Air in most Indian cities hazardous: Greenpeace -Governance Now

Air in most Indian cities hazardous: Greenpeace

The most polluted areas are spread across North India, starting from Rajasthan and then moving along the Indo-Gangetic belt to West Bengal

GN Bureau | January 11, 2017

#Delhi pollution #health #North India #air quality #greenpeace #air pollution #WHO

Air in most Indian cities hazardous

None of the Indian cities comply with standards prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said a Greenpeace report.

The report “Airpocalypse” assesses air quality in 168 cities across 24 states and union territories and pinpoints fossil fuels as one of the main culprits for the deteriorating air quality across the country.

It noted that very few cities in southern India comply with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards.

“Air pollution is a national public health crisis as almost none of the cities have bothered to keep air pollution in check, making them unlivable. We are facing an apocalypse right now due to unbreathable air. Deaths due to air pollution are only a fraction less than those due to use of tobacco yet authorities are laying a deaf ear to the numerous scientific reports that have set alarm bells ringing,” says Sunil Dahiya, campaigner, Greenpeace India.

The top 20 most polluted cities have PM 10 levels between 268 µg/m3and 168 µg/m3 for the year 2015. While, Delhi tops the list with 268 µg/m3, it is followed closely by Ghaziabad, Allahabad, and Bareli in Uttar Pradesh; Faridabad in Haryana; Jharia in Jharkhand, Alwar in Rajasthan; Ranchi, Kusunda and Bastacola in Jharkhand; Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, and Patna In Bihar; with PM10 levels ranging from 258 µg/m3to 200 µg/m3.

Read: Gwalior, Allahabad, Patna and Raipur among world’s 10 most polluted

The Greenpeace report mentions the sources of pollution in several cities based on review of earlier research available. The most polluted cities are spread across the north India, starting from Rajasthan and then moving along the Indo-Gangetic belt to West Bengal. A closer analysis of the data obtained through RTI and previous studies on air pollution pinpoint to continued use of fossil fuels as the main culprit for the dangerous rise in the level of pollutants in the air across the country

Dahiya adds: “India’s pollution trends have been steadily increasing, with India overtaking China in number of deaths due to outdoor air pollution in 2015. India’s deteriorating air quality demands an urgent robust monitoring system.”

“This report clearly shows that air pollution is not restricted to Delhi. Thus, our pollution reduction strategies needs to be much more ambitious, systematic and with focused targets with clear timelines. Accountability and compliance mechanism should be in place, with no leniency towards the fossil fuel dependant sectors such as, power and transport,” said a press release.

Read the complete Greenpeace report ‘Airpocalypse’

Comments

Other News

COVID-19 demobilisation: Lessons for public governance

Demobilization, like its predecessor – demonetization, is another decision gone bad in implementation. In both instances a careful public administrative action through its governance systems could have saved the magnitude of impact particularly on the most vulnerable sections of the society. Th

Don’t fear Corona, fight it

In a bid to break the “chain of transmission” of the deadly Covid-19, India, a country with more than 1.3 billion population, observed a voluntary ‘Janata Curfew’ on March 22. This has been followed by a 21-day, nationwide lockdown from March 24. Prime minister Narendra Modi also re

Sci-Tech Empowered Committee set up for COVID-19

To take speedy decisions on research and development for Sars-Cov-2 virus and COVID-19, the government has constituted a Science and Technology Empowered Committee. The committee, set up on March 29 and chaired by Niti Aayog member, professor Vinod Paul and professor K Vijay Raghavan, princi

Covid-19 and real estate: This could be last straw that broke camel’s back

Covid-19 may turn out to be the last straw that broke the camel’s back so far as the real estate sector is concerned. It broke out at a time when pundits were estimating the GDP to be hovering around 2.5% with unprecedent levels of unemployment. This itself was a good indicator that the real estate s

India ramps efforts as COVID-19 cases rise

As COVID -19 cases continue to rise amid a 21-day lockdown, the centre and the states are proactively taking measures to provide aid to the underprivileged and the needy during this unprecedented situation. By Sunday morning, India had registered 27

Diplomacy in the time of Covid-19

In the thick of battle with the deadly coronavirus, India on March announced a 21-day lockdown till April 14 in its bid to control the spread of virus which has so far led to 10 people’s death and over 600 others falling sick across the country. As per experts, India, which is in the second stage of