REFERENCE NOTE For the use of Members of Parliament

DELHI AIR POLLUTION

Prepared by Dr. Jayadev Sahu, Additional Director (2303Assitant of Lok Sabha Secretariat under the supervision of Smt. Kalpana Sharma, Joint Secretary and Smt. Anita Khanna, Director. The Reference Note is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is not for publication. This Service is not to be quoted as the source of information as it is based on the sources indicated at the end/in the context.

MEMBERS REFERENCE SERVICE LARRDIS

LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT

NEW DELHI

REFERENCE NOTE

For the use of Members of Parliament

No.6/RN/Ref/March/2018

DELHI AIR POLLUTION AN OVERVIEW

, Additional Director (23035025) and Shri Sai Ram C.V. , Junior Library Lok Sabha Secretariat under the supervision of Smt. Kalpana Sharma, Joint Secretary and

is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is not for publication. This Service is not to be quoted as the source of information as it is based on the sources

MEMBERS REFERENCE SERVICE

LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT

REFERENCE NOTE

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

DELHI AIR POLLUTION:

Shri Sai Ram C.V. , Junior Library Lok Sabha Secretariat under the supervision of Smt. Kalpana Sharma, Joint Secretary and

is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is not for publication. This Service is not to be quoted as the source of information as it is based on the sources

DELHI AIR POLLUTION: AN OVERVIEW

Introduction

Pure air is a mixture of various gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, argon,

carbon dioxide, and small amount of other gases in a fixed proportion. If the

composition of air alters by any means; it is known as air pollution, which can

lead to effects on human health, environment, and other living creatures.

According to The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, “air

pollution is the presence of any solid, liquid, or gaseous substance in the

atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human

beings or other living creatures or plants or property or environment”.

Delhi, with an area of 1483 km2, is geographically located in North India

within the latitude 28°24’17” and 28°53’00’’N, and longitude 77°45’30’’ and

77°21’30’’E 1 . Delhi is jointly administered by the Central and State

Governments. As of 2011, Delhi inhabitates approximately 16.3 million people;

thus becoming the second most populous city in India. However, due to rapid

development, Delhi is also facing serious challenges in terms of air pollution.

There are a number of factors responsible for the altered composition of the

ambient air which can be mainly categorised as natural causes and

anthropogenic (man-made) causes.

Air Pollutants

The substances which are responsible for causing air pollution are called as air

pollutants.

Classification of Air Pollutants

Air pollutants can be categorized by various means:

On the basis of source of origin

1 Delhi Statistical Handbook, 2017, p.1.

2

1. Natural air pollutants: Natural air pollutants are emitted from natural sources

such as volcanic activity, dust, sea-salt, forest fires, lightening, soil, etc.

2. Anthropogenic air pollutants: These pollutants include the emissions from

stationary point sources (e.g. emission from industries), mobile sources (e.g.

vehicular emission, marine vessels, airplanes etc.), waste disposal landfills,

controlled burning, etc.

On the basis of method of origin

1. Primary air pollutants: Those pollutants which are emitted directly from any

emission source in the atmosphere are termed as primary air pollutants, e.g.

sulphur dioxide (SO2),carbon monoxide (CO), lead (Pb), ammonia (NH3),etc.

2. Secondary air pollutants: Secondary pollutants are formed by the reactions

between primary air pollutants and normal atmospheric constituents. In some of

the cases, these pollutants are formed by utilizing the solar energy, e.g. ozone,

peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), smog, etc

On the basis of chemical composition

1. Organic air pollutants: Examples are hydrocarbons, aldehydes, ketones,

amines, and alcohols, etc.

2. Inorganic air pollutants: Examples are carbon compounds (CO and

carbonates), nitrogen compounds (NOX and NH3), sulphur compounds (H2S,

SO2, SO3, H2SO4), halogen compounds (HF, HCl etc.), flyash, silica, etc.

On the basis of state of matter

1. Gaseous air pollutants: Pollutants which are in the form of gas are termed as

gaseous air pollutants, e.g. Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide(NOX),

Ozone(O3), Carbon Monoxide(CO),etc.

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2. Particulate air pollutants: Particulate air pollutants or particulate matter (PM)

can be defined as the microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the earth’s

atmosphere. There are various subtypes of particulate matter:

a. Total suspended particulate matter (TSPM): The concentration of

particulate matter which is obtained when a high volume bulk sampling is

done on a filter substrate. It includes particles of all sizes.

b. PM10: These are the particles less than 10 μm in diameter.

c. PM2.5: These are the particles less than 2.5 μm in diameter.

d. PM1.0: These are the particles less than 1 μm in diameter.

Particles which lie between 10μm to 2.5μm are termed as ‘coarse particles’

whereas particles with diameter less than 2.5μm are called as ‘fine particles’.

Fine particles also include ultra-fine particles of size less than 0.1 μm (PM0.1).

National Ambient Air Quality Standards(NAAQS)

To build-up a programme for the effective management of ambient air

quality and to reduce the damaging effects of air pollution, development of

national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) is a pre-requisite. Central

Pollution Control Board had adopted first ambient air quality standards on

November, 1982. These standards have been revised by CPCB in 1994, and

later in 2009, which is shown in Annexure-I. Government of India has laid

down National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for twelve pollutants

namely, Particulate Matter 10 (PM10), PM2.5, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Sulphur

Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ammonia (NH3), ground level Ozone

(O3), Lead, Arsenic, Nickel, Benzene and Benzo(a)pyrene to control air

pollution under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

National Air Quality Index

The National Air Quality Index (AQI) has been launched during 2015

which is a web-based system designed to provide simplified form of air quality

4

data on real time basis. Air Quality Index (AQI) is a tool for effective

communication of air quality status to people in terms, which are easy to

understand. It transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a

single number (index value), nomenclature and colour. There are six AQI

categories, namely good, satisfactory, moderately polluted, poor, very poor, and

severe. Each of these categories is decided based on ambient concentration

values of air pollutants and their likely health impacts (known as health

breakpoints).

AQI Associated health impacts

Good (0 – 50) Minimal impact

Satisfactory (51 – 100) Minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people Moderately polluted Breathing discomfort to people with lungs, asthma, and heart

(101 – 200) diseases

Poor (201 – 300) Breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure

Very poor (301 – 400) Respiratory illness on prolonged exposure

Severe (401 – 500) Affects healthy people, and seriously impacts those with existing diseases

Air Quality Monitoring in Delhi

Air quality monitoring in Delhi is carried out through a number of air

quality monitoring stations situated across the territory. The monitoring is

undertaken by various organizations viz. Central Pollution Control Board

(CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and System of Air

Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) of Indian Institute of

Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. Monthly Air Quality Index value of Delhi

for last three year is given in Annexure-II.

It hardly needs to be emphasized that Delhi is an air-shed and action is

within Delhi impact pollution outside the capital as well as action in adjoining

cities such as Gurugram, Ghaziabad, NOIDA, Faridabad impact air quality in

Delhi.

5

Reason for Delhi Air Pollution

According to a study conducted by Central Pollution Control Board in

20162 on Delhi Air Pollution, there are several factors which contributes the

higher level of air pollution in Delhi.

The study finds that the vehicular pollution, domestic pollution, industrial

emission, road dust, and garbage burning contributes a large share in Delhi’s

total pollution load. Furthermore, construction of infrastructure including large

residential complexes potentially contributes to the Delhi’s air pollution load.

While there are a number of source apportionment studies that try to

identify the sources of pollutants, it must be taken into account that the

contributions of different sources vary during different seasons. Tables No. 1,2

and 3 at Annexure - III indicate the year average, winter and summer source

respectively. It is noticed that of the six main pollutants PM10, PM2.5, NOx are

consistently over safe limits.

As per the Economic Survey of Delhi 2016-17, the total number of motor

vehicles on road in NCT of Delhi was 97.05 lakh, showing an increase of 9.94

per cent over previous year. The excessive usage of cars and motor cycles are

the pertinent causes for rising vehicular pollution load. This leads to rising NO2

as well as particulate matter concentration. Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5)

emanates especially from the vehicular exhausts; particularly diesel vehicles,

road dust, and industrial activities such as combustion processes, construction

activities, etc.

Tremendous growth of industrial sector is also responsible for pollution.

As per the report of Economic Survey of Delhi 2016-17, there are 8.75 lakhs

total industrial establishments operating in Delhi according to 6th Economic

Census 2013. The census registered an increase of 1,17,565 establishments over

5th Economic Census conducted during 2005. In many of the industries,

installed air pollution control devices are found in idle conditions which lead to

2 Air Pollution in Delhi An Analysis, CPCB 2016.

6

the emission of pollutants directly into the atmosphere without any filtration.

Further, construction of short chimneys also restricts the polluting gases to

escape into the upper layers of the atmosphere.

Meteorological Issue

Apart from the vehicular and industrial emissions, local climatic and

seasonal factors also affect the air quality of Delhi. Delhi, being a land-locked

territory, is unable to dilute its emission using the moderating effects of sea; the

opportunity availed by other metropolitan cities, such as Mumbai, Kolkata, and

Chennai. Surrounded by the regions of varied climate, Delhi also represents a

great variability in the seasonal patterns. In its west, there is Great Indian desert

(Thar desert) of Rajasthan while in the north and east direction there are cool

hilly regions. At its south, there are central hot plains. Thus, Delhi is located in

the subtropical belt with extremely scorching summers, moderate rainfall, and

chilling winters.

The winters are extremely important in Delhi as it is dominated by cold,

dry air, and ground based inversion with low wind conditions, which are

responsible for increasing concentration of pollutants. High concentration of

pollutants is trapped close to earth’s surface because a layer of warm air acts as

a lid on top of this layer. Moreover, dense smog formation during winter

months has also been witnessed in Delhi, the reason of which is vehicular

pollution as well as the prevailing meteorological conditions in the months of

December and January. Similarly, wind pattern also affects the weather

conditions. According to Economic Survey 2017-18, some 35 million tons of

rice-paddy stubble in 10 million ha, in three adjoining States (Punjab, Haryana

and Western Uttar Pradesh), burnt in late October, results in combination of

pollution and fog, leading to heavy smog formation in Delhi, especially during

winters. In summers, although there is no inversion phenomenon, still the air

quality deteriorates because of the increased concentration of PM10, which is

7

due to dust. However, it becomes toxic due to the coating of polluted emissions

from various sources. Nevertheless, during rainy season pollution level goes

down due to dust suspension. Thus, air pollution in Delhi is a trans-boundary

and climate induced phenomenon.

Initiatives to improve the air quality of Delhi

In the Union Budget 2018 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced "Air

pollution in the Delhi-NCR region has been a cause of concern. A special

Scheme will be implemented to support the efforts of the governments of

Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and the NCT of Delhi to address air

pollution and to subsidize machinery required for in-situ management of

crop residue."

A draft action agenda has been formulated by a High Level Task Force

that has been set up under the Chairmanship of Principal Secretary to

Prime Minister for management of air pollution in Delhi NCR. The Task

Force will finalise ‘Air Action Plan – Abatement of Air Pollution in the

Delhi National Capital Region. The Task Force will monitor the listed

key action. The draft Air Action Plan is available on:

http://www.moef.nic.in/sites/default/files/press-

releases/Air%20Action%20Plan%20for%20public%20consultation.pdf

The Central Government had notified a Graded Response Action Plan on

12th January 2017 for Delhi and NCR, which comprises measures such as

prohibition on entry of trucks into Delhi; ban on construction activities,

introduction of odd and even scheme for private vehicles, shutting of

schools, closure of brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers; shutting

down of Badarpur power plant, ban on diesel generator sets, garbage

burning in landfills and plying of visibly polluting vehicles etc. The

nature, scope and rigor of measures to be taken is linked to levels of

pollution viz. severe + or emergency, severe, very poor, moderate to poor

8

and moderate, after due consideration by authorities concerned. The

actions are to be implemented in the entire NCR. Besides, action related

to stubble burning is to be implemented by Government of Punjab. The

details of Graded Response Action Plan are available on:

http://envfor.nic.in/content/so-118e-12-01-2017-graded-response-action-plan-

control-air-pollution-delhi-and-national-capi

Other Initiatives by the Government of India: The Government of

India has taken several steps to address air pollution which inter alia,

include notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards; setting

up of monitoring network for assessment of ambient air quality;

introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels like gaseous fuel (CNG, LPG,

etc.), ethanol blending; launching of National Air Quality Index;

universalization of BS-IV from 2017; leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI

fuel standards from 1st April, 2018; notification of Construction and

Demolition Waste Management Rules; banning of burning of biomass;

promotion of public transport network; streamlining the issuance of

Pollution Under Control Certificate; installation of on-line continuous

(24x7) monitoring devices by major industries; collection of

Environmental Protection Charge on more than 2000 CC diesel vehicles

etc.3

Conclusion

The Central and State Governments has been taking several steps to

reduce the level of air pollution in Delhi. As per data on AQI in Delhi in NCR,

there has been an improvement in the overall air quality in year 2017as

compared to year 2016. The number of severe, poor and very poor AQI days

were less compared to last year(214 vs. 181). Similarly, the number of good,

3Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 219, dated 05 Feb 2018

9

satisfactory and moderate days were greater than last year (151 against

109).4 However, more still needs to be done to further reduce the levels of air

pollution. The already existing measures need to be strengthened and magnified

to a larger scale. The governmental efforts alone are not enough. Participation

of the community is crucial in order to make Delhi NCR an air pollution free

place.

Sources Consulted

1. Air Pollution in Delhi An Analysis, Envis Centre CPCB,MoEFCC 2016.

2. Economic Survey, 2017-18.

3. Economic Survey of Delhi, 2016-17.

4. Delhi Statistical Hand Book, 2017.

5. Answers to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Questions.

6. Press Clippings.

4Ibid.

Annexure - I

National Ambient Air Quality Standards(NAAQS) - (2009)

* Annual Arithmetic mean of minimum 104 measurements in a year at a particular site taken twice a week 24 hourly at uniform intervals. ** 24 hourly or 8 hourly or 1 hourly monitored values, as applicable, shall be complied with 98% of the time in a year. 2% of the time, they may exceed the limits but not on two consecutive days of monitoring.

NOTE: Whenever and wherever monitoring results on two consecutive days of monitoring exceed the limits

specified abovefor the respective category, it shall be considered adequate reason to institute regular or continuous monitoring and further investigations

Pollutants Time Concentration in Ambient Air Methods of Measurement Weighted Industrial, Ecologically

Average Residential, Sensitive Area Rural and (Notified by other Areas Central Government)

Sulphur Dioxide Annual * 50 20 -Improved West and Gaeke Method (SO2), µg/m

3 24 Hours ** 80 80 -Ultraviolet Fluorescence Nitrogen Dioxide Annual * 40 30 -Jacob &Hochheiser modified (NO2), µg/m

3 24 Hours ** 80 80 (NaOH-NaAsO2) Method -Gas Phase Chemiluminescence

Particulate Matter Annual * 60 60 -Gravimetric (Size less than 10µm) 24 Hours ** 100 100 -TEOM or PM10, µg/m

3 -Beta attenuation Particulate Matter Annual * 40 40 -Gravimetric (Size less than 2.5µm) 24 Hours ** 60 60 -TEOM or PM2.5 , µg/m

3 -Beta attenuation Ozone (O3) 8 Hours * 100 100 -UV Photometric µg/m

3 1 Hour ** 180 180 -Chemiluminescence -Chemical Method

Lead (Pb) Annual * 0.50 0.50 -AAS/ICP Method after sampling on µg/m

3 24 Hours ** 1.0 1.0 EPM 2000 or equivalent filter paper -ED-XRF using Teflon filter

Carbon Monoxide(CO), 8 Hours ** 02 02 -Non dispersive Infrared (NDIR) mg/m

3 1 Hour ** 04 04 Spectroscopy Ammonia (NH3), Annual * 100 100 -Chemiluminescence µg/m

3 24 Hours ** 400 400 -Indophenol method Benzene (C 6 H6), Annual * 05 05 -Gas Chromatography (GC) based µg/m

3 continuous analyzer -Adsorption and desorption followed by GC analysis

Benzo(a)Pyrene (BaP) Annual * 01 01 -Solvent extraction followed by Particulate phase only, HPLC/GC analysis ng/m

3 Arsenic (As), Annual * 06 06 -AAS/ICP Method after sampling on ng/m

3 EPM 2000 or equivalent filter paper Nickel (Ni), Annual * 20 20 -AAS/ICP Method after sampling on ng/m

3 EPM 2000 or equivalent filter paper

Annexure - II

Source:Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Air Laboratory, December, 2017.

Annexure - III Table 1 - Source Apportionment Study

Year Average Parameters Industrial Stack Vehicles Road Dust Others

PM10 10% 9% 56% 25%

PM2.5 11% 20% 38% 31%

NOx 52% 36% 0% 12%

SO2 91% 1% 1% 7%

CO 3% 83% 0% 14%

Table 2 - Source Apportionment Winter

Pollutants Secondary particles (Power

Plants+Industries+

Gen Sets)

Vehicles Biomass Burning

MSW burning

Soil and

Road Dust

Coal and Fly Ash

Construction Material

PM10 25% 20% 17% 9% 14% 12% 3%

PM2.5 30% 25% 26% 8% 4% 5% 2%

Secondary Particles – NOx (greater load) and SOx from Thermal Power Plants+Industries in Delhi+DGSets+Vehicles contribute to over 25%

Control over Vehicular Pollution is of prime importance. Stubble burning causes one fourth of the load. Pollution due to road dust in absolute terms does not decline much.

Table 3 - Source Apportionment Summer

Pollutants Coal and Fly Ash

Road Dust

Biomass Burnin

g

Secondary particles

MSW burnin

g

Vehicles Construction Material

PM10 38% 27% 7% 10% 8% 6% 4%

PM2.5 26% 27% 12% 15% 7% 9% 3% Due to arid conditions and greater wind velocity – Fly Ash and Road Dust biggest

contributor. Secondary particles high -Vehicular Pollution and Thermal Power Plants are main

source. Contribution of biomass burning is still high.