Delhi’s dirty air: no end in sight

As authorities scrambled to mitigate the effects of a thick haze of pollution, air quality in Delhi hit severe levels for the first time this season on 2 November when the level of PM2.5 – fine particulate matter that poses the most significant risk to human health – exceeded the ‘safe’ limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre by seven to eight times across various locations in the city and its suburbs, according to government records.

PM2.5 particles, with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres, can infiltrate the lungs and occasionally enter the bloodstream. These tiny particles have been linked to cancer, diabetes and other life-shortening conditions. 

The Delhi government, run by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), rapidly announced that all government and private primary schools in the city would remain shut as the air quality index (AQI) in the city hit 500, which is 100 times the limit deemed to be healthy by the World Health Organization (WHO).

On 5 November, the central government’s air quality panel, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), announced the activation of Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) – a set of measures implemented in the Delhi–National Capital Region (NCR) to combat deteriorating air quality during the winter months.

In an official statement, the CAQM said: “Keeping in view the prevailing trend of air quality, and in an effort to prevent further deterioration of air quality in the region, the Sub-Committee today has taken the call to invoke all actions as envisaged under Stage IV of GRAP ‘Severe Air Quality’ (Delhi’s AQI 450+), today with immediate effect in the entire NCR.”

Under Stage IV, 50 per cent of employees in government and private offices have been directed to work from home in a bid to improve air quality.

Under GRAP, an AQI up to 50 is considered  ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.

Although Delhi remains one of the world’s most polluted cities for PM2.5 over the average course of a year, ahead of winter, pollution reaches alarming levels due to factors such as agricultural stubble burning (a cheap and effective method of clearing fields for the next sowing cycle, employed by farmers in western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana), falling temperatures, low wind speeds that trap the pollutants in the lower atmosphere and the bursting of firecrackers during festivals like Diwali.

In the first week of November this year, the overall air quality in the national capital remained ‘severe’ with smog-engulfing the Delhi–NCR area.

The air pollution in the Delhi–NCR region is expected to peak in early November, with stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana likely to increase during the first two weeks of the month, according to analysis by Delhi’s Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

According to some estimates, farm fires account for about 25 per cent of the pollution over Delhi. 

As the AQI reached 500, Stage III of GRAP was invoked. Divided into four stages, GRAP’s emergency restrictions are introduced only when air pollution reaches a certain level. Stage III of GRAP is put in place when the air quality slips into the ‘severe’ category.

Under GRAP’s Stage II, initiated on 21 October after the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology warned Delhi’s air quality would shortly enter the “very poor” category, Delhi–NCR’s authorities were directed to increase parking fees to discourage the use of vehicles for personal use and to increase the frequency of compressed natural gas (CNG) or electric buses and metro trains to encourage their greater use by the public.

Under Stage II, the use of diesel generator sets is prohibited except for essential and emergency services, such as for hospitals, railways, metro services, airports, water pumping stations and “projects of national importance”.

The government also asked citizens to make greater use of public transport and refrain from taking congested routes.

In September, the AAP-led Delhi government also re-imposed a ban on the manufacturing, sale, storage and use of all kinds of firecrackers in the capital.

The Delhi government has banned the manufacturing, sale, storage and use all kinds of firecrackers during the period from September to 1 January for the last three years as part of an action plan to reduce pollution levels in winter.

Earlier, Delhi–NCR’s environment minister Gopal Rai said that the coming weeks are crucial for the city because of Dussehra, Diwali and farm fires in neighbouring states.

“The weather is not in our control but the sources (causing pollution) can be controlled to ensure the impact on people’s health is minimised,” he told news agency ANI.

Stating that only CNG, electric and BS–VI buses will be allowed in the national capital from 1 November, Rai added that while all the buses in Delhi are CNG-powered, the buses coming from neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are diesel-powered, which is contributing to high pollution in Delhi. 

Rai also urged the state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan to ban diesel buses in the adjoining NCR. He also announced that for at least one week from 13 November, the ‘odd-even’ car rationing scheme – under which cars with odd and even number plates are banned on alternate days – will operate in Delhi city, reported the Hindustan Times.

In an advisory, vulnerable groups like elders and children have also been asked to stay indoors.

“Avoid prolonged or heavy exertion. Go for a short walk instead of a jog and take more breaks. Stop any activity if you experience any unusual coughing, chest discomfort, wheezing, breathing difficulty, or fatigue,” the government advisory said.

However, the measures provided little relief for the region’s many millions of residents, and environmental activists were severely critical of the city administration’s efforts to reduce pollution, such as sprinkling water on the roads, slamming them as ‘woefully inadequate’.

Clearly, the poor air quality in the Delhi–NCR region poses a major health emergency. Doctors say there has been an increase in the number of patients coming into hospitals and medical clinics complaining of breathing issues and other health concerns. “We are recording a surge in the number of irritative bronchitis infections,” Jugal Kishore, the head of the medicine department at the city’s Safdarjung Hospital, told PTI news agency.

Medical professionals also warn that the city’s pollution not only puts children and the elderly at risk but also those who are young and healthy.

Vikas Kumar, a 32-year-old street vendor in Delhi’s Connaught Place, said that the poor air quality is taking a toll on the health of the people. “The winter is not even here but the pollution level is increasing each day,” he told the media. “Even at 5am, the air is not fresh. My eyes burn and feel itchy throughout the day and sometimes my breathing becomes heavy. The city’s murky air is taking a toll on our health.”

While the air quality crisis continues, a political blame game has begun with the AAP, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress trading accusations and criticism over the alarming situation.

AAP national spokesperson Reena Gupta said the party’s governments in Delhi and Punjab were taking continuous action to reduce air pollution, but the BJP-ruled Centre, and Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments, were doing little or nothing to tackle the poor air quality.

However, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed that “carelessness” by AAP convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had contributed to the problem of poor air quality in Delhi–NCR.  He said: “On 3 November 2022, there was similar pollution. The central government was providing full assistance to the governments of Punjab and Delhi to take concrete steps to control it, but the useless Kejriwal and Punjab governments did nothing in this regard.”

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister Yogi Adityanath pinned the blame on Punjab and BJP-led Haryana for the deteriorating air quality.

He said in a statement: “On my way to Delhi, I landed in Ghaziabad. As soon as I stepped out of the aircraft, my eyes started burning, I realised it was due to smog. When I checked NASA satellite images to see the areas affected by stubble burning, I noticed that the entire area of Punjab and Haryana was highlighted in ‘red’. And when air from these states travels, it envelopes entire Delhi and parts of UP.”

Adityanath’s statement came just a few days after the Supreme Court directed the governments of Delhi, UP, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to submit an affidavit within a week, detailing the steps they have taken to reduce the annual autumn and winter problem of poor air quality in their states.

Like Delhi, Mumbai also grappled with a severe air pollution crisis in the first three weeks of October, triggering health issues like persistent dry cough, throat infection and breathing difficulties.

Although vehicle emissions are a substantial source of air pollution, ongoing construction projects and the burning of rubbish have added to the deterioration in the ambient air quality in Mumbai. Studies indicate construction activities in Mumbai contribute eight per cent to the total particulate matter and the Mumbai Metro construction project alone is responsible for 3.2 per cent of the suspended dust in the city.