{"id":43551,"date":"2024-11-19T12:54:38","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T07:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=43551"},"modified":"2025-05-06T03:34:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T22:04:29","slug":"delhis-air-pollution-crisis-worst-air-quality-since-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/delhis-air-pollution-crisis-worst-air-quality-since-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Delhi\u2019s Air Pollution Crisis: Worst Air Quality Since 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>Why Delhi-NCR struggles with severe air pollution every winter?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Delhi\u2019s air quality has hit its worst levels since 2019, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) deteriorating to 494 on November 18, categorized as severe+. A combination of stubble burning, calm winds, low temperatures, and high humidity has caused pollutants, particularly PM 2.5, to accumulate.<\/p>\n<p>The toxic air prompted the suspension of physical classes in schools and universities, delays and cancellations of flights, and widespread public health concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Meteorologists attribute the smog to thermal inversion and stagnant winds, with no improvement expected until later in the week when wind speeds might increase.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Why Delhi-NCR struggles with severe air pollution every winter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Background<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Although emissions remain similar throughout the year, pollution and hazardous air quality worsen in Delhi-NCR during winter months.<\/li>\n<li>New Delhi faced hazardous air quality when the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-daily-current-affairs\/prelims-pointers\/air-quality-index-aqi\/\" target=\"_blank\">Air Quality Index (AQI)<\/a> crossed 400 on November 12.<\/li>\n<li>Since then, the situation has worsened as AQI deteriorated to 494 on Nov 18.<\/li>\n<li>Thick smog continues to blanket the city, severely limiting visibility and disrupting both traffic and flight operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Top contributor to air pollution in Delhi<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A study by the Centre for Science and Environment reveals that during the time period of October 12- November 3, 2024:<\/li>\n<li>vehicular emissions are the largest contributor to Delhi\u2019s air pollution, accounting for 51.5 per cent of the city\u2019s pollution;<\/li>\n<li>Neighbouring districts add 34.97 per cent,<\/li>\n<li>farm fires contribute 8.19 per cent, and<\/li>\n<li>dust particles make up 3.7 per cent of the total air pollution in the city.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Major factors responsible for winter pollution<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Crop burning in surrounding states<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Farmers in states like Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh burn crop stubble to clear fields as an immediate and simple solution after harvest.<\/li>\n<li>This practice releases massive amounts of smoke and significantly harmful particles into the air.<\/li>\n<li>These particles are then carried into Delhi by winds, significantly worsening the levels of pollution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Frozen, unmoving winter air<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>During the winter months, Delhi\u2019s cold weather causes air to be severely frozen and still.<\/li>\n<li>This means that pollutants such as smoke, dust, and factory pollutants are caught near the ground, stuck in one place.<\/li>\n<li>As a result, it accumulates smog, reducing air quality and increasing health risks for people.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Temperature inversion<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The stability in the atmospheric layer because of thermal inversion combined with low wind speed has trapped the pollutants.<\/li>\n<li>A temperature inversion is a layer in the atmosphere where the temperature increases with height, which is the opposite of what usually happens.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>In normal conditions, air temperature decreases as altitude increases.<\/li>\n<li>This is why the pollutant concentration has been continuously high.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Overpopulation<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>With a population of over 20 million, Delhi\u2019s fast-paced urban growth puts immense pressure on its infrastructure.<\/li>\n<li>More people means more cars, more waste, and significantly increased energy consumption, all of which contribute to higher pollution levels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vehicular emission<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Delhi\u2019s roads are crowded with vehicles, many of which are old and release high levels of harmful gasses.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fireworks during festivals<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Despite the firecrackers being banned, they continue to burst during festivals like Diwali.<\/li>\n<li>These fireworks release severely harmful chemicals, including sulfur dioxide and airborne particles, adding to the already high levels of pollution during the festive season.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Construction and dust<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Construction in Delhi is creating a lot of dust and pollution because the city is growing quickly.<\/li>\n<li>Big building sites and roads that are being built produce a lot of dust, especially during dry weather.<\/li>\n<li>This dust can make the air polluted and unhealthy to breathe, affecting the well-being of people living in the city.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Other factors<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bare, open lands and fields<\/strong> also generate dust, especially during windy conditions, further deteriorating air quality.\n<ul>\n<li>Additionally, <strong>wildfires and the burning of waste produce<\/strong> harmful smoke and soot, adding to the pollution with toxic particulates and gases.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Industrial emissions<\/strong>, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds, lead to the formation of secondary pollutants like ozone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. What are the main contributors to Delhi\u2019s air pollution?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Vehicular emissions (51.5%), crop stubble burning (8.19%), dust (3.7%), and industrial pollutants are key contributors. Winter weather worsens the pollution.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. Why does Delhi face severe air pollution in winter?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Winter air is stagnant, trapping pollutants near the ground. Combined with crop stubble burning, vehicular emissions, and thermal inversion, it creates hazardous smog.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/cities\/delhi\/delhi-breathes-poison-worst-air-quality-since-2019-sc-says-dont-lift-curbs-until-orders-9676759\/#:~:text=DELHI&#039;S%20AIR%2C%20already%20at%20toxic,polluted%20day%20recorded%20in%202019.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Delhi breathes poison: Worst air quality since 2019, SC says don\u2019t lift curbs until orders<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/cities\/Delhi\/delhi-air-pollution-do-not-relax-anti-pollution-grap-4-curbs-without-courts-nod-says-supreme-court\/article68881219.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hindu<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/etimes\/trending\/delhi-air-pollution-7-biggest-causes-of-air-pollution-and-effective-preventive-measures\/articleshowprint\/115264093.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Times of India<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/india-news\/explained-why-delhi-ncr-struggles-with-severe-air-pollution-every-winter-124111501328_1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Business Standard<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover why Delhi\u2019s air quality reached hazardous levels, with an AQI of 494. Learn about the causes, health impact, and urgent actions needed to combat this environmental crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":43552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}