Crackdown on Delhi’s pollution has become more compelling after Obama visit
Ever since the US President Barack Obama visited India and inhaled the Delhi air for close to two hours while watching the Republic Day parade on Rajpath, air pollution in the city continues to make headlines globally. Several studies – national and international – have surfaced on the subject, sometimes with contradictory findings. The matter is also under the scrutiny of green courts.
Amidst all this, companies making fancy equipment such as air purifiers and masks are looking to make a quick buck. There is no doubt that air quality in the city has deteriorated fast in the past few years, and the rising number of automobiles in Delhi roads is definitely one of the chief contributors.
The air we breathe is part of a dynamic system and its quality varies depending on several atmospheric parameters. So quality of air is closely linked to several weather parameters as well. At the same time, the quality could vary from place to place within a megacity like Delhi or Mumbai.
Three issues that need to be understood are quality of air, its health impacts and regulation. For measuring quality of air, we need standard protocols and a network of stations that work round the clock. The city now has a scientific system to monitor its air quality. The data is being gathered through an air quality forecasting system called SAFAR (System of Air quality and weather Forecasting and Research) established by the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology – a research lab of the India Meteorology Department (IMD).
It is a legacy project of the Commonwealth Games, 2010. Under this, a network of air quality observing system and automatic weather stations has been set up, forecasting models are simulated on one of India’s fastest supercomputers in Pune and an emission inventory is prepared. The monitoring stations cover all micro-environments like urban areas, traffic zones, residential areas and industrial belts. We must remember that this system keeps taking reading periodically and generates 24-hour averages and therefore, it is bound to be different from data collected at any particular place at any given time. National and international standards are for daily or monthly averages only. So, comparing data from an isolated point with national or international standard could be incorrect. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has adopted SAFAR as a pilot project, for replication in cities elsewhere. Eventually, the project will be handed over to IMD.
As regards health impacts arising out of long-term exposure to air pollution, scientific evidence is rising but we need more studies specific to population groups such as traffic constables or people living traffic junctions and children in schools near main arteries and highways. While we fine tune our data gathering and studying health impacts, we should move ahead with stricter regulation. As Dr Gufran Beig, project director of SAFAR says, “We are a scientific body and not regulatory authorities. Our aim is to provide the scientifically robust information on air quality to people”. The ball is in the court of the government and other regulatory bodies.