NEW DELHI – Like clockwork every year before the onset of winter, cold temperatures and calm winds begin to trapThis year is no different.
The rise in pollution has led the authorities to implement the second stage of a Graded Response Action Plan that seeks to combat air pollution in the Delhi-National Capital Region . The air quality over the city is expected to decline in coming weeks as fumes from firecrackers let off during Deepavali, which falls on Nov 12, and more farm fires add to the pollution load.
A key gap that persists is the inadequate reach of public transport in a sprawling Delhi-NCR that is home to around 20 million people and an accompanying rise in use of personal cars among the region’s affluent. The on-road vehicle fleet in Delhi has grown from 7.5 million vehicles in 2012 to more than 13 million in 2022.
“The whole focus has to be on implementation…we need to work on two levels – raise awareness not just about the problem but also regarding the scale and speed of the solutions needed,” Ms Chowdhury added. Dr Gufran Beig, a chair professor at National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru and the founder of India’s air quality services Safar, said as much as 30 to 35 per cent of the peak annual pollution load in Delhi during the winter comes from multiple sources in neighbouring regions of this airshed. This figure can vary during other seasons.Stubble burning, which occurs mostly in October to November, is just one of these sources.