NEW DELHI: Airpocalypse II, a report by environmental NGO Greenpeace India, has found that more than 47% of the population in India is still living in areas where there is no air quality monitoring. Greenpeace researchers analysed PM10 (coarse pollution particles) annual averages for 280 cities monitored by the Central Pollution Control Board under their national air quality monitoring programme, which shows Delhi to be the most polluted and Hassan in Karnataka to have the cleanest air.Of the 630 million people living in 280 cities where CPCB monitors air quality, close to 550 million live in areas exceeding national safe standards for PM10; and 180 million people live in areas where air pollution levels are more than twice the safe standard of 60 micrograms per cubic metres set by CPCB.“This includes 47 million children under five years of age, living in areas where the standard is exceeded and 17 million in areas where the air pollution levels are more than twice the stipulated standards,” the report states.While there is no air pollution monitoring for nearly 580 million people, real-time data are available for a population of only 190 million. Most children under five years live in cities where PM10 levels are more than twice the safe standard — Uttar Pradesh (6.3 million) and Rajasthan (2.1 million), followed by Bihar (1.7 million), Maharashtra (1.4 million) and Delhi (1.4 million).“Only 16% of the population inhabiting the districts has real-time air quality data available, showing how inhumanly we are responding to the national health crisis in front of us. Even the manual data collected for 300 cities/towns across the country are not shared in a timely manner and in a format that can be accessed and understood easily by general public,” Sunil Dahiya, senior campaigner, Greenpeace India, said.Data on monthly PM10 levels during 2016 in Delhi were obtained from six manually operated air quality monitoring stations installed across the city, operating under the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. Assessment of air quality from Delhi, meanwhile, showed that annual PM10 levels were between four and seven times higher than the annual standard prescribed under NAAQS at the six locations data were collected from.“Not only were the annual values above the annual standard, but they were also way above the daily standard. Except for a couple of months at two stations, we did not see any of the months having PM10 below the daily standard of 100 µg/m³,” the report said.According to the data, Anand Vihar had both the highest peak and annual levels during 2016. Annual PM10 levels during 2016 for RK Puram, Mandir Marg, Punjabi Bagh, Civil Lines, IGI and Anand Vihar were 276, 238, 274, 282, 247 and 423 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively. Overall, the annual PM10 levels for Delhi during 2016 was at 290µg/m³ — nearly three times the safe standard.Greenpeace researchers also made RTI inquiries and accessed state pollution control board annual reports to check what was being done in polluted cities to comply with national standards.Based on pollution levels between 2011 and 2015, CPCB had issued directions to states to formulate action plans to reduce air pollution levels across 94 non-attainment (those not meeting safe standard) cities spread across the country. These plans were to be made during 2016 by the state pollution control boards.“As per the directions, action was required to be taken within a specific timeline, ranging from action on the directions within a week to six months. As per the update with us most of the pollution control boards forwarded the letter to the relevant departments for further action. Apart from Delhi-NCR where a Graded Response Action Plan has come into force and, in Lucknow, where the same plan has been copied for Lucknow city (on paper only — its implementation still seems to be a distant dream), no other city seems to be taking any action of any worth against the polluters,” the report found.