Oct 18 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)
CITIES IN FOCUS - Centre launches index to measure air quality
New Delhi:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
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It Will Inform People About Pollution, Health Implications
The ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) launched the national air quality index (AQI) on Friday. AQI, a method of informing people about the air quality in their cities, has six categories—good, satisfactory, moderately polluted, poor, very poor and severe depending on concentrations of eight main air pollutants.The Centre’s move comes in the wake of international organizations, including the WHO, highlighting the poor air quality in India. The index will not only give people an idea of the air quality, but also the corresponding health impacts they are likely to face.
The index could also help rank how each city is doing in terms of air quality. This scheme, however, may take some more time to be operational. It will first be implemented in cities with more than a million population as well as state capitals in the next five years. Those with half million plus population will come under the AQI system in the second phase.
AQI is a method by which individual air pollution parameters of each pollutant can be translated into a single number or a set of numbers. For instance, an AQI of 301-400 denotes “very poor” quality and the corresponding PM 2.5 con centrations are 121-250 microgram per cubic metre. The scheme may initially kick off in 16 cities, which have automatic air quality monitoring stations. The rest may take longer.
The AQI doesn’t consider the total suspended particulate matter (TSPM) levels, which are basically all kinds of pollution particles in the air. Instead it considers only PM 2.5 (particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres) and PM 10 (particles less than 10 micrometres).
Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar called AQI the “one number, one colour and one description” scheme that can be understood by people easily. He also claimed that AQI is a part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Javadekar said that to address the air pollution problem, he was considering if Bharat Stage (BS) fuel standards could be advanced and shifted to BS V norms. He said India needed to prepare for a vehicular popula tion of 32 crore by 2024. The current number is 16 crore. “ saw the smog in China once and thought that in 10 years In dia would face the same situa tion if we don't do anything about it,“ he said.
Centre for Science and En vironment welcomed the ini tiative of introducing a health advisory to inform people about the air quality and its impact on health. This can help people take precautions on days that have poor air quality.
However, the ministry has no other plans to deal with severe air pollution on certain days.
Many countries have their action plans for such days. Paris, for instance, recommends drivers to postpone trips to Paris or bypass Paris city, use public transport or organize carpooling. In Beijing, on red alert days, kindergartens and schools are closed; 80% of government-owned cars are taken off roads and private cars allowed on alternate days.
The index could also help rank how each city is doing in terms of air quality. This scheme, however, may take some more time to be operational. It will first be implemented in cities with more than a million population as well as state capitals in the next five years. Those with half million plus population will come under the AQI system in the second phase.
AQI is a method by which individual air pollution parameters of each pollutant can be translated into a single number or a set of numbers. For instance, an AQI of 301-400 denotes “very poor” quality and the corresponding PM 2.5 con centrations are 121-250 microgram per cubic metre. The scheme may initially kick off in 16 cities, which have automatic air quality monitoring stations. The rest may take longer.
The AQI doesn’t consider the total suspended particulate matter (TSPM) levels, which are basically all kinds of pollution particles in the air. Instead it considers only PM 2.5 (particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres) and PM 10 (particles less than 10 micrometres).
Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar called AQI the “one number, one colour and one description” scheme that can be understood by people easily. He also claimed that AQI is a part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Javadekar said that to address the air pollution problem, he was considering if Bharat Stage (BS) fuel standards could be advanced and shifted to BS V norms. He said India needed to prepare for a vehicular popula tion of 32 crore by 2024. The current number is 16 crore. “ saw the smog in China once and thought that in 10 years In dia would face the same situa tion if we don't do anything about it,“ he said.
Centre for Science and En vironment welcomed the ini tiative of introducing a health advisory to inform people about the air quality and its impact on health. This can help people take precautions on days that have poor air quality.
However, the ministry has no other plans to deal with severe air pollution on certain days.
Many countries have their action plans for such days. Paris, for instance, recommends drivers to postpone trips to Paris or bypass Paris city, use public transport or organize carpooling. In Beijing, on red alert days, kindergartens and schools are closed; 80% of government-owned cars are taken off roads and private cars allowed on alternate days.
