It’s odd, even during the lockdown, air remains unhealthy

New Delhi: Pollution in many parts of India rose above healthy levels even though the lockdown shut factories and emptied roads, which indicates that targets for air quality should be set realistically, the head of a key pollution monitoring body said.

During the lockdown, the level of particulate matter often remained unhealthy, largely because of dust.

Pollution in Delhi improved significantly from hazardous levels before the lockdown, but touched the healthy level only when wind and rain cleaned the air.


“If we keep the target levels below the current levels, it will be a futile exercise. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) should seriously consider to look at these baseline levels,” said Gufran Beig, director of System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), which monitors real-time air pollution in New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad.

This has huge implications for industry, which has to spend a fortune on pollution-control equipment.

‘Can’t be a One-Size-Fits-All Policy’
Motorists have also suffered as the Delhi government at times enforces the ‘odd-even’ scheme to remove half the vehicles from roads. Weather scientists have observed that such schemes made no noticeable impact on the city’s air quality.

“These levels will play an important role in framing natural standards,” Beig said. Future policy targets should be made keeping in mind the current air pollution levels during lockdown, he said.

Other scientists also agree, but exercise caution against implementing a one-size-fits-all policy. “We need to also understand the purpose for which we are setting baseline levels,” said Laxman Singh Rathore, former India Meteorological Department (IMD) director general and a consultant with UNDP and World Bank.

“There will be different levels for cities, for rural farm regions, and for industrial regions — we need to index these levels accordingly,” Rathore said.

Rathore also warns against singling out air pollutants, saying that policymakers should also look at the soil and water data. “We should also extend this exercise to water and soil pollution as well, and should not leave them for last-ditch efforts as we have seen earlier,” he said.

Currently, Delhi is enjoying a 30% reduction in PM 2.5 matter, while the same figure for Mumbai is over 50%, according to data from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).

However, despite lack of road and air pollutants, Delhi's PM 10 levels remain higher than expected at the “satisfactory” category. This is due to high dust levels in the capital leading up to the summer season. “Dust transport from Rajasthan, adjoining Pakistan and Arabian Peninsula is expected over Delhi/NCR,” said SAFAR.

Beig also said that the only emissions that have increased over the lockdown period have been those of biofuels. “The number of people cooking food on LPG and cow dung has increased despite dhabas and restaurants staying shut,” Beig said.