Article on increasing pollution and diseasesin big cities
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Pollution is one of the major issues causing concern not only in India but across the world. The technological advancement and speedy development since India’s Independence has come at a great environmental cost. According to the global Environment Performance Index (EPI) 2018, India is ranked at 177 with an EPI of 30.57, and it is disheartening to hear that Delhi, the national capital of the country, is being tagged as one of the most heavily polluted capital cities in the world. It is the world’s worst city in terms of air pollution, with with an unhealthy air quality index for the majority of the year. Thus, today, one of the biggest threats to the welfare of the people of Delhi and the city as a whole is pollution of various types
Classification of pollution in Delhi
Air pollution
Noise pollution
Water pollution
Domestic waste
Industrial waste
Vehicular pollution
Hospital waste
Solid waste etc.
Causes of pollution in Delhi
Growing population of the city. The pressure and haphazard growth of the population is deteriorating the environment.
There has been highly haphazard and unplanned development of industries and factories. Studies have revealed that only about 20% of the industrial units are set up in the approved industrial areas whereas the rest of them are in residential and commercial areas.
There has been a huge rise in the vehicular population, in spite of the metro railways, aggravating traffic congestion and increasing air and noise pollution. It has also been reported that the number of vehicles plying on the roads of Delhi is more than that of the three metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai taken together.
There has also been an ever-increasing number of diesel vehicles plying on the roads, which are largely responsible for the air pollution.
It has been reported by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) that everyday almost 8,000 m tonnes of solid waste is being generated in Delhi. Plus we also have the industrial hazardous and non-hazardous waste. On an average, everyday, the MCDs and the NDMC manage to clear about 5,000-5,500 m tonnes of garbage. This results in the accumulation of more and more garbage in the city.
There has been no proper technology or methods to treat solid, liquid, waste water, industrial and hospital wastes in the city.
There has been too much dependence on fossil fuels like coal-fired power plants, improper use of energy in buildings and the excessive use of biomass for cooking and heating, etc
Particulate matter for measuring pollution
One way of measuring pollution is by the measure of particulate matter. Particulate matter is basically a mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets like acids, chemicals, gas, water, metals, soil dust particles, etc., the measurement of which gives an idea of the pollution of a city. It is also known as particle pollution or PM.
Pollution in Delhi: Facts and figures
According to the Ambient Air Pollution (AAP) report for the year 2014, Delhi had PM 2.5 pollution levels, which is the highest in the world, followed by Beijing. This result was based on the monitoring of PM measurement of outdoor air pollution from almost 1,600 cities in 91 countries.
The highest concentration of PM 2.5 form of air pollution is supposed to be a very serious matter and can lead to respiratory diseases and other health problems like lung cancer.
According to the WHO, air pollution is the fifth largest killer in India.
Carbon monoxide (CO), a dangerous gas emission, is around 6,000 microgram per cubic metre in Delhi, which is much above the the safe level of 2,000 microgram per cubic metre.
The level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) has also been increasing.
According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) is 121, which is described as “poor.” The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality, about how clean or polluted the air is.
Government’s steps to control pollution in Delhi
There are mobile enforcement teams deployed at various locations for monitoring polluting vehicles and vehicles not having PUC certificates.
A Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) is being constructed with the aim of providing a non-polluting, useful and affordable rail-based mass rapid transit system for Delhi, integrated with other modes of transport.
With a view to reducing vehicular pollution, there has been a ban imposed on the plying of more than 15 years old commercial/transport vehicles, taxis and autos that run on conventional fuels, including diesel driven city buses.
There has also been tightening of mass emission standards for new vehicles.