Air pollution begins from Diwali season in Indo-Gangetic Plain, worst may be ahead: CPCB data

New Delhi: According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board's Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station, Diwali marks the start of the air pollution season in the Indo-Gangetic Plain states, and the worst of the season may be ahead of us. According to the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) Tracker, average PM 2.5 levels in the capital cities of Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, and Patna were higher in October this year than in 2021. Despite a delayed monsoon withdrawal and a cleaner Diwali over the last five years, PM2.5 levels in October 2022 have surpassed those in October 2021.

The rains also pushed back this year's stubble-burning season, according to the NCAP Tracker analysis. "The PM 2.5 levels for October 2022 in Delhi and Patna remained above (Central Pollution Control Board) CPCB's daily safe limits of 60 micrograms per cubic metre. Delhi recorded an average PM 2.5 of 105 micrograms per cubic metre in October as opposed to 74.88 micrograms per cubic metre in the previous year," the analysis said.

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Rains also delayed the stubble burning season, resulting in a 7% contribution to PM 2.5 levels in Delhi until October 28. Among the five capital cities studied, Patna's PM 2.5 concentration exceeded the safe limit to 67 micrograms per cubic metre, up from 45.25 micrograms per cubic metre in 2021. Only Kolkata saw a decrease in PM 2.5 levels when compared to 2021.

Director of Climate Trends on air pollution

Director of Climate Trends Aarti Khosla said that long-term solutions like switching to clean energy, managing vehicular pollution and strengthening monitoring to tackle emissions all year round are some of the solutions that can be considered to avoid hazardous levels of pollution during the winters. "The extremely high PM 2.5 levels for nearly four months over the years are causing long term adverse impacts on health of the citizens in these cities. The governments have also resorted to a blame game as air pollution levels spike in the national capital and around," Khosla said.

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Affect of vehicular and local emissions

Ravindra Khaiwal, professor of Environment at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), said that with increased vehicular and local emissions, small and mid sizes urban centres are also becoming hotspots as seen in the air quality levels they are reporting. "We need to plan not only for crop residue burning but also other sources for the rest of the year so we can effectively manage pollution during this time when the atmospheric reactivity in play. It is extremely important to prioritise this since air pollution is a major risk to various health issues including respiratory and cardiovascular ailments," Khaiwal said.