Delhi pollution caused primarily by local sources, not farm fires: Report
Stubble burning was responsible for just 4.4% of the pollution load in the capital ahead of Diwali, the Centre for Science and Environment estimated.
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Local sources of pollution, rather than farm fires, were primarily to blame for Delhi’s deteriorating air quality ahead of Diwali this year, according to a report by the non-profit organisation Centre for Science and Environment on Wednesday.
Delhi’s air quality deteriorated from “poor” to the “very poor” category of the air quality andex even though stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana was only responsible for 4.4% of the pollution load in the capital, the analysis said.
An air quality index value between 201 and 300 is considered “poor”, while an index value between 301 and 400 is considered “very poor”. Air quality in the “very poor” category can lead to respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.
The Centre for Science and Environment analysed PM2.5 concentration trends from September 15 to October 28 and compared the data with that of previous years.
PM2.5 refers to tiny airborne particles about 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair and can easily be breathed into the lungs and the bloodstream.
The organisation found that vehicular emissions contributed to more than half of the pollution emanating from local sources in Delhi. This was followed by residential burning at 13%, industry at 11%, construction at 7%, energy at 6%, waste burning at 5%...
