Delhi Air Pollution Issue
Source : Down To Earth
GS II : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
Why in News?
Delhi Air Pollution Issue leads to next level. Delhi’s air quality deteriorated from moderate to poor’ and very poor.This was reported by according to the SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research) system of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Key Facts
- The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi was 287 an improvement from previous days 312 and 296.
- Current weather conditions are not unfavourable, unlike in winter.
- Apart from local emissions the deterioration in air quality is being attributed to an increase in fire counts, mostly due to burning of wheat crop stubble in northern India.
- Air quality would remain ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ the next few days due to transported dust and biomass-burning aerosol in the National Capital region and surroundings.
- During COVID rise Medical experts have, from time to time, raised concerns about how high pollution levels can worsen the situation and aggravate respiratory conditions of the public.
- Delay in Getting Images
- The department was unable to monitor fires as it wasn’t receiving satellite data from the state’s agriculture department.
- The delay in getting data is due to a change in remote-sensing agency.
- A shortage of workers to cut wheat straw and lockdown-like measures in various areas.
- How the inspection carried out ?
- In Punjab, district-level committees were monitoring stubble burning.
- There are district level committees with different nodal officers who are supposed to visit places where such farm fires happen
- This visit purely based on satellite information.
- They impose an environment compensation fine.
An AQI of 0-50 is considered good 51-100 satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’. Above 500 is the ‘severe-plus’ or ‘emergency’ category.
- Satellite images released by the United States National Aeronautical and Space Administration revealed high fire counts recent days.
System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research
- SAFAR envisages a research based management system where strategies of air pollution mitigation.
- Through SAFAR know the City Air Quality over all city pollution and Location specific Air Quality can be monitored.
- It is introduced by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to measure the air quality of a metropolitan city.
- It has been combined with the early warning system on weather parameters.
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