Central pollution board wants new smog alert system

NEWDELHI: The country’s top pollution-monitoring body wants a smog alert system in place for Delhi, where air quality has just begun to improve after almost two weeks of toxic haze.

The central pollution control board (CPCB) wants the Indian meteorological department (IMD) to warn Delhi in advance about the dust storms in west Asia and also cyclones brewing in the Bay of Bengal, both of which have a bearing on the city’s air.

“We have requested the IMD to develop an early warning system. If we get some prior intimation of what’s coming in from across the borders, we can take necessary precautions,” CPCB’S member secretary A Sudhakar told Hindustan Times on Sunday.

Delhi’s recent pollution crisis was triggered by dust storms in Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, according to a government monitoring agency, SAFAR.

Moisture-laden winds, pushed by cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, were other culprits.

These collided over Delhi with winds carrying smoke from burning crop stubble in Punjab and Haryana.

Moisture trapped the airborne particles, and low wind speeds at the ground level were not able to sweep the pollutants away.

Delhi’s Air Quality Index, a measure of particulate matter in the air, hit 486 and the levels stayed in “severe” category for seven days, forcing closure of schools, ban on entry of trucks and construction activity.

According to officials, an early warning system will give authorities the headroom to minimise the impact of foul air.

For instance, the government can boost transport system before rolling out the road-rationing odd-even plan, which couldn’t be implemented this time, to minimise vehicular emissions.

The central pollution control board didn’t have a system to monitor the dust storms or tropical cyclones and their impact on Delhi, said D Saha, who head the pollution authority’s air quality laboratory.