A study was conducted recently by the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) which recorded the air pollution levels in Indian cities, namely Pune, Delhi and Mumbai. The research which took place over a month in February/March reported the air pollution in Mumbai to be worse than Delhi. This came as a big relief for Delhi, infamous for its toxic air. But, what are we truly rejoicing for? Delhi's current air pollution levels are three times that of Paris' air pollution emergency level! And yet, we see no panic among the masses and certainly, not the kind of concern one could expect for this level of destructive air pollution.
Sadly, the environment ministry is yet to take charge of the situation. Here is what environment minister for state Anil Madhav Dave said at the Lok Sabha this week:
"Air pollution could be one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases. However, there are no conclusive data available in the country to establish direct correlation between diseases and air pollution. While the levels of Particulate Matter shows fluctuating trend, the value of SO2 (sulphur dioxide) is reported to be generally within the permissible limits. Values of NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) are also generally within permissible limits except for few cities."
The minister has had reservations with foreign studies. However, even the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in India has given out worrisome data.
Delhi's annual average concentration of PM10 pollutants was almost four times higher at 220 µg/m3 than the permissible limit of 60 µg/m3. The annual average concentration of PM2.5 pollutants (fine particles) was not even provided by the CPCB!
The Paris emergency
In the past year, Paris saw quite a few headlines regarding poor air quality such as: 'Paris suffers worst air pollution in atleast a decade' or 'Paris declares emergency as PM2.5 levels rises to 75'. Officials in the French capital have implemented a series of measures in an attempt to tackle the problem of the air toxicity. From making all public transport free on some days days to blocking out entire stretches of roads, Parisians took hold of the air quality situation as it presented.
Surely, the measures are still not helping out the city to keep within the permissible limits, but when compared to the sigh of relief in the city of Delhi, despite it's horrific level of air pollution, it is indeed quite intriguing.
