Study: 74 per cent of NCR pollution caused by external factors
NCR industries responsible for 30% of Delhi's PM2.5 pollution.
New Delhi: Around 64 per cent of the air pollution during winters and 74 per cent in summers in Delhi is caused by external emissions, according to a new study released on Thursday. Moreover, about 13 per cent of pollution in Delhi comes from outside India.
In the recent months, Delhi has witnessed at least two dust storms originating from outside Delhi — in Rajasthan and Oman — which resulted in severe pollution levels in the national capital.
The study, jointly conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), also said that out of the Delhi’s own emissions as PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations, transport and industries operating in NCR contribute significantly to the pollution in the city.
“The report also provides geographical contributions which show that the average contribution of Delhi’s own emissions in Delhi PM2.5 concentrations was found to be at 36 per cent in winter and 26 per cent in summer with variations in different places of the city,” said the study.
A comprehensive exercise of air quality monitoring was carried out for a period of two seasons in one year at 20 representative locations (nine in Delhi, four in Uttar Pradesh, seven in Haryana) in the NCR including kerbside, industrial, commercial, residential, and reference sites, which has different land use pattern and sources of activity.
As far as Delhi’s own emissions are concerned, the contribution of the transport sector (28 per cent in PM2.5 in winters) is found to be higher in this study than the contributions reported in IITK (2015) report, as this study includes secondary particulates along with the primary contributions.
Industries operating in NCR contribute significantly (30 per cent in PM2.5) to Delhi’s pollution along with the contributions of biomass burnt in rural kitchen and agricultural fields.
Ajay Mathur, Director General of TERI, said the interventions introduced by the government are working but there is a need to fill in some gaps in the pollution caused by the industries. An alternative scenario was developed between 2025 and 2030 and it showed the reduction in average concentration (of both seasons) by 58 per cent in PM2.5 and 61 per cent in PM10.