Proposed city-specific interim targets for India based on WHO air quality guidelines 2021 (original) (raw)

Pathways to Achieve National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in India

2019

The rapid economic growth and steep population increase in India’s urban areas, and the lack of policy measures to control pollution in these regions, are causing public health problems, significant environmental degradation, including of air, water, and land, and increased production of greenhouse gases. Together, these undermine the potential for sustainable socio-economic development of the country, and will particularly have severe implications for the poor. A large share of the Indian population is exposed to pollution levels that do not conform to global and national air quality standards. Globally, Indian cities rank poorly in terms of air pollution. Numerous monitoring sites across India report high concentrations of PM2.5, which exceed the benchmark limit (of 40 μg/m³) suggested by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). It is estimated that in 2015, more than half the Indian population—about 670 million people—were exposed to ambient PM2.5 concentrations that d...

Urban Air Quality of Million Populated Cities of India

Like many countries central pollution control board (CPCB) conducted evaluation of air pollution in many cities against National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) on the basis of which we can understand the quality of India as there exceedances' gives the idea of level of pollution. Online monitoring station gives the opportunity to understand the level of air pollution in particular area daily or yearly basis. That facilitate to calculate health risk assessment in that areas. The potential for adverse health effects is substantial. According to a detailed analysis of most of the criteria pollutants in Delhi, except for SO2, all criteria pollutants exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) applicable in USA (V. P. Aneja et al. 2001). As we know that carbon dioxide (SO2), oxide of nitrogen (NOX), particulate matter (PM10), mainly affects the human health so study is being focus on the diseases caused by these pollutants.

Mitigation pathways towards national ambient air quality standards in India

Environment International

Exposure to ambient particulate matter is a leading risk factor for environmental public health in India. While Indian authorities implemented several measures to reduce emissions from the power, industry and transportation sectors over the last years, such strategies appear to be insufficient to reduce the ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) concentration below the Indian National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 40 μg/m 3 across the country. This study explores pathways towards achieving the NAAQS in India in the context of the dynamics of social and economic development. In addition, to inform action at the subnational levels in India, we estimate the exposure to ambient air pollution in the current legislations and alternative policy scenarios based on simulations with the GAINS integrated assessment model. The analysis reveals that in many of the Indian States emission sources that are outside of their immediate jurisdictions make the dominating contributions to (population-weighted) ambient pollution levels of PM 2.5. Consequently, most of the States cannot achieve significant improvements in their air quality and population exposure on their own without emission reductions in the surrounding regions, and any cost-effective strategy requires regionally coordinated approaches. Advanced technical emission control measures could provide NAAQS-compliant air quality for 60% of the Indian population. However, if combined with national sustainable development strategies, an additional 25% population will be provided with clean air, which appears to be a significant co-benefit on air quality (totaling 85%).

Measures to Control Air Pollution in Urban Centres of India

2016

Project Title: TERI–Shell Joint Study Agreement on India’s Mediumto Longterm Energy Choices. Background and Objective ƒ Many Indian cities including New Delhi are included in the list of most polluted cities in the world (WHO 2014, Cheng et al. 2016). About 80 per cent of cities in India violate the prescribed standards of ambient air quality (CPCB 2014). Multiple sources contribute to the problem and, hence, sector-specific strategies are required for control of air quality. ƒ This policy brief aims to analyse the whole issue in terms of key drivers, such as rapid urbanization, transportation, industrialization, power generation, and agricultural activities, that subsequently lead to air pollution at different scales in India. These drivers lead to generation of pressures on the air quality through release of pollutants. The brief assesses the contribution of different sources of emission and pollutant concentrations at urban and national scales and the impact on human health and o...

AIR POLLUTION AND INDIA: CURRENT SCENARIO

The capital city of India, New Delhi has been recognized as the most polluted city in the world. World Health Organization (WHO) has reported this as per their findings in 2014. et al., aware of the ill effects of environmental pollutants and toxicants on health status of human as well as other living organisms and the environment toxic effects of and some strict laws should be made to prevent environmental pollutions in the major cities of India. Deadly diseases like cancer and asthma etc. are increasing in Indian responsible for such increasing incidences of diseases.

PM2.5 exposure in highly polluted cities: A case study from New Delhi, India

Environmental Research, 2017

Personal exposure (PE) to air pollutants is driven by a combination of pollutant concentrations in indoor and outdoor environments, and time-activity pattern of individuals. The objectives of this study were to estimate personal exposure to PM 2.5 and black carbon (BC), and assess the representability of ambient air quality monitoring stations to serve as surrogates for PE in New Delhi. Personal exposure to air pollutants (PM 2.5-PE and BC PE) was measured using portable, battery-operated instruments (PM 2.5-pDR1500 and BC-microAethalometer AE51) in a small cohort of healthy adults (n=12 in summer, n=6 in winter) with no occupational exposure. Average PM 2.5-PE and BC PE (µg/m 3) were 53.9 ± 136 and 3.71 ± 4.29 respectively, in summer and 489.2 ± 209.2 and 23.3 ± 14.9 respectively, in winter. Activities associated with highest exposure levels were cooking and indoor cleaning for PM 2.5 , and commuting for BC. Within transport microenvironments, autorickshaws were found to be the most polluted, and lowest BC exposure was registered in public buses. Comparison of fixed-site ambient monitoring data showed a higher correlation with personal exposure dataset in winter compared to summer (r 2 of 0.51 (winter) and 0.21 (summer); 51% (winter) and 20% (summer)). This study highlights the need for detailed assessment of PE to air pollutants in Indian cities, and calls for a denser network of monitoring stations for better exposure assessment.

A note on air pollutant levels in select Indian cities

Indian Journal of Economics and Development, 2019

Objectives: Air pollution has become a serious problem in India. Seven out of top ten most polluted cities in the World in 2018 are Indian Cities (World Air Quality Ranking report). PM2.5 stands for Particulate Matter measuring 2.5 microns or less in diameter suspended in air. PM2.5 can cause significant negative health impacts such as Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), and Lung cancer. The objective of this study is to estimate trends and patterns of Particulate Matter 2.5 Concentration levels in Indian cities. Methods: We consider an Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model to explain the variability of particulate matter (PM2.5) levels across six different cities in India, using the daily observation data provided by the Central Pollution Control Board of India. Findings: Results from our model indicate that statistically significant differences exist in pollutant levels between Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, and Vishakhapatnam. Seasonality in pollutant levels is also significant. Mean levels of pollutants are generally higher during winter months and lower around the monsoon season for all the south Indian cities. Applications: Results from our model could be useful for understanding and predicting the air pollutant trends and patterns of south Indian cities.

Reduction in concentration of PM2.5 in India’s top most polluted cities: with special reference to post-lockdown period

Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health

Lockdown in India begins from 25 March and continues until 31 May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Due to such an extended period of lockdown for about more than 2 months resulted in 1.38 billion populations restricted themselves from mass activities that contribute to air pollution. Thus, through our quantitative approach and trend analysis, the study aims to evaluate the changes in the level of PM 2.5 as a major pollutant for the top ten polluted cities in India, with a special emphasis on finding what happened to its concentration after the lockdown ended. Thus, to better understand the nature of variation in PM 2.5 , we divide the entire 7 months into three periods for our analysis, i.e., before lockdown (1 January to 24 March), during lockdown (25 March to 31 May), and post-lockdown or unlock 1 and 2 (1 June to 31 July). Our investigation reveals that before lockdown, all the top polluted cities of India violating the national standard of PM 2.5 , as the lockdown begins interestingly, all cities show a momentous reduction in PM 2.5 concentration. Further, surprisingly we found that after the post-lockdown period, the concentration of PM 2.5 was reduced to minimal, as the average concentration of PM 2.5 for all the cities is below the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The study reveals that the lockdown has a consequence in improving overall air quality for the top polluted cities in India and further lockdown in the future with proper planning should be considered an alternative approach to restrain excessive emissions.

Ambient air pollution in selected small cities in India: Observed trends and future challenges

IATSS Research, 2021

Air pollution in small towns Diurnal cycle of PM pollution Regional patterns of air pollution Sustainable development goals Exposure to ambient air pollution is a major threat to human health in most Indian cities. Recent studies have reported that more than three-quarters of the people in India are exposed to pollution levels higher than the limits recommended by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in India and significantly higher than those recommended by the World Health Organization. Despite the poor air quality, the monitoring of air pollution levels is limited even in large urban areas in India and virtually absent in small towns and rural areas. The lack of data results in a minimal understanding of spatial patterns of air pollutants at local and regional levels. This paper presents particulate air pollution trends monitored over one year in three small cities in India. The findings are important for framing state and regional level policies for addressing air pollution problems in cities, and achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) linked to public health, reduction in the adverse environmental impact of cities, and adaptation to climate change, as indicated by SDGs 3.9, 11.6 and 11.b.

Trends and Management of Air Pollution: Assessment of Major Cities in India

Journal of Environment and Earth Science, 2015

Air pollution has emerged as one of the leading risk factors contributing to national burden of disease in India. This study examined the trends of air pollution in India over the period from 1995-2008. The analysis revealed a wide variation in the time series of annual measurements of SO x , NO x , SPM and RSPM at various cities in India. The mean of Annual average concentration of sulphur di oxide was found to be higher for Bangalore and Kolkata(19.5, 19.7µg/m 3).The oxides of nitrogen were found to be higher for Kolkata and Delhi(48.80µg/m 3 ,40.86µg/m 3).The levels of RSPM was found to be significantly higher for Ahmadabad ,Delhi and Kolkata(165,163,126µg/m 3).Similarly the levels of SPM was found to be higher for Delhi and Kolkata(385, 301µg/m 3). The other important point in SO 2 levels is decreasing at all cities, which is largely attributed to sulphur reduction in diesel. The variation in annual average concentrations during different years may be due to multiple factors including meteorology, neighbourhood activity pattern or levels during monitoring period etc.