Experts suggest a localised approach
NEW DELHI: India needs to have a regional emission inventory of air pollution sources for quick response once the air quality starts to deteriorate, according to experts who pointed out that such a database would help developing localised graded response action plans (GRAP) that would be much more effective than one for an area as large as the National Capital Region (NCR).
As of now, the Union ministry of earth sciences releases air pollution emission inventory for states and regions based on the inputs such as the number of industries, cases of farm fires, and vehicles registration, received from the various state pollution control boards.
According to the ministry’s inventory report for 2018, road dust was the biggest source of particulate matter in air pollution, contributing between 36.6% and 65.9% to the overall pollution levels in different areas over the course of a year. The second was transport, whose contribution was 17.9% to 39.5%, followed by biomass burning (including stubble burning), which contributed 5 to 10%.
However, during peak air pollution months of mid-October to mid-November, the contribution of biomass burning (including stubble burning) increases to 39.5%, according to the ministry’s emission inventory for 2018. In 2019, the contribution of stubble burning to overall pollution load in northern India rose to 44% on October 30, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
Apart from the ministry, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Urbanemissions have come out with emission inventory reports for different periods.
“Most of these emission inventory studies present a big picture, but that makes it difficult for agencies to initiate action at the local level,” said Chandra Bhushan, former deputy director of Centre for Science and Environment. “If we really want to take action, we need to know about the sources of emission in localities in towns such as Karnal, Rohtak, Delhi, Patiala, and so on, which contribute to the overall pollution load in the region.”
Other than Delhi-NCR, the pollution levels in these towns were high on Sunday. CPCB’s pollution data for the last five years shows air pollution levels in tier-2 and tier-3 cities was rising at a much faster pace than in metros such as New Delhi, and that they would be the next big air pollution hot spots.
Bhushan said that if local pollution authorities know what contributes most to the air pollution it would be able to take immediate action once the pollution level starts rising.