Breath of despair

Learning from global successes like Beijing and London, Delhi can adopt a multi-pronged, sustainable approach for lasting improvements

- ARVIND KUMAR

Delhi's air quality has been an area of concern for a long time; the existing conditions often rise to alarming rates during the festive seasons. The issue has been complex and multi-dimensional and has remained a challenge for environmental management and governance in Delhi. Air quality emergencies have continued to plague India as it assiduously works on SDGs. Recurring air quality emergencies, especially during festivals such as Diwali, indicate huge gaps in addressing this urgent challenge. It is the collective responsibility of the Centre and Delhi government, as well as of the community at large, to curb this air pollution.

Key contributors
Vehicular emissions, stubble burning, and bursting of firecrackers are some of the significant factors for the poor quality of air during festivals in Delhi. Government bans notwithstanding, fireworks are let off and in festivals like Diwali, a huge surge is seen in the levels of PM, which includes PM2.5 and PM10. As per the CPCB, all three locations-Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, and Rohini-have given a reading of over 400, thus 'severe'. The stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana during harvesting is no less contributor either. Once the harvesting season is over, they burn crop residues where large amounts of pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere. As this culture is deep-rooted among farmers of these states, stubble burning escalates the air pollution level in Delhi. Efforts by the Central government have also been made, for instance, giving incentives to the farmers to take up alternate practices vis-à-vis stubble burning, though such attempts have found only limited acceptance.