Delhi Technological University,
Bhalaswa, Ghazipur, Sahibabad and Punjabi Bagh. The regulatory agencies as
well as the stakeholder executive bodies in this region were then asked to
prepare local action plans to counter PM sources.
In November 2017, there was another smog episode. Through the winter of
2017-18, the pollution spiked to alarming levels, which were highlighted by the
media and civil society. This sustained winter pollution episode, renewed the
focus on air pollution. GRAP was under implementation, for the first time in
winters, leading to several measures.
EPCA put into effect ‘Very Poor’ and ‘Severe’ categories of actions for the
winter months, until March 15, 2018. This include a ban on the use of diesel
generator sets in Delhi; the closure of brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone
crushers across NCR; and the shutdown of the Badarpur Power Plant for the
winter months.
In 2018, the CAP for Delhi-NCR was also notified. This plan contains medium
to long-term measures for pollution control, including detailed timelines for
implementation. The plan will have major effects on controlling air pollution in
Delhi-NCR.

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Current Situation:

But what happened in 2019 was disastrous.

Delhi became the most polluted city on Earth

Delhi earned the unenviable distinction of becoming the most polluted city on
Earth this month, as air quality has reached epically bad proportions.
On November 8, pollution surged so high that some monitoring stations
reported an Air Quality Index of 999, way above the upper limit of the worst
category, Hazardous. (An extra-sensitive air quality instrument at the US
embassy got a reading of 1,010, as you can see in the chart below.)

United Airlines canceled its flights to India’s capital because of poor air quality.
Visibility was so bad that cars crashed in pileups on highways and trains had to
be delayed and canceled.

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The airborne particles and toxic chemicals that make up the smog have choked
the 19 million residents of the metropolitan area, where merely breathing the air
was, at its worst, like smoking 50 cigarettes in a day. Hospitals reported a 20
percent surge in patients with pollution-related illnesses, and doctors have
declared a public health emergency.

Delhi’s chief minister went as far as to call his city a “gas chamber”:

The gray smoke and haze was so terrible that the US State Department, which
has its own air quality monitoring stations in India, installed air filters for its
staff at in their offices and homes.

As of November 21, the air quality index was at 326 — far below the peak on
November 8, but still in the Hazardous category. Yet Delhi is not out of the
woods. The Business Standard reports that Delhi Environment Minister Imran
Hussain warned in a letter that “...ambient air quality may once again worsen in
the coming weeks.”

This is the third year in a row that air pollution in Delhi has become very
severe, despite the Indian Supreme Court’s attempt to mitigate it in October
with a fireworks sales ban ahead of Diwali, the festival of lights.

Measuring Delhi’s air against some of the other most polluted cities in the
world, however, is difficult. Not everyone tracks pollution as well nor is it
tracked by the same metrics. The World Health Organization, for example,
ranked Zabol, Iran, as having the worst particulate air pollution in the world, but
that was an annual average, the number was from 2012, and it was extrapolated
from another measurement.

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 EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION IN DELHI

A new study has revealed that that air pollution in Delhi is responsible for
approximately 10,000 to 30,000 annual deaths in the city. This means the
capital city loses 80 lives every day to pollution from PM2.5.

According to a PTI report, hospitals in Delhi have seen a sudden spike in the
number of patients reporting with respiratory and breathing complications.

 The severe air pollution can cause eye burning, eye watering.
 Breathing and respiratory difficulty, asthma problems and allergy.
 Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.
 Besides affecting lungs, high levels of pollutants in the atmosphere cause inflam
mation in blood vessels and may lead to hardening of arteries which can act as a
trigger for stroke or heart attack in persons, already at risk of the disease.

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SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO COMBAT AIR POLLUTION IN DELHI

Urgent actions are required to help reduce air pollution in Delhi, one of the most
polluted cities in the world, and restore various air parameters to levels safe for
the health of its citizens and visitors. Here are few steps that can play an
instrumental role in reducing air pollution in Delhi, which reached alarming
levels of 485 AQI (air quality index), when the safe limit for humans is less than
100 AQI.

1. Carpooling: Reduce traffic-based air pollution and congestion by starting

car pool lanes for those cars and four wheelers that have three or more
passengers to encourage people to go for car pooling. Meanwhile, citizens too
should take initiative and car pool with friends, colleagues, family wherever
possible.
2. Use bicycles: Mark out bicycle lanes in residential colonies as well as on all
roads in Delhi to encourage safe travel by bicycles. Meanwhile, citizens should
also be encouraged to use bicycles.
3. Public transport: Encourage greater use of public transport by supporting
the Metro, overhead rail and bus services to make it convenient for people to
travel by public transport affordably and safely instead of using their own
vehicles. Citizens too must shed hang-ups over social status and try to travel by
public transport proactively.
4. More CNG vehicles: Encourage use of CNG in motor vehicles as it is a
much cleaner fuel than petrol or diesel by considerably reducing the road tax
and sales tax on CNG filled cars as compared to petrol and diesel four wheelers.
Since there are at least 1,400 cars added to Delhi roads every day, all the cars
should be restricted to using CNG only as all new petrol cars can be converted
to CNG. Also, new registrations should be discouraged by enhancing
registration charges.
5. Use of Electric Cars: Plug-in electric vehicles (also known as electric cars
or EVs) can help keep your town and your world clean. In general, EVs
produce fewer emissions that contribute to climate change and smog than
conventional vehicles.
6. Bigger trucks: Encourage six-axle trucks rather than the typical four-axle
ones to increase the pay load per truck to reduce the number of trucks on roads.
Trucks going to other destinations must not be allowed to pass through Delhi
and only use the bypass.
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7. Road signs: Improve the poor road signs so that people do not travel extra to
locate their destinations. All the signs must be signposted at two or three places
well before the turning rather than at the last minute.
8. Maintenance of roads: Better maintain roads to complexes such as Nehru
Place to reduce the time a four wheeler spends on plying on such poor roads.
9. Shared taxis: The transport department should encourage shared taxi
services by developing a taxi sharing website and set up taxi stands and cabs to
offer reduced fares for shared service. This is other than the facilities Ola and
Uber provide.
10. Burning waste: Burning of leaves, old tyres or any items in the open should
be made a punishable offence in NCR with a fine of Rs 10,000 per incident as
this is a major cause of air pollution. Citizens should be asked to report such
incidents to helpline numbers and emails.
11. Solar power: Installation of solar panels should be encouraged at homes,
multi-storey buildings and commercial establishments so that decentralised
power is generated with suitable subsidies to make it financially viable for all
households. The cost of solar panels has come down considerably. This should
help retire all coal-based thermal power plants which are adding a lot to Delhi’s
air pollution problems and adversely effecting climate change. In fact, thermal
power plants in Delhi-NCR should be stopped from functioning till the AQI
level is under 200.
12. Power backup: Inverters should be encouraged for back up supply and
diesel generator sets should not be allowed to run in Delhi-NCR till the AQI
level comes below 200.
13. Dump sites: Landfills should be better managed by the government to
ensure there are no fires there.
14. RO-RO on roads: The present RO-RO (Roll-on-Roll-off) scheme launched
by Indian Railways to carry loaded trucks on goods train to decongest Delhi
roads and to reduce air pollution needs to be given a fill up and made
compulsory for trucks which otherwise pass through Delhi.

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 FINDING AND RECOMMENDATION
Thus using all the above given methods will help us in reducing the air pollution in not only in our
national capital Delhi but in other parts of our country too. These steps are the minimal anyone can
do as a resident of this beautiful motherland. It will help us in many ways and change the nature
drastically in positive ways. Improving air quality will impact largely on the people’s health and
daily routine. We will see less people facing serious breathing issues and other heart diseases.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/public-health-emergency-in-delhi-over-severe-
air-pollution-list-of-dos-and-don-ts-for-to-survive-the-smog-1614903-2019-11-01
 https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqi
 https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.pmhilevels
 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50280390
 https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/delhi-loses-80-lives-to-air-pollution-every-day-
says-study-50222

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 STUDENT PROFILE

Name: Swapnil Yamgar

Program: MMS 2019-2021
Qualification: B.E. (Electronics Engineering)
Contact number: +91-81089 97656
Email Id: [email protected]

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