The air quality in Delhi, is the worst of any major city in the world, according to a WHO survey. Air pollution is the 5th largest killer in India with an estimated 1.5 million dying due to diseases caused by it every year. After Diwali in 2019, the quality of the air in the capital became a public concern once again after pollution levels neared severe in many parts. While the commotion about Delhi’s air quality is relatively recent, experts have known of its condition for years now.
\nThere are several factors that affect Air Quality in major urban cities like Delhi. While overpopulation and the lack of active monitoring & reaction by authorities are what cause it to gradually worsen, the root cause lies with the sources – motor vehicle emissions, industry & factory emissions, construction dust, agricultural fires, and waste disposal fires. The lower temperatures of Delhi also cause pollutants to stay suspended lower in the air, creating dense layers of smoke and pollution, like during the Great Smog of Delhi in 2017.
\nAmong the major pollutants that are a direct cause of air quality issues, particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10, are pollutant particles that are not even filtered out by most regular face masks and filters. Air Quality on Delhi’s worst days exceeds 400 on a scale of 0-500 owing to almost 9 million vehicles, constant construction dust and burning of agricultural stubble in nearby regions. But this isn’t old news – in fact, a WHO survey as early as 2010 indicated alarmingly high levels of PM2.5 and PM10. Particulate matter that saw a peak in 1998, which was when the Supreme Court made it a mandate for public transport to use CNG instead of diesel or petrol, has been on a constant rise since 2014 due to the increase in private vehicles, industries and other activities within the city and in areas surrounding it from where pollutants are carried by air into the city.
\nGiven the geography of Delhi, the temperature during the winter, the fact that it is the national capital and the rate at which the city and surrounding cities are developing, authorities should have foreseen the air quality issue. Chennai has almost ten times the number of cars per kilometer of road length than Delhi but only a tenth of its pollution. Why? It is a coastal city that isn’t surrounded by dust and gets a cleaner breeze from the ocean. So, no, it is not surprising that Delhi’s air quality is in the state it is today, but yes, the awareness it is getting now is imperative if we don’t want the city and its children waking up to a health nightmare it can’t recover from.
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