Delhi Pollution: Study Finds Emissions From Vehicles Account For 50% Pollutants In Early Winter

Emissions from vehicles have emerged as the biggest contributor to particulate pollution in Delhi, a new analysis from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has said.

According to the study, the real-time share of vehicular emissions had increased to more than 50 per cent during the early phase of winter (October 24-November 8, 2021).

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The conclusion was drawn based on data gathered by the Decision Support System for Air Quality Management of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune.

What the study says

"The analysis clearly shows vehicles' contribution is half or more. This is followed by household pollution (12.5-13.5 per cent), industry (9.9-13.7 per cent), construction (6.7-7.9 per cent), waste burning and road dust (each varied between 4.6-4.9 per cent and 3.6-4.1 per cent, respectively)," it said.

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During November 2-6, the contribution of pollution sources in NCR dominated the initial phase -- going up to 70-80 per cent. Its share declined during the smog episode post-Diwali when the relative contribution of Delhi's own sources increased.

Similarly, the contribution of biomass burning from other states remained low in the initial pre-Diwali phase but peaked post-Diwali.

Clearly, the calm conditions during the smog episode post-Diwali have reduced intrusion of cross-boundary movement from NCR and enhanced the share of local pollution in Delhi, the CSE said.

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An additional CSE analysis of the trends in traffic speed in the city ¨Ca measure of congestion -- during early winter (October 27-November 6, 2021) on 15 road stretches of key roads show that traffic congestion is back to pre-pandemic times and correlates with the pollution peaks.

¡°Clearly, after the closure of all coal-based power plants, expansion of natural gas usage in industry and controls on dirty fuels, vehicles have emerged as the biggest real time contributor among the local sources of winter pollution in Delhi this year. Action on transportation has to gather strong momentum. At the same time, action on waste management, clean energy access in households, and dust control must be speeded up,¡± says Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director-research and advocacy, CSE.

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Alarming number of vehicles

Stating that vehicle numbers are explosive in Delhi -- 1.32 crore registered vehicles according to the VAHAN database, the report suggests that the national capital urgently needs to scale up integrated public transport systems, walking and cycling infrastructure, city-wide parking area management plans, and low emissions zones to restrain vehicle use and meet the electrification target of 25 per cent by 2024.

Meanwhile, the AQI of Delhi continued to remain under the "very poor" category on Friday.

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The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) under the Ministry of Earth Science reported that the air quality is in the 'very poor' category in Delhi with an AQI of 390.

According to the government agencies, an AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 are marked as severe/hazardous.

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