Indianexpress.com
Special: Delhi’s alarming pollution problem
According to a recent survey, air pollution in Delhi is one-and-a-half times worse than in Beijing, which has always been among the world’s most polluted cities. This feature looks at Delhi’s unprecedented air pollution, which is endangering the health of its citizens, especially young children, and making the city a textbook example of urban dysfunction.
Delhi’s Pollution One-And-Half Times Worse Than Beijing
Abheet Singh Sethi, IndiaSpend
Delhi’s PM 2.5 concentration exceeded 250 µg/m³ thrice over the last week, placing it under ‘severe’ category. The ‘severe’ rating means the PM 2.5 concentration is so high that it might affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing diseases. Beijing, by comparison, recorded ‘severe’ rating only once in the same period. Both Beijing and Delhi recorded ‘very poor’ air quality in terms of PM 2.5 concentration (151 to 250 µg/m³) on three out of the last seven days.
If Delhi was Beijing, it would shut 29 of 30 days
The Times of India
When air pollution hits a certain danger mark in Beijing, the government issues a red alert that automatically puts curbs on factories, construction work and vehicles. If Delhi had a similar system, then almost right through November, the stipulation on cars with odd- and even-numbered license plate using the roads on alternate days would have been in force. Schools and factories would also have remained shut for the entire month.
Delhi’s Transport Sector 3 Times More Polluting Than Mumbai’s
Chaitanya Mallapur, IndiaSpend
Delhi’s transport sector produces six times as much greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) as that of Kolkata’s, five times as much as Ahmedabad’s and three times as much as Greater Mumbai and Chennai, according to a study. Delhi’s transport sector contributes 32% of the city’s GHG emissions—gases responsible for global warming—said the report, GHG Footprint of Major Cities in India, conducted by the Centre for Ecological Sciences of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
Pollution migrants: Meet the people who left Delhi for good because of its noxious air
Mayank Jain, Scroll.in
Headhunters, speaking off the record, assert that many professionals express concerns about working in dusty Gurgaon or Delhi’s bustling business centres because of the pollution. “Employees are looking for super-high remuneration to compensate them against their health hazards,” said a consultant running his own headhunting firm. “The companies, in some cases, are even paying those in Delhi more than their usual structures allow but they have no real choice but to attract and retain talent.”
We needed a drastic step involving people… Mindset has to change on pollution: Gopal Rai
Indian Express
As the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi embarks on an ambitious plan to control pollution levels in the capital, including allowing odd, even numbered vehicles on the city’s roads on alternate days from January 1, Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai are ministers tasked with implementing some of these measures. PWD Minister Jain heads the government’s steering committee that is chalking out the plan while Transport Minister Rai is responsible for augmenting the city’s public transport in step with the scheme
A solution to Delhi’s pollution problem
Firstpost
Firstpost conducted a week-long campaign to get a finger on the pulse of Delhi and come up with solutions to the city’s woes. The first part of the campaign was a public poll asking how people felt about the Odd-Even Formula. It was followed by a call for suggestions on measures the Delhi government could adopt to reduce pollution. Finally, we asked Dinesh C Sharma — a 30-year veteran reporter who has covered climate change extensively — for a multi-pronged approach cities apart from just Delhi can adopt to reduce pollution.
#Breathe: An open access Air Quality Index network for India
IndiaSpend.com
To democratize data critical to savings thousands of lives, IndiaSpend is happy to announce the launch its own network of low-cost sensors to measure the air quality in many Indian cities. We hope to build a large system that can share air-quality data in an open, transparent way, for the benefit of all, including those who run other networks. We do not aim to disprove or counter the data being collated by other networks, including those run by the Government.
Listen: All We Want for Christmas is Air We Can Breathe (Audio)
Padmaparna Ghish and Samanth Subramanian
How does pollution flow? Does a green cover provide complete protection from pollutants? Low-cost air quality sensors may help provide the answers to these questions. They cannot compare to the government’s heavy-duty, but often inadequate and poorly-placed, sensors. But, the supplementary monitoring they provide can address pollution at a local level. Is a collaborative effort of this kind what we need to combat the deadly menace of air pollution? The Intersection finds out.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Video: Under the Dome – Investigating China’s Smog
Abby Zimet, Common Dreams
Giving new breadth to the term “viral,” last weekend up to 200 million people in China watched “Under the Dome,” a new, deeply personal, meticulously researched, self-funded for just $160,000 documentary about China’s calamitous pollution problem, which on its worst “airpocalypse” days is said to resemble an airport smoking lounge. The film by former news anchor and environmental journalist Chai Jing has been called “one of the most important pieces of public awareness of all time” for China, and in its potential impact has been compared to Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” in this country and, later, Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth.”