Environmental Problems, Pollution and Sustainable development related (for India)

Indx TechStyle

Kitty mod
Mod
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
18,239
Likes
55,864
Country flag
Delhi drops out of the dubious list of 10 most polluted cities of the world

New Delhi, May 12, 2016: The new Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database (update 2016) of the World Health Organization (WHO) released today shows Delhi has arrested and improved air quality since the last global database published by the WHO in 2014. The annual average PM2.5 levels in Delhi have reduced by 20 per cent since 2013. The WHO has released data on levels of particulate matter in 3,000 urban areas in 103 countries highlighting that air pollution is responsible for more than three million premature deaths worldwide every year.
In the meantime the pollution levels in several other Indian cities have worsened. Patna, Allahabad, Gwalior and Kanpur have become more polluted. Says Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s executive director for research and advocacy and the head of its air pollution control unit: “This indicates air pollution is now a national crisis and needs strict and aggressive nation-wide action across all cities of India.”
Globally, more cities have become polluted and are violating the WHO guidelines. The WHO must also release gaseous pollution data to show how the pollution challenge is shifting across the regions: those that have reduced their particulate pollution level, are now battling nitrogen oxide and ozone pollution.
The key highlights of CSE analysis of the WHO database
Air pollution in Delhi is showing improvement – responding to action.

The new WHO database reports 20 per cent drop in PM2.5 level since 2014. However, the annual levels are still double the ambient air quality standards and that demands more stringent action to protect public health. The beginning of the second phase of action in Delhi has stabilised the air pollution trends in Delhi. A much larger number of vehicles is meeting the Bharat Stage IV standards that were introduced for new vehicles in 2010. The Supreme Court directives have imposed environment compensation charge on entry of each truck into Delhi and restricted entry of pre-2006 trucks. This has halved the number of trucks that contribute about 30 per cent of the transport sector pollution. The Rajghat coal-based power plant was shut down last year. The remaining coal power plant in Badarpur is operating at 30 per cent of its capacity. There is also a greater push for enforcement on waste burning and construction dust. All of these have prevented pollution from getting worse.
However, this should not breed complacency as the annual average levels are still double the standards and a lot more will have to be done to meet the clean air targets in Delhi.
Lesser number of Indian cities in top 10 and to 20 most polluted cities of the world:
Top 10 most polluted cities in 2016: 4 (Patna, Gwalior, Raipur, Allahabad)
Top 10 most polluted cities in 2014: 6 (Delhi, Patna, Gwalior, Raipur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow)
Top 20 most polluted cities in 2016: 10 Indian cities
Top 20 most polluted cities in 2014: 13 Indian cities
Agra, Amritsar and Ahmedabad are no longer in the top 20 list.
Bad news is that pollution levels are worse in several other Indian cities:
It is disturbing that several Indian cities – in fact smaller cities — have shown substantial increase in pollution levels since 2014. PM2.5 in Allahabad has increased by 92 per cent; in Ludhiana 34 per cent; in Khanna 30 per cent; Kanpur 24 per cent; Agra 20 per cent; Lucknow 18 per cent, and Amritsar 17 per cent among others. This indicates that air pollution is a national crisis now. According to the Global Burden of Disease, air pollution is the fifth largest killer in the country.
Globally more cities are showing up as not meeting the WHO guidelines for PM2.5:
More than 80 per cent of people living in urban areas globally are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO limits. The WHO annual standards for PM2.5 are 10 micrograms per cubic metre. The numbers of cities that are not meeting the standards globally have increased over time – 1,122 cities in 2014 and 2,051 cities now are not meeting the WHO guidelines.
More cities in advanced countries are violating the WHO standards:
Even cities in advanced countries that have significantly lowered PM2.5 levels compared to the levels in India, are still violating the WHO guidelines. In 2014, about 610 cities were violating the WHO standards for PM2.5. This has now increased to 1,313 – more than double. In Austria, France, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Poland more than 70 per cent of the cities are violating the WHO standards. In Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland more than 90 per cent of the cities are violating the WHO guidelines for annual PM2.5 concentration.
The WHO must release data on gaseous pollution as well to indicate how pollution challenge is changing and shifting in different regions of the world:
Advanced countries that have shown progress in reducing air pollution are also facing newer challenges. Mix of pollutants and nature of health risks are changing setting new goals for mitigation. For instance, over the last two years, several European cities have reported violation of nitrogen oxide standards. United Kingdom was dragged to the European Court of Justice for not meeting the NOx standards. While particulate matter has very strong health impacts, the gases are the next generation challenge that the other regions are dealing with. The WHO should capture the shifting nature of pollution challenge in different regions to help inform policies.
The WHO should also release similar database for the gaseous pollution for all cities across the world. This is needed to show how pollution challenge is shifting across regions. For instance, while most of the cities in OECD have significantly lowered particulate pollution they are in grip of serious nitrogen oxide and ozone pollution. Capturing the multi-pollutant crisis is critical to inform air pollution control policies across the world.
The next steps
Delhi has demonstrated that if cities take action to control pollution it will show results. Strong public awareness, judicial and executive action has started to catalyse second phase of action in Delhi. This will have to be taken forward to meet clean air targets to protect public health. Delhi still has a long way to go.
India urgently needs national air quality planning to ensure that all cities.
 

Indx TechStyle

Kitty mod
Mod
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
18,239
Likes
55,864
Country flag
Tezpur is India's cleanest city
Among 20 most polluted cities in the world, 10 are from India, says WHO report
Our Bureau & Agencies
Guwahati, May 15: Historic Tezpur is India's least polluted city, according to the recently-released World Health Organisation's report.
Tezpur is followed by Pathanamthitta in Kerala and Hassan in Karnataka.
The study was conducted in 2,973 cities across the globe in 103 countries, including 122 in India.
As per WHO guidelines, the permissible limit in case of PM 10 is 20 g/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre of air) and PM 2.5 is 10 g/m3.
In Tezpur, the concentration of particulate matter (dust) with the annual mean PM 10 was found to be 11 g/m3 and annual mean PM 2.5 was 6 g/m3. Tiny particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size are known as PM 2.5. These are thought to be the most deadly as they can find their way deep inside a person's lungs.
In Pathanamthitta, the annual mean PM 10 was 23 g/m3 and annual mean PM 2.5 was 12 g/m3, while in Hassan, the annual mean of PM 10 was 36 g/m3 and PM 2.5 was 19 g/m3.
According to the study, Delhi is no more the world's most polluted city. Gwalior, Allahabad, Patna and Raipur have overtaken Delhi in the latest WHO report released on Thursday.
Delhi is at the 11th spot among the 20 most polluted cities, with the PM 2.5 level recorded at 122. However, 10 of these 20 cities are in India.
Next in the updated WHO list are Gwalior and Allahabad (India), Riyadh and Al Jubail (Saudi Arabia), Patna and Raipur (India), Bamenda (Cameroon), Xintagi and Baoding (China) and Delhi and Ludhiana (India).
Gwalior's PM 2.5 level is 176, followed by Allahabad (170), Patna (149), Raipur (144), Ludhiana (122), Kanpur (115), Khanna (114), Firozabad (113) and Lucknow (113).
Topping the list of polluted cities is Zabol in Iran (217).
The annual mean of PM 2.5 in (g/m3) of New York and London is 9 and 15.
Despite the dismal Indian standing, the sole consolation was that the number of Indian cities in the list of the world's 20 most polluted cities had come down to 10 from 13 in 2014.
Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the WHO regional director for Southeast Asia, said in a statement that increasing air pollution levels are putting the health of billions of people at risk.
"We have overwhelming evidence of the impact of air pollution on stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and chronic and acute respiratory diseases," Singh said.
WHO said that while all regions of the world are affected, populations in low-income cities have been the most impacted.
As per WHO, 98 percent of cities in low and middle income countries with more than 100,000 inhabitants, do not meet WHO air quality guidelines.
In high-income countries, that percentage falls to 56 percent.
Thirty four Indian cities figured in the list of the 100 most polluted ones, and 22 Indian cities found their names among the top 50 most polluted in the world.
Importantly, a majority of the most polluted cities in India are from the western and northern states. There is not a single city from the four southern states in the list.
The statement issued by WHO said, "Measurement of fine particulate matter of 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter is considered to be the best indicator of the level of health risks from air pollution." Indian cities account for one third of the100 most polluted cities in the world.
 

Indx TechStyle

Kitty mod
Mod
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
18,239
Likes
55,864
Country flag
Less Polluted Days Ahead?
Delhi no longer most polluted city

According to the WHO’s air quality guidelines, by decreasing particulate matter from 70 to 20 micrograms per cubic metre, deaths caused by air pollution could be reduced nearly by 15%.
According to a recent World Health Organisation report, New Delhi is at the 25th position among the most polluted cities crosswise the globe, while Patna, Gwalior and Raipur stand at sixth, tenth, and seventh position respectively.
Delhi stands at the 25th position on the pollution metre among other cities in the world with an annual level of 229 micrograms per cubic metre, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
As per the reports released by WHO, Delhi is no longer the world’s most polluted city. The national Capital is now the 25th most polluted city in the world, among 3,000 cities in 103 countries in terms of coarse pollution particles levels and 11th in terms of PM 2.5 that is fine and particulate pollution.
Whereas Gwalior is at the tenth position with an annual average of 329 micrograms per cubic metre.
The latest report includes data from 2012, 2013 and a part of 2014 for India, and states that global urban air pollution levels increased by eight pc, in spite of improvements in some regions.
Other polluted regions
According to the rankings of the report, Zabol, a city in Iran topped the list with 217 micrograms per cubic metre followed by Gwalior with 176 and Allahabad with 170. Patna at sixth place and Raipur on seventh spot are the other Indian cities in the top 10.
According to the WHO’s air quality guidelines, by decreasing particulate matter from 70 to 20 micrograms per cubic metre, deaths caused by air pollution could be reduced nearly by 15 pc. WHO states that safe limits for annual mean of PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels are 10 and 20 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively.
“We have stressed on PM 2.5 because it is the pollutant which is of most health interest globally. We have analysed annual rather than 24-hour averages or real time air quality, because we wanted to understand exposure levels over long term and see its effects. We are trying to see if these findings can be linked to the global disease burden,” Dr Sophie Germy told to The Indian Express.
“I think India needs to be congratulated for its intensive monitoring of air quality in metros and now tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Delhi, in particular, has done a lot of things to reduce PM 2.5 levels. The main source of PM 2.5 in India is fuel burning and vehicles, in particular, cars. I think on both accounts Delhi has recognised these sources as a problem and taken steps to control it,” she added.
To combat pollution and its effects, a lot more needs to be done in India and some steps need to be duplicated as even in some of the high income cities, particulate matter continues to remain a problem despite intensive monitoring and steps to control pollution.
 

Chinmoy

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2015
Messages
8,678
Likes
22,535
Country flag
Tezpur is India's cleanest city
Among 20 most polluted cities in the world, 10 are from India, says WHO report
Our Bureau & Agencies
Tezpur is India's cleanest city
There are basically two reason behind this.
1- Its a completely garrison town. Presence of Army and other paramilitary had brought a sense of responsibility towards the citizens and helped a lot in keeping it clean.
2- Presence of many big and small water bodies in and around the town. Whatever garbage gets accumulated is washed away towards these water bodies and in turn gets away to Brahmaputra flowing nearby.

But it does have a serious problem though. Tremendous heat. Inspite of the Brahmaputra flowing nearby the place is too hot for comfort in summer. In this regard Dibrugarh does beat all other cities in Assam during summer.:)
 

Indx TechStyle

Kitty mod
Mod
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
18,239
Likes
55,864
Country flag
India ratifies Paris Climate Deal at UN

India ratifies Paris Climate Deal at UN
1/5
Text: Agencies

India, the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, on Sunday ratified the landmark Paris climate deal, giving a significant push for the deal to enter into force by the end of this year.

Syed Akbaruddin handed over the signed document
2/5
Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin handed over the Instrument of Ratification signed by President Pranab Mukherjee, to Santiago Villalpando, the Head of the Treaties Division at the UN, at a special ceremony here attended by top UN officials and senior diplomats to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary.

Purpose of the deal
3/5
The deal requires all countries to devise plans to achieve the goal of keeping the rise of temperatures within two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels and strive for 1.5 C (2.7 F) if possible.

62 countries ratified the treaty so far
4/5
Now a total of 62 countries accounting for almost 52 percent of emissions have ratified the agreement to tackle rising temperatures worldwide, according to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) website.

Ban Ki-moon praised India's "climate leadership"
5/5
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon lauded India's "climate leadership", saying India's ratification of the Paris Climate Change agreement moves the world an "important step closer" toward achieving the goal of entering the landmark deal into force this year.
 

Indx TechStyle

Kitty mod
Mod
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
18,239
Likes
55,864
Country flag
Greens hail India's proactive approach in dealing with HFCs
It is good to see proactive Indian negotiations on HFCs' phase down. It can make a big difference to the ambitious and equitable outcome on climate change, said Sunita Narain.
NEW DELHI: Climate experts, environmentalists and industries not only welcomed the HFCs phase-down deal reached at Rwandan capital Kigali on Saturday but also lauded India for its exemplary role of showing much needed flexibility and leadership during the gruelling rounds of negotiations.
India had initially proposed a baseline of 2028-2030 and a freeze year of 2031. It had not even given any definite timeline for reducing HFCs' use. But at Kigali, India showed flexibility by proposing a four-year advancement of the baseline to 2024-2026 and 10% reduction by 2032. It also linked increase in its ambition with those of the developed countries.
"It is good to see proactive Indian negotiations on HFCs' phase down. It can make a big difference to the ambitious and equitable outcome on climate change," said Sunita Narain, and director general of the Delhi-based think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). She also noted that the agreement clearly reflects the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) -where developed countries will have to take enhanced actions keeping in view their historical responsibility of using pollutants over the years.
"The agreement also reflects the emerging reality of a world in which China will have to take more and more responsibility to solve global environmental issues," Narain said. She was referring to the move to put China in a different category for phase down actions.
Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general of CSE, said, "The amendment finally agreed to not only protect India's economic interests, but also double the climate benefit compared to the previous Indian proposal."
Indian industry, too, welcomed the deal and India's position. Chandrajit Banerjee, DG, CII said, "India has again shown leadership just as it had in the Paris Climate Agreement. Government of India had closely consulted CII and its members prior to the negotiations in Kigali and it has full support from Indian industry."
 

Indx TechStyle

Kitty mod
Mod
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
18,239
Likes
55,864
Country flag
India at 3rd place in USGBC's list of top 10 nations for LEED
India remained in third position with 15.90 million GSMof LEED-certified space and an additional 89.28 million cumulative GSM of LEED-certified and-registered space.
NEW DELHI: India remained at the third position in the USGBC's annual ranking of the top 10 countries for LEED, which is a green building rating system.
The list highlights countries outside of the US that are making significant strides in sustainable building design, construction and operations, US Green Building Council (USGBC) said in a statement.
This year, India remained in third position with 15.90 million gross square meters (GSM) of LEED-certified space and an additional 89.28 million cumulative GSM of LEED-certified and-registered space, totalling 2,386 projects participating in LEED across the country.
China ranked first with 34.62 million GSM, followed by Canada with 34.39 million GSM.
"As we grow the sustainability movement from buildings to communities to cities, it is leaders in the international community like India that are driving market transformation across the globe," said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and chief executive officer of USGBC.
Conducted in 70 countries, the report found that emerging economies will continue to be engines of green growth, with development varying from two fold to six fold over current green building levels.
Increased consumer demand has also pushed the world's green building market to a trillion-dollar industry, a surge that has led to a corresponding increase in the scope and size of the green building materials market, which is expected to reach $234 billion by 2019.
LEED-certified spaces use less energy and water resources, save money for families, businesses and taxpayers, reduce carbon emissions and create a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.
The analysis used to develop the list ranks countries in terms of cumulative commercial LEED-certified GSM space as of December 2016.
 

Indx TechStyle

Kitty mod
Mod
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
18,239
Likes
55,864
Country flag
The dirty legacy of China’s and India’s growth

While leaders are struggling to fix the systemic causes of bad air, people can take steps to protect themselves.
By Eric Roston and Andre Tartar
The sixth-biggest cause of death globally is small-particle pollution, chemical specks that enter the lungs and can contribute to cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and infections. It led to more than 4 million deaths in 2016. Ninety-nine per cent of children 5 years old and younger in South and East Asia breathe unhealthy air.

Much of China’s particulate pollution comes from industrial facilities, especially coal-burning power plants. In India, PM2.5 comes not only from cars and coal-fired power stations, but also from widely used domestic cookstoves and the common agricultural practice of burning to clear fields.
India’s minister for environment, forest, and climate change has shut down a coal-burning power plant, increased the number of street sweepers in the capital region to combat dust, and started an initiative to mechanize the clearing of fields.
Nothing lifts a poor country’s economy faster than heavy industry, but polluted water and smog are the price a society pays. Eventually, those costs—economists call them externalities—begin to undermine the very growth they’ve brought. Government officials are recognizing that dirty air isn’t just a health hazard, it’s bad for business.

To wean its population off dirty fuel, India’s government has distributed more than 700,000 solar cookers in recent years and added more than 34 million residential gas connections, with 80 million more planned by 2020.
 

Indx TechStyle

Kitty mod
Mod
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
18,239
Likes
55,864
Country flag
China’s bad air became a worldwide story beginning in 2008, when US officials started releasing air quality measurements taken at the American Embassy in Beijing, embarrassing their host nation. Traditional news outlets and social media have provided dramatic updates on what some of the worst air in the world looks and feels like. This attention to the problem, along with the worsening pollution itself, pushed Chinese authorities to begin addressing the challenge. Power plants switched from coal to natural gas; low-pollution zones were established in and around Beijing; stepped-up inspections led to tough penalties for noncompliant polluters. As a result, for days, sometimes weeks at a time, when the rain falls or the great winds blow, Beijing sees the sky.

While leaders are struggling to fix the systemic causes of bad air, people can take steps to protect themselves. Masks and respirators are common in Asia’s choking cities, but few can filter out all the particles and noxious gases hanging in the air. There are herbal medicines that purport to clean the lungs, as well as food, cosmetics, and beverages that claim to counter the effects of pollution. Keeping windows closed and running an air conditioner have been shown to cut the influx of dirty air indoors by half. But people with a personal or family history of disease may be better off leaving town—at least during times of high pollution.

Now that Indian farmers have harvested their fall crops, they will clear their fields the traditional way—by burning them. The soot-thick air hangs over northern India during the winter, dramatically exacerbating the cloud of toxins already spewed by power plants, factories, vehicles, and stoves.

China and India are being asked to do something the West didn’t have to: Modernize their economies while reducing pollution. Both nations pledged in the 2015 Paris climate agreement to reduce the intensity of their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. China’s electricity generation from coal and its CO2 emissions are expected to peak around 2030, more than a decade ahead of India, according to Bloomberg NEF.

Clean-air policies have had a dramatic impact on pollution in the US and Europe since the 1970s. Asia’s giants are just setting out on that journey. —With Iain Marlow and Dan Murtaugh
 

Indx TechStyle

Kitty mod
Mod
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
18,239
Likes
55,864
Country flag
Artificial Rain To Tackle Delhi Pollution, Aircraft Procured From ISRO
The scientists are not certain about when it can be done as they are waiting for meteorological conditions to fall into place for the cloud seeding.

Delhi's air quality has deteriorated to alarming levels in the past three weeks.
New Delhi: The scientists at IIT Kanpur have made all the preparations including procurement of the aircraft from ISRO to induce artificial rain in the national capital to mitigate the hazardous health situation due to the pollution crisis.
However, they are not certain about when it can be done as they are waiting for meteorological conditions to fall into place for the cloud seeding.
"We have made all the preparations and have also got the aircraft from ISRO which will be needed to induce the artificial rain. The technique has been tested before in Maharashtra as well as parts of Lucknow. However, this is the first time in India that artificial rain would be created over a big land mass to counter the damage done by air pollutants," said Manindra Agarwal, Deputy Director IIT Kanpur.
Delhi's air quality has deteriorated to alarming levels in the past three weeks while the overall air quality in the national capital was in the 'very poor' category on Tuesday, with some areas in the city experienced 'severe' pollution.
Cloud seeding is the process of combining different kinds of chemical agents, including silver iodide, dry ice and even common table salt, with existing clouds in an effort to thicken them and increase the chance of rainfall.
The process also involves changing the amount and type of precipitation that falls from clouds by dispersing substances (mostly salts) into the air. The dispersion is done from aircraft.
While IIT Kanpur is supporting the plan of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to induce artificial rain by providing the salt mix and other logistical support, a group of students at IIT Delhi are also helping the weathermen in monitoring conditions to become favourable for creating artificial rain.
"It is easier to seed pre-monsoon and monsoon clouds and it may not be easy trying to seed clouds in winter that are not very moisture laden. However, once it is successfully done, we will evaluate its impact and take a call about whether a second attempt should be made or not," Mr Agarwal said.
In 2016, the government tried to explore the possibility of cloud seeding for artificial rain but the plan never worked out. Last year, Union Minister Harsh Vardhan has proposed the possibility of reducing dust by watering Delhi from a helicopter.
China has been using cloud seeding to create rains for many years. The US, Israel, South Africa and Germany have also used the technology.
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top