Choked: Delhi's pollution level is fives times worse than just eight years ago as experts warn air quality is as noxious as Jharia coal town



Delhiites are breathing poison. If you thought CNG had made the Capital's air cleaner, then it's time for a reality check.



The alarming pollution levels have blackened Delhi's air to such an extent that it ranks alongside coal town Jharia and unregulated industrial hubs like Ludhiana, Raipur and Kanpur.



And it's the ever-increasing numbers of diesel-guzzling passenger cars and trucks plying unregulated on the city's roads that are largely to blame for the situation.



Unregulated entry of diesel trucks contribute 65 per cent of particulate matter concentration in Delhi's air

Before you dismiss it as an alarmist report of the green lobby, here are some hard facts: The respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) in the Capital's air is touching 250 micrograms per cubic meter ((μg/m3), four times the prescribed level, while the concentration of nitrogen oxide (NOx) is 50-55 μg/m3 - way above the permissible upper limit of 40μg/m3.



If you don't realise, just how alarming the increase is, here are some more figures: the RSPM levels in the Capital in 2005 were 110 μg/m3 and 154 μg/m3 in 2007. Needless to say, these pollutants are linked to diseases ranging from bronchitis and asthma to lung infection and birth defects.



The grim reality of Delhi's worsening air quality was revealed at presentations made by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT) on July 2 at a workshop in Bangalore on vehicular emission and pollution levels in Indian cities in Bangalore.



Air quality levels have deteriorated in most large cities in India, with RSPM and suspended particulate matter (SPM) standing out as major pollutants.



Almost 83 per cent cities showed violation of RSPM standards (60μg/m3), according to the last authentic calculations based on 2009-10 figures. And the Capital is among the worst performers.



'Delhi's RSPM levels have increased four times than the prescribed limit and have touched almost the 250 microgram barrier. The big concern is that highest average RSPM levels were observed in cities like Jharia, Raipur, Delhi and Kanpur," Sumit Sharma of TERI said.



The presentations showed that the level of NOx, which is attributed to the rise of diesel cars and unregulated trucks entering the Capital, is steadily rising. Diesel cars are close to 60 per cent of the new car sales in Delhi.



'While Howrah is worst in NOx concentration, standing at double the prescribed limit, Delhi stands closely with Kolkata, Pune and Bangalore at around 50-55μg/m3,' the TERI report said.



'NOx pollution has been linked to vehicles in which combustion of fuel occurs at higher temperatures. Some cities, like Delhi, show a good correlation between the rising NOx levels and the increase in the number of vehicles.'



Health hazard: Traffic emissions are a major cause of pollution in the city

Trucks, according to the findings, contribute about 65 per cent of the total particulate matter (PM) concentration in Delhi's air. The lack of any effective regulation on trucks entering the city after 10 pm has led to the current situation. Despite a Supreme Court directive to keep the trucks out of city limits, the enforcement remains poor. As a result, the pollution level in Delhi today is as bad as it was in the pre-CNG days, exposing residents to serious health problems such as respiratory and pulmonary diseases.



Transport and environment experts wonder if the erratic gridlocks on Delhi roads are responsible for the rise in pollution levels, which almost settled down with the CNG revolution in the 1990s.



'The auto fuel control policies - Bharat I, II and III norms, CNG and unleaded fuel - had reduced the pollution considerably. However, the absence of proper travel demand management measures, bottlenecks in the road network, the benefits are getting nullified due to congestion,' K. Ravinder, senior scientists at Central Road Research Institute, said.



'Compared to 2002, when 792 lakh vehicle km were travelled on city roads, the figures jumped by almost double to 1,506 lakh vehicle km in 2009-10, eventually leading to alarming levels of emissions by vehicles caught at the intersections and in the usual snarls during peak rush hours on all busy Delhi corridors.



'In fact, the flyovers constructed to add speed to the vehicles only added more pollutants through emissions at the end where other vehicles converge,' Ravinder added.



A sense of urgency has hit the government and an action plan is being prepared by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the state environment department after grim statistics on pollution related health problems were brought into the public domain.



Sample these: lung function has reduced in 43.5 per cent schoolchildren, and attention- deficit hyperactivity disorder is 4.1 times higher among schoolchildren of Delhi than the rest of India.



'We are in the process along with DPCC and state environment wing to draft a comprehensive action plan looking at the strategies to reduce air pollution levels in Delhi. It seeks effective regulation and the political will as RSPM causes asthma and respiratory diseases and sustained exposure to it can cause lung cancer,' Anumita Roychowdhury, associate director with the Centre for Science and Environment, said.









