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World’s Most Polluted City

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The World Health Organization studied the air quality of 1,600 cities in 91 countries in 2014. Delhi was ranked at number 1 as the most polluted city in the world. Beyond the findings for Delhi, 13 of the 20 cities found to have the highest annual averages of PM2.5 in the WHO study were Indian cities. Using satellite-based remote sensing technology and ground level data from the Central Pollution Control Board, Dr. Michael Greenstone and his team produced an influential study (Greenstone et al, 2015) showing that 660 million people (more than half of India’s population) lived in areas that exceed India’s standards for fine particulate pollution. Large portions of India, in particular in the north along the Indo-Gangetic Plain can been seen to be heavily polluted and in non-compliance with India’s National Air Quality Standards (NAAQS.) Since 2014, this data has been updated by the W.H.O. and though New Delhi got displaced from the top of the list, it wasn’t due to actions taken to c...
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How Air Pollution Affects Plants and Animals

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The earth is inhabited by millions of species within the plant and animal worlds. All co-exist and live alongside human beings. Anything in nature that affects humans also affects the plants and animals in equal, and sometimes in more advanced ways, positively or negatively. One such thing that at present is posing a negative and seriously damaging influence on the flora and fauna across the world is Air Pollution or very poor Air Quality Index (AQI). While human beings have evolved technologies, air travel, industrial processes, waste disposal methods and other infrastructural activities; these have steadily deteriorated air quality to unmanageable levels. While human beings are themselves responsible for the health and other damages due to this, the plants and animals are bearing the brunt of air pollution for no fault of their own. Some are also on the brink of extinction due to this. It is a well known fact that if plant and animal species keep vanishing from the face of the eart...
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Recipe for Disaster – What Ails the Air Quality and Ways to Gauge It

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In our previous blogs we have discussed what constitutes air pollution, its quantified statistics and the governmental regulations and measures to tackle the problem. However, no such effort can be successful unless we know the accurate methods to interpret these pollution statistics and pin point the precise reasons or things that cause such pollution. This blog thus attempts to uncover some of the components that together form a recipe for disaster related with the health and safety of people. Each comes with its set of causes, and each requires are attention and effort to prevent or minimize it. Air pollution is caused by solid and liquid particles called aerosols, suspended gases, and chemical reactions that make them worse pollutants than in their original form. Most air pollution comes from energy use and production. Certain gases in the atmosphere can also cause air pollution. In addition, EPA (United States Environmental Agency) has identified six pollutants as “criteria” air...
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Understanding GRAP!!

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With air pollution remaining critically high and a serious health since 2010 in India, especially in the capital city of New Delhi, the Supreme Court of India in 2015 mandated the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to draw up an urgent and comprehensive action plan to tackle this problem. The action plan was mapped out by an expert committee and submitted to the Supreme Court in December 2016. After proper analysis and deliberation, it was accepted and rolled out, thus introducing the Graded Response Action Plan or GRAP to the city of Delhi and the National Capital Region. Implemented in January 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the purpose of this plan was to ensure “prevention, control, and abatement” of air pollution in Delhi-NCR. For the implementation of the plan, the central government set up the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body that was tasked to work with other Indian states for development and implementation of si...
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