Clean Air Asia's Scroecard to Test Northeast India’s Air Pollution Situation

In a move to provide a comprehensive analysis to understand air quality management in a city, the Clean Air Asia (an international nongovernmental organization which works for better air quality and more liveable cities in Asia since 2001) is applying the Clean Air Scorecard Tool (CAST) on three states capitals of the north eastern region and 27 other Indian cities. According to CAA’s India Director Prarthana Borah, the three-year long initiative will be taken up as part of applying the CAST under clean air management programs across 30 Indian cities including these three northeast state capitals: Agartala, Guwahati and Imphal.

 The cities that the CAA has scheduled to explore for the application of the CAST are Aurangabad, Mumbai,Nagpur, Nashik, Varanasi, Pune, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Jallandhar, Dehradun, Varanasi,Allahabad, Kanpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bhubhaneshwar, Cuttack,Patna, Noida, Gwalior, Bhopal, Raipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. “We’re considering small town too because they’ve different issues and the CAST is a comprehensive tool that provides an understanding on the air quality management, identifies gaps in air quality management strategies through objective research and provides core solutions so the people of the city breathe cleaner, better air,” Prarthana said.

Read the full article @ Eastern Mirror

NTPC (India) to Phase Our 25 Year Old Coal Power Plants

In a bid to cut emissions, country’s largest power producer, NTPC lined up investments worth Rs 5000 crore and has decided to replace its over 25 year old power plants totalling 11 GW capacity in the next five years. Informing the gathering about a slew of measures taken by the Government to increase energy efficiency, Goyal said that the Nation has embarked on a mission to reduce India’s carbon footprint by phasing out all inefficient thermal power plants, older than 25 years, with modern energy efficient super critical ones. NTPC has already given the in-principle clearance to replace around 11,000 MW of its old, inefficient thermal power plants. The plants would be replaced in about five years, with an investment of around Rs 50,000 crore, he added.

Read the full article @ IIFL

Researchers Reveal How Chemicals Combined to Form Acidic Haze that Killed 12,000 in 1952 in London

In 1952, a mysterious fog swept through London, blanketing the city in a dense layer of pollutants that killed thousands of people and animals and made it difficult to breathe for days. While the exact cause has long remained unknown, an international team of researchers now says its solved the mystery – and the same air chemistry can be seen today in China and other areas.

In a new analysis, the researchers have pinpointed the chemical processes that combined with natural fog as a result of coal burning, eventually creating a deadly acidic haze that turned the sky completely dark. When the fog first rolled through in December of 1952, residents took little notice; fogs have long enveloped the city. But in the days to follow, visibility was reduced to just three feet in some areas, transportation was shut down, and thousands of people suffered from breathing problems. After the devastating event, it was thought that at least 4,000 people had died, along with thousands of animals, and more than 150,000 people were hospitalized.

'Our results showed that this process was facilitated by nitrogen dioxide, another co-product of coal burning, and occurred initially on natural fog. ‘Another key aspect in the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfate is that it produces acidic particles, which subsequently inhibits this process. 'Natural fog contained larger particles of several tens of micrometers in size, and the acid formed was sufficiently diluted. ‘Evaporation of those fog particles, then left smaller acidic haze particles that covered the city.’ According to the researcher, a similar chemistry frequently occurs in modern China, which hosts 16 of the world’s most polluted cities.

Read the full article @ Daily Mail

Eight-fold Rise in Respiratory Diseases in Varanasi

Toxic particulate pollution in this holy city, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents in parliament and intends to make a Smart City like Kyoto in Japan, has resulted in an eight-fold increase in respiratory diseases among children in the past decade, says a new report.

The report, "Varanasi Chokes", corroborating observations from private doctors, blames abnormally high air pollution levels -- that spiked five times higher than the average this winter for several days -- for the rise in asthma cases. It highlighted an increasing trend in the particulate matter levels in the city along with the rising number of respiratory ailments.

He said that in the past 10 years, he has observed an eight-fold increase in respiratory diseases and noted that the worst affected are children. His clinical case-load has shifted drastically and 80 per cent of his cases are now respiratory related. Jindal's toxic tales were affirmed by pulmonologist R.N. Vajpayee, who runs his clinic in the Lanka area. "One of the major problems in the city is road dust that causes dust storms and high pollution levels during summer," he said, adding that bronchial allergies and chest infections have increased manifold in the past four-five years.

Read the full report @ Indian Express

For modeled air quality forecasts for the 640 districts in India everyday, see @ India Air Quality.Info




See what is happening at the regional scale, which is conducted as part of the all India air pollution forecasting program, hosted @ http://www.indiaairquality.info. The animation below is from a WRF-CAMx simulation conducted @ 0.25x0.25 degree resolution (approximately, 25km x 25km).

Air Pollution in Ahmedabad

In an effort to protect local communities from rising air pollution levels, the AMC is developing a health-based program for outreach around the AQI developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune (IITM) and SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research). AQI systems already operate in key cities in India, including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Mumbai, among others, as well as internationally. The Ahmedabad AQI is scheduled to be formally launched in early 2017.

To develop the program, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Commissioner Shri Mukesh Kumar and Mayor Shri Gautam Shah joined by international public health and air pollution experts from the Indian Institute of Public Health-Gandhinagar (IIPH-G), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune (IITM) are holding a two day workshop on “Air Pollution & Health: Laying the Foundation for Effective Use of Ahmedabad’s Air Quality Index” this week.

NRDC and partners, IIPH-G, are working with the AMC on information, education, and communication strategies for the new AQI being launched in Ahmedabad. The combined efforts of government agencies, health professionals, and community leaders can serve to effectively inform the public about rising air pollution health risks in India, and how to take steps to protect community and individual health.

The new Ahmedabad program focuses on air quality alerts and advisories, interagency coordination, public awareness and community outreach, and assessing health impacts and monitoring to strengthen actions. The interagency coordination, alerts, and outreach are modeled on the effective Heat Action Plan by the city that has now scaled to 11 cities in 2016 and potentially leading states in the coming year.

The new program is also designed to integrate health and pollution control strategies with the Gujarat Pollution Control Board’s “City Clean Air Plan for Ahmedabad”. The GPCB includes a broader comprehensive strategy for emissions controls. The program will also incorporate knowledge exchange components with New Delhi and other cities. Ahmedabad is examining media strategies used in New Delhi on health risk communication and outreach to design its program.

Read the full article @ NRDC

What 2016 Revealed About the Deadly Dangers of Air Pollution

Beijing, London, Mexico City, New Delhi and Paris are among the cities that have drawn attention for their dangerously high air pollution levels in 2016 – but they’re not alone. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed that 92% of the world’s urban population now live in cities where the air is toxic.

In India, a study found that 41 Indian cities of more than a million people faced bad air quality on nearly 60% of the total days monitored. Three cities – Gwalior, Varanasi and Allahabad – didn’t even manage one good air quality day.

Over on the African continent, dirty air was identified as the cause of 712,000 premature deaths – that’s more than unsafe water (542,000), childhood malnutrition (275,000) or unsafe sanitation (391,000).

In Europe, it was found that around 85% of the urban population are exposed to harmful fine particulate matter (PM2.5) which was responsible for an estimated 467,000 premature deaths in 41 European countries.

It’s not all bad news though: 74 major Chinese cities have seen the annual average concentrations of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, decrease since 2014 although the Chinese government’s “war on air pollution” has received criticism.

It is often poor, young, old and disadvantaged people who are worst affected by poor air quality. Air pollution is responsible for the deaths of 600,000 children under the age of five every year. Ethnic minorities were more likely to be exposed to high pollution levels than other groups. In London, black, African and Caribbean people were exposed to higher illegal nitrogen dioxide levels (15.3%) because of where they lived, compared to the rest of the city’s population (13.3%).

A number of creative ways of understanding and addressing the air pollution problem were seen throughout 2016. In London, racing pigeons took to the skies equipped with pollution sensors and a Twitter account, to raise awareness of the capital’s illegally dirty air. Amsterdam carried on the bird theme, with smart bird houses that light up to show the air quality status, while offering free Treewifi.

Meanwhile, Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens have pledged to remove all diesel vehicles from their streets by 2025, while promoting walking and cycling infrastructure. In Asia, a city certification programme is being piloted to encourage cities to make advances in air quality management.

If anything, 2016 has showed us that poor air quality is a scourge of the developed and developing world alike – and that it requires immediate action. The evidence is clear: we need to clean up our act, to protect human health and reap the benefits of clean air for all.

Read the full article @ Conversation

Drones Take to the Skies to Screen for Methane Emissions

When you think of greenhouse gas emissions, you might be thinking of carbon dioxide—but methane is another significant contributor to warming that’s on the rise. Sources include large grassfires, leaking natural gas wells, natural wetland processes, belching cows, or even farting termites. But the relative contribution of each of these sources to Africa’s methane mix has been hard to track. And that’s important data to have, because the tropics account for 40 percent of global emissions. Last month, researchers report in Geophysical Research Letters, that a drone on a remote tropical island may solve that mystery.

The magic of Ascension Island, located in the middle of the South Atlantic, is the way the air flows, says Rebecca Brownlow, an atmospheric science Ph.D. student at Royal Holloway, University of London. Above about 1.6 kilometers from sea level, the air is coming straight from southeast Africa. Below it is the South Atlantic’s mix. Subtracting that from the African air gives a good sense of how much methane is generated in Africa. And the best means of making those measurements is with a high-flying drone.

“There was no other way to take these samples and to make these measurements,” says Rick Thomas, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Existing methane ground monitoring stations in Africa can’t discern region-wide effects, because they can’t tell how methane would end up mixing in the atmosphere.

Read the full article @ Spectrum

Infographic - Choked in Delhi Dust

 

Infographic by Hindustan Times

Video - Air Pollution in India- Corporate Impact

CPCB - Hike Parking Fees 4 times if Air Quality Severe

The Central Pollution Control Board has recommended to the Supreme Court that parking fee in Delhi/NCR be hiked 3-4 times when air quality is in the "severe" or "very poor" category between October and February. For "severe" and "very poor" levels in the winter months, CPCB has recommended 17 action points. The same interventions will be taken up if the air quality is "severe" or "very poor" between March and May.

Besides suggesting that RWAs provide electric heaters to security guards to avoid open burning of waste or biomass, CPCB also called for a complete ban on fireworks and impounding of visibly polluting vehicles. These recommendations were part of CPCB's "graded-responsibility action plan" submitted to the SC on Friday to tackle air pollution. It also said that, as a special measure, a task force on air pollution could recommend additional measures, such as closure of schools, along with other action points depending on the severity of levels.

CPCB recommended that a task force be constituted with representatives from CPCB, ministry of environment and forests, Delhi Pollution Control Committee and Indian Meteorological Department and health experts who will oversee the implementation of this graded responsibility plan. CPCB also mentioned agencies responsible for enforcing these action points. For example, the municipal commissioners of Delhi and NCR will be responsible for hiking the parking fee when the air quality worsens, while DPCC and other NCR state pollution control boards will communicate air pollution levels and alerts through newspapers and TV.

Read the full article @ Times of India

Read our commentary on taking the long view of air pollution in Delhi

India Added 14.3 GW of renewable Capacity in the Last Two Years

According to the Indian Ministry for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, a total of 14,3 GW of renewable power capacity was installed over the last two and half year, including 5.8 GW of solar, 7.04 GW from wind, 530 MW from small-hydropower and 930 MW from biomass-fired power.

The Grid Interactive Renewable Power initiative aims to reach 175 GW by 2022. India aims to accelerate the development of renewable capacities over the next three years, planning to add 16,725 MW in the current fiscal year (April 2016-March 2017), 20,450 MW in 2017-2018 and 22,150 MW. The bulk of these capacities additions should come from solar (12 GW in 2016-2017, then 15 GW and 16 GW in 2018-2019) and wind to a lesser extent (4 GW in 2016-2017, 4.6 GW in 2017-2018 and 5.2 GW in 2018-2019). India plans to add 2.1 GW of biomass-fired capacity (500 MW, then 750 MW and finally 850 MW in 2018-2019) and 425 MW of small hydro (225 MW in 2016-2017 and then 100 MW per year).

In order to achieve the targets, the Indian government has taken various measures, such as amendments in the Tariff Policy for strong enforcement of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) and for providing Renewable Generation Obligation (RGO) or incorporating measures in Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) for encouraging distribution companies and making net-metering compulsory.

Read the full article @ EnerDATA

India Wavering on Delaying Emission Standards for Power Plants

India may ease a deadline to cut pollution from coal-fired power plants blamed for causing the world’s worst air quality amid pressure from generators who say it’s too difficult to implement the $37 billion reforms. The deadline to meet all the new standards may be pushed back beyond the original December 2017 target, said S.D. Dubey, chairman of the Central Electricity Authority and head of the panel drafting the road map for power producers to meet the new guidelines. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government proposed the limits on toxic emissions in December 2015.

The delay highlights the challenge facing Modi’s administration to provide cleaner air alongside affordable and reliable power to all of the country’s 1.3 billion people. The new goals may be implemented “in a phased manner,” Dubey said in a phone interview. “Particulate matter emissions should be addressed in the first phase. The next step would be sulfur dioxide emissions and later on oxides of nitrogen. That’s the direction we are moving in.” The office of Federal Environment Secretary A.N. Jha, whose ministry originally proposed the standards, didn’t respond to e-mails seeking comment.

India’s 187 gigawatts of coal-fired power capacity, which generate more than 75 percent of the nation’s electricity, contribute to the air pollution that makes India home to what the World Health Organization has determined are 11 of the top 20 cities on the planet with the worst air quality. The plants account for 61 percent of its generation capacity, according to the Central Electricity Authority. India must first establish monitoring systems at all plants to establish an emissions baseline, determine what technologies will be appropriate and then install them at the plants, said Leslie Sloss, an analyst with the IEA Clean Coal Centre, a technology cooperation program of the Paris-based International Energy Agency.

Read the full article @ Bloomberg

Read more on power plants in India @ Urban Emissions

Coal India Taking Advantage of 60% Rise in Global Coal Prices

Armed with a product mix of high and low energy coal, Coal India (CIL) is all set to take advantage of a 60 per cent rise in international coal prices this year and has started targeting coastal power companies’ that heavily depend on imported coal. Many coastal plants source a mix of high and low energy coal. In most cases the high energy coal is sourced from the import market while low grade coal is either sourced from CIL or from the import market.

“For companies that have supply contract with CIL, the company is ready to send them both varieties of coal from different subsidiaries of CIL like Eastern Coalfields, South Eastern Coalfields and Western Coalfields, to some extent. For companies that do not have supply contracts from us, we are offering forward and spot e-auctions from subsidiaries that offer high grade coal as well as those offer low grade coal,” he said.

With international prices rising steadily distribution companies, independent power producers with non-escalable fuel cost, merchant power producers and ports relying on imported coal for the bulk of their volumes will face volume and profitability pressures in case they do not cash in on the opportunity offered by CIL.

Read the full report @ Economic Times Energy World