Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi launched

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Earth Science
15-October, 2018 18:16 IST
Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi launched.

Early Warning System can predict extreme air pollution events 72 hours in advance and give necessary alerts

Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi was launched in Delhi today by the Union Minister for Earth Sciences and Environment, Dr. Harsh Vardhan .The System is designed to predict extreme air pollution events and give alerts to take necessary steps as per Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Government of India. The air pollution system has been developed jointly by the scientists at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, India Meteorological Department and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that the early warning system will help in proactively forewarning, 3-4 days in advance, any large scale air pollution events which may occur over the Delhi region. Outlining a series of efforts that the central government has taken the Union Minister said that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has constituted a 41 member team which will continuously monitor the air pollution levels in Delhi and NCR region and will report to the board. “Badarpur thermal power plant is being closed today, western peripheral expressway is likely to become operational in the first week of November, the Central govt. has released nearly 600 crores to concerned states for in-situ management of crop-residue and a slew of mitigation measures have been taken by the government”, the Minister added.

A new website developed for archiving all the observational and prediction products was also launched at the event. The website will be accessed by the officials of Environmental Pollution Authority (EPA) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for taking necessary steps depending upon the requirements. Ministry of Earth Sciences will be making further attempts to assimilate more data of other pollutants and also to improve accuracy of predictions with the technical support from the NCAR, USA and Finnish Meteorological Institute.

The air pollution system has been developed jointly by the scientists at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, India Meteorological Department and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF). The warning system consists of a) real time observations of air quality over Delhi region and details about natural aerosols like dust (from dust storms) and particulate matter using different satellite data sets b) Predictions of air pollutants from two different air quality prediction systems based on state-of-the-art atmospheric chemistry transport models and c) Warning Messages and Alerts and Bulletins.

The prediction systems were developed by scientists of MoES institutions with the technical support from the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR),USA and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI). The prediction part of the system consists of two modelling framework, one is based on NCAR atmospheric chemistry transport model and the second one is based on Finnish Meteorological Institute model. The modelling framework typically consists of a high resolution weather prediction model with an atmospheric chemistry transport model. Both the models have data assimilation facility, which can assimilate data from satellites on dust aerosols, particulate matter from stubble burning and other air pollutants like SO2 and NO2. The models will take into account the background aerosols and pollutants, long range transport of dust from dust storms and particulate matter from stubble burning. The predictions are now available up to 72 hours lead time.

Union Minister also released a mega emission inventory of Delhi which was made by scientists at IITM Pune who carried out a mega emission inventory campaign involving around 140students mapping all possible local sources of air pollution with around 37,500 hours of work. The final product with 400 m x 400m high-resolution emission inventory of Delhi and fringe area of all eight important air pollutants (like PM2.5, PM10, NOx, CO, SO2, BC, OC and VOCs) was released. Ground level activity data about emissions from as many as 23 different sources of pollution were also collected. The emission inventory suggests that there is a substantial increase of emissions from transport and industrial sector, while the contributions from residences have shown a substantial decline.



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[Hindustani78]

15-October, 2018 17:23 IST
Air Quality early warning system for Delhi


Strongly emphasizing the Government’s commitment to address various issues related to air quality and pollution, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, has said that along with the initiatives taken by the Government, the participation of the society is an imperative. Launching the air quality early warning system for Delhi, here today, Dr. Harsh Vardhan pointed out that with an outlay of Rs. 1151.80 crore under the new Central Sector Scheme, the Centre has already released Rs. 591.65 crore to Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi for the promotion of agricultural mechanization for in-situ management of crop residue.



Calling the 41 teams of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as the ‘eyes and ears’ of MoEF&CC, the Minister stated that these teams have been deployed in Delhi and NCR cities of Ghaziabad, NOIDA, Gurugram and Faridabad to monitor and supervise dust mitigation and other air pollution abatement measures to ensure effective compliance. He also pointed out that Badarpur thermal power plant is being closed from October 15, 2018 and the number of mechanized road sweeping machines in Delhi will increase from 52 to 64 by the end of November 2018. He also averred that the use of water sprinklers and the opening of Western Peripheral Expressway will bring about a further reduction in pollution.



In his remarks, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri C.K Mishra, said that the number of Good, Satisfactory And Moderate days is 157 in 2018 (Up to October 13) compared to 150 in 2017 and 107 in 2016 duringthe corresponding period. He added that similarly, the number of Poor, Very Poor and Severe days have come down from 167 in 2016 to 136 in 2017 to 129 in 2018 (Up to 13th October) during the corresponding period.



Comparing the PM10 and PM2.5 levels, Shri Mishra underlined that both PM 10 and PM 2.5 have shown a significant reduction in the winter months (Sept-Oct) this year compared to last year. A tabular representation is given below:

PM10

Sept 2017
Sept 2018
Oct 2017 ( upto 11th)
Oct 2018 (upto 11th)

215
116
262
223


PM2.5

Sept 2017
Sept 2018
Oct 2017 ( upto 11th)
Oct 2018 (upto 11th)


61
44
110
86



There is a reduction of 46% in the PM10 levels in Sept 2018 compared to last year and a 15% reduction in October. There is a reduction of 28 % in the PM2.5 levels in Sept 2018 compared to last year and a reduction of 22 % in October.

Shri Mishra also underlined that the number of active fire detections in 2018 is less in comparison to 207 and 2016 till 14th October 2018 (From Sep 1, 2018).


Punjab

2018
2017
2016

699
2635
4126

Haryana

2018
2017
2016


923
1527
1931


The numbers are 75% lower than last year in Punjab and 40% lower in case of Haryana.


Secretary, MoEF&CC also stated that Punjab has distributed 7062 (91%) out of 8309 farm implements to individual farmers and has established 4795 (92 %) CHCs out of 5321 CHCs. Shri Mishra added that Haryana has distributed 2814(51%) out of 5563 farm implements to individual farmers and has established 857 (70%) CHCs out of 1230 Custom Hiring Centres and the remaining work is likely to be completed this week. He underlined that Eastern Peripheral Expressway has been operational since last week of May 2018 and steps are being taken for 100% divergence of non-destined trucks entering Delhi.


Shri Mishra also said that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has added 906 new coaches. Out of this, 704 coaches have already been commissioned and remaining 206 are under commissioning stage. 427 AC buses (198 Electric + 229 CNG) are being added by DMRC as last mile connectivity by November 30, 2018. He also pointed out that out of 1131 industrial units in Delhi, about 950 units have switched over to PNG and the remaining have been issued closure directions.

Some of the other steps taken by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change include - 722 brick kilns in Delhi and NCR have switched over to Zig- Zag technology; brick kilns that have not converted to Zig-Zag technology will not be allowed to operate in Delhi NCR; for effective control of dust during winters, 400 water sprinklers will be deployed by municipal corporations in Delhi; Adherence to SoPs at construction sites and mandatory implementation of dust mitigation measures by all construction agencies has been mandated. Failure to comply will result in stoppage of work by DPCC/CPCB; three pilot projects for abatement of air pollution are being initiated: WAYUs at 7 traffic intersections in Delhi; air filters on 30 buses of Manav Rachna University and dust suppressant chemicals at some construction sites; CCTV cameras have been installed at sanitary landfill sites; fencing has been done and guards have been deployed to ensure that no fire takes place at these sites.

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RDS/GK/HK

 

[Hindustani78]

The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan launching the Air Quality Emergency Early Warning System, in New Delhi on October 15, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. M. Rajeevan and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan at the launch of the Air Quality Emergency Early Warning System, in New Delhi on October 15, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. M. Rajeevan and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan at the launch of the Air Quality Emergency Early Warning System, in New Delhi on October 15, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. M. Rajeevan and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan addressing at the launch of the Air Quality Emergency Early Warning System, in New Delhi on October 15, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. M. Rajeevan and other dignitaries are also seen.

 

[Hindustani78]

30-October, 2018 20:17 IST
Clean Air Week from 1st November to control pollution in Delhi

On firecrackers, directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court shall be followed strictly


A Clean Air Week would be organised from 01 to 05 November, 2018 in collaboration with the Government of Delhi and the four major NCR cities to control the air pollution. For this, 52 teams have been formed to ensure compliance and safety and take quick action. The teams will be jointly flagged off from Government of Delhi.

This decision was taken in a meeting held here today under the Chairmanship of Shri C.K. Mishra, Secretary, EF&CC to discuss the urgent steps for air pollution mitigation and regulating fire crackers in the light of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Order. In the meeting, it was emphasized that all necessary steps should be taken to ensure that air quality levels are not allowed to go into the severe category in the next one week.

Teams for Clean Air Week comprise of the local SDM as the team leader, senior official from MoEFCC and representatives from CPCB, MCD and DPCC. Delhi will have 44 teams and the cities in NCR region namely Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad shall have two teams each. Field Teams will be supported by the local police to ensure compliance and safety. All the DMs and MCD commissioners shall be involved in the campaign and ensure that quick action is taken on the cases of violations reported by the field teams. In case of repeat violations, criminal proceedings against defaulters will be initiated.

On the issue of firecrackers, it was decided thatthe directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the Order dated 23.10.2018 shall be followed strictly in Delhi and NCR.Timings and locations as envisaged in the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Order for bursting of firecrackers would be strictly adhered to. Further only eco friendly fire crackers would be sold after proper authorization has been obtained from PESO. Any other kind of firecrackers would not be permitted to be sold in the NCR region as per the order of the Supreme Court. Delhi Police and the DMs of Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad were requested to ensure that these measures were strictly implemented by them in their respective areas.

Secretary conveyed his serious concern over the fact that there is no significant improvement in the air quality in spite of the concerted efforts being made by the Ministry and all the stakeholders. He emphasized the need for taking action which can lead to local containment of pollution and which is visible to the people.

In addition to the above it was also directed that Government of Delhi shall immediately deploy 400 water sprinklers/ tankers as already committed. Construction sites will be closed temporarily for a few days to improve air quality. No distinction be made between Governmental or private agencies for this purpose. Further all agencies should ensure no local biomass and industrial waste burning. The industry should be closed if found violating the instructions.No truck should be allowed to move uncovered while carrying C&D waste. In case of violation, the truck should be confiscated. Delhi Traffic Police should launch a special drive for Lane driving.

The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Delhi, Special Commissioner, Delhi Police, Commissioners of MCDs, DMs of the various districts of Delhi and DMs of Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad.

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RDS/MS