New Delhi, October 21, 2017: The Minister for Environment, Government of Delhi, Imran Hussain reviewed the situation of air pollution post-Diwali on Friday.
As a government committed to act against pollution, the government of National Capital Territory of Delhi had taken steps to contain the air pollution levels in Delhi during the festival of Diwali through multi-pronged Anti firecrackers campaign with the support & assistance of various stakeholders like the Eco-Club at Schools & Colleges, RWAs, MTAs etc. Mass awareness campaigns were also carried out.
As the city is reeling under poor conditions of ambient air quality, the provisions indicated in Graded Response Action Plan are already being enforced
Delhi Pollution Control Committee also constituted teams consisting of Officers of the Committee to check the ban on the sale of crackers as per the Hon’ble Supreme Court orders. The teams visited all the districts of Delhi in general and specifically the major firecracker markets of the city before Diwali for several days.
Efforts made by the Environment Department, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), other concerned agencies and the will of the people & children of Delhi to restrain themselves from the bursting of firecrackers were appreciated. It was observed that positive outcome of the anti-firecracker campaign was that School children have increasingly become aware of the need to celebrate Diwali with Diyas, instead of firecrackers.
The assessment of Ambient Air Quality as per CPCB Protocol was undertaken at 16 locations i.e. R. K. Puram, Mandir Marg, Punjabi Bagh, Civil Lines, Anand Vihar, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Major Dhyanchand National Stadium, Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, PGDAV College (Sriniwaspuri), DITE Okhla, Mother Dairy (Patparganj), ITI Vivek Vihar, ITI Jahangirpuri, DITE Wazirpur, Satyawati College (Ashok Vihar) and Shaheed Sukhdev Business College (Rohini).
The first five stations, that are, R.K.Puram, Mandir Marg, Punjabi Bagh, Civil Lines and Anand Vihar were the part of the old network and have the comparable data for last year while the other 11 stations are part of the new network. At these 11 stations data for the Particulate matter was only collected as Graded Action Response Plan based on particulate concentration.
Noise Levels were also monitored at R.K.Puram, Mandir Marg, Punjabi Bagh and Anand Vihar.
Details of data for following parameters:-
(1) Carbon Monoxide (CO)
· On Diwali 2017 the average concentration (for 24 hrs) for CO ranged from 3.0 mg/m3 to 3.7 mg/m3. The minimum avg. the value was observed at Punjabi Bagh and maximum avg. the value was observed at R.K.Puram.
· On Diwali 2016 the city average concentration (for 24 hrs) for CO ranged from 2.0 mg/m3 to 4.2 mg/m3. The minimum avg. the value was observed at Mandir Marg maximum avg. the value was observed at Anand Vihar.
(2) Oxides of Nitrogen (NO2)
· On Diwali 2017, the average concentration of NO2 (for 24 hrs) varied from 43 µg/m3 to 173.0 µg/m3. The minimum avg. the value was observed at Mandir Marg and maximum avg. the value was observed at Punjabi Bagh.
· On Diwali 2016, the average concentration of NO2 (for 24 hrs) varied from 70.0 µg/m3 to 123.0 µg/m3. The minimum avg. the value was observed at Mandir Marg and maximum avg. the value was observed at Punjabi Bagh.
(3) Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)
· On Diwali 2017, the average concentration of SO2 (for 24 hrs) varied from 20 µg/m3 to 89 µg/m3. The minimum avg. the value was observed at Mandir Marg maximum avg. the value was observed at Punjabi Bagh.
· On Diwali 2016, the average concentration of SO2 (for 24 hrs) varied from 20.0 µg/m3 to 131.0 µg/m3. The minimum avg. the value was observed at Mandir Marg maximum avg. the value was observed at Punjabi Bagh.
(4) Particulate Matter –PM10
· On Diwali 2017, the average concentration (for 24 hrs) for PM10 ranged from 331 µg/m3 to 951 µg/m3. The minimum avg. the value was observed at Civil Lines and maximum avg. the value was observed at Anand Vihar.
· On Diwali 2016, the average concentration (for 24 hrs) for PM10 ranged from 448 µg/m3 to 939 µg/m3. The minimum avg. the value was observed at Mandir Marg and maximum avg. the value was observed at Anand Vihar.
(5) Particulate Matter –PM2.5
· On Diwali 2017, the average concentration (for 24 hrs) for PM2.5 ranged from 154 µg/m3 to 440 µg/m3. The minimum avg. a value was observed at Civil Lines and maximum avg. the value was observed at R.K.Puram.
· On Diwali 2016, the average concentration (for 24 hrs) for PM2.5 ranged from 180 µg/m3 to 440 µg/m3. The minimum avg. the value was observed at IGI Airport and maximum avg. the value was observed at Anand Vihar.
Real-time Noise Monitoring has been undertaken at five locations in 2017 and the range observed is from 61.4 dB (A) to 68.2 dB (A), while last year i.e 2016 the range varied from 66.1 dB (A) to 75.8 dB (A).
The level of pollutants showed an increase on the Diwali evening. The major changes were observed after 8:00 PM when the fireworks started. Ambient Air Quality in Delhi was already in the poor category due to the accumulated pollutant in airshed.
The cumulative effect of existing pollution load and pollutants released due to use of fireworks as well as meteorological conditions i.e. calm conditions attribute to impact on ambient air quality during Diwali. However, the ranges of concentration of PM10 and PM 2.5 at 13.00 Hrs on 20.10.2017 has shown improvement and range of PM 2.5 is 186-493 µg/m3 and that PM 10 is 360-774 µg/m3.