‘Data shows something else’
It’s been a decade almost in the country as winter season approaches the tension of raising air pollution during the season hike especially in the northern region of the country. Delhi NCR and nearby areas facing it annually like any function.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change releases data time-to-time on that basis Delhi NCR hosts the title of India’s most polluted city as it maintains poor air quality for atleast half the time in a year.
Another trend that emerged from the ministry’s data was that the cities with the highest number of bad days are located in the northern part of India, that makes northern region to face worst air pollution in winters.
Even the fact that Diwali falls in a “warmer” month could not help. Scientists at the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research published a study earlier this month that (SAFAR)- The pollution levels may be lower this year since Diwali falls in October rather than November, when cooler air absorbs more pollutants, according to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). However, research indicates that in previous years, this did not really make a difference.
Dr. Vijay Kumar Soni, director of the environment monitoring and research centre at the India Meteorological Department, stated that “the level of pollution during Diwali will rely on two elements – emissions from firecrackers and cars, and the meteorological conditions around that time” (IMD)
Of course, there are more problems than just firecrackers. The beginning of winter, together with biomass burning and agricultural residue burning in neighbouring states, are some of the main causes of Delhi’s poor air quality during the holiday season.
Fewer farm fires incidents this year –
The paddy crop residue burning season, which typically lasts from 15 October to 15 November, typically coincides with Diwali. Additionally, it is the main source of air pollution in the nation’s capital at this time.
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute reports that between September 15 and October 19, satellites detected 3,491 instances of stubble burning, the majority of which were found in Punjab, north of Delhi.
According to experts, heavy rain on October 3 delays the peak of stubble burning, which is typically reached by the first week of November, by a week to ten days. At that time, the monsoon should have been stopped.
On prediction that this year will see fewer cases of stubble burning. In spite of the fact that the numbers will rise throughout the stubble burning season, we anticipate fewer fires than in 2018 and significantly fewer fires than in 2020.
According to V K Sehgal, principal scientist at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute’s (IARI) Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space (CREAMS), on October 19, 2020, there were 8,509 reported farm fires in Punjab, but this year, on that same date, there were only 2,625. Fires totaled 2,942 in 2021, a little increase.
The delay in monsoon withdrawal, Sehgal added, was “to some extent” to blame for this reduction, but “the state and central governments were working proactively to address the situation” by giving substitutes for burning.
According to estimations from remote sensing, IARI’s Sehgal reported that the area of paddy cultivation in Punjab and Haryana expanded somewhat this year. From 2.968 million hectares in 2021, it climbed to 3.026 million hectares.
Will an early Diwali festival ensure less air pollution?
Data from past few years denies
With a particular emphasis on cities outside of Delhi and the National Capital Region, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has examined trends in air quality (NCR).
According to the most recent data by the, all northern India sees haze events when pollution surges throughout the winter.
This approach seeks to comprehend the synchronised pattern of pollution throughout winter, when regional pollution is trapped by atmospheric shifts. In the six states and 56 cities, 137 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) were examined. CAAQMS makes it possible to measure and track air pollution, including particulate matter, in real time throughout the year.
The northern region has been divided into five sub-regions which include:
• Punjab and Chandigarh
• NCR (includes Delhi and 26 other cities/towns that fall within NCR)
• Haryana (excluding cities already included in NCR)
• Uttar Pradesh (excluding cities in NCR)
• Rajasthan (excluding cities in NCR).
Some other reasons –
• Pollution levels in smaller towns: The majority of smaller towns have significantly lower yearly average PM2.5 levels, but during early winter when the smog covers the entire region and farm stubble fires exacerbate it, smaller towns report levels similar to Delhi.
• Early winter pollution occurs simultaneously throughout the region, however in Delhi-NCR it lasts longer: The November haze outbreaks typically coincide across the northern region. North India’s pollution is trapped by atmospheric changes throughout the winter that result in inversion, quiet conditions, a change in wind direction, and a seasonal reduction in ambient temperature.
• Days that fall into the “extremely poor” and “severe” categories for air quality: Delhi and the NCR cities have the most “severe” days in 2021.
• Industrial communities are constantly at risk: This year’s protracted and intense rainfall significantly reduced PM 2.5 levels throughout the area. Even while the monsoon decreased pollution in the area as a whole, industrial cities had relatively greater levels of pollution than other cities throughout the monsoon.
• Farm fires are a major episodic event during the winter, which is a problem. The trend in the average Fire Radiative Power (FRP), as provided by NASA satellites, and the trend in the daily trend in fire count have both been examined at two levels. The FRP, which is expressed in MW, is the rate of radiative energy released by the fire at the moment of observation (megawatts).
• NO2 levels: Comparing November to October and September, there is a noticeable rise in the amount of NO2 in the air. Vehicles are a substantial source of NO2 and other combustion-related emissions.
Punjab, after Haryana, the U.P., Rajasthan, and Delhi, has recorded the most fires this year.
