Rising pollution: India has dashboards to track problem – but not to track capability to solve it
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On October 21, Delhi’s air quality slipped into the “poor” category, prompting the Commission for Air Quality Management to invoke Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan across the National Capital Region.
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This stage involves measures such as intensifying the mechanical sweeping roads and sprinkling water on them to keep the dust from rising. It also bans some kinds of construction and demolition activities.
As winter progresses, the air quality in the capital is likely to deteriorate further. Pollution-control measures will be activated, agencies will issue advisories, monitoring stations will track concentrations and dashboards will show the public how air quality is changing.
There is no shortage of information about Delhi’s air. A 2019 review of five emission-inventory studies by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water found that transport accounted for roughly 18% to 39% of PM2.5 emissions and road dust for 18% to 38%, while road dust alone accounted for 36% to 66% of PM10.
PM2.5 refers to airborne particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less. It is about 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair and can easily be breathed into the lungs and the bloodstream. PM10 particles are about one-fifth to one-seventh the width of a...