The Climate Change Guy | Beijing may have declared its second red alert for air pollution, but it’s still not in the world’s 20 most polluted cities

Posted at 20 Dec, 07:21h in Air pollution, Asia, India by Anthony 0 Comments

Beijing may have declared its second red alert for air pollution, but it’s still not in the world’s 20 most polluted cities

Beijing may be in the midst of its second air pollution red alert, just over a week since its first ever such warning, however it doesn’t rank in the world’s top 20 most polluted cities in terms of annual average PM2.5 concentration. PM2.5 is defined as particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres. The main problem associated with such small particles from combustion and some industrial processes are the health implications. Particles of this size are easily inhaled and can lodge deep in the lungs. According to a report published this month by Greenpeace India, the World Health Organisation has reported that 13 of the top 20 cities affected by air pollution are in India. Of the remaining seven, 3 are in Pakistan and the remaining four are in Iran, Qatar, Turkey and Bangladesh.

The Greenpeace report titled ‘A status assessment of National Air Quality Index (NAQI) and pollution level assessment for Indian cities’ is the first of its kind in research of India that analysed pollution concentrations from the NAQI network. This portal was started by the Indian Government in April 2015 and accounts for air pollutants including particulate matter, NO₂ (nitrogen dioxide) and SO₂ (sulphur dioxide) that have short term impacts. As of 11 November 2015, the portal provides real time data for 16 cities including Delhi, Patna, Faridabad, Bangalore and Mumbai.

Analysis of the NAQI data for this Greenpeace report confirmed that exposure to very high concentrations of particulates is frequent in most Indian cities, and that the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are almost continually exceeded. In the most polluted Indian cities, a number of months can go by in which not a single day meets the NAAQS. The concentrations of pollutants in a number of cities including Delhi, Ahmedabad, Varanasi and Agra were higher than those in Beijing.

Although the NAQI provides citizens timely and reliable information on air pollution levels, the report highlights the poor coverage of air pollution monitoring given that most Indian megacities do not have air monitoring stations. Increasing the coverage of all major cities and industrial areas and increasing the number of air pollution monitoring stations in cities that already have them were identified as critical in the report. Only five cities in India have more than one monitoring station.

Air pollution levels reach concentrations posing both acute and long-term health risks for citizens

In terms of health implications, analysis of the NAQI data reveals that air pollution levels reach concentrations posing both acute and long-term health risks for citizens. The Greenpeace report recommends that air pollution concentrations should be communicated through radio, television and the internet. In doing so, the system would play its part in protecting citizens from potentially hazardous air pollution concentrations by giving advice regarding how they can protect themselves. In addition, the report reiterated the Indian Government’s duty to issue alerts, encourage the use of pollution masks and installing air purification systems in schools, hospitals and other public buildings.

The data analysis performed for ‘A’ status assessment of National Air Quality Index (NAQI) and pollution level assessment for Indian cities showed that high air pollution concentrations are a problem across the whole subcontinent. The majority of air pollution levels measured in cities are predominantly attributed to emissions originating from outside the inner city areas – therefore, national and regional action is required in association with local governance measures implemented in Indian cities.

In concluding their report, Greenpeace India was adamant that eight major steps can be implemented to make the NAQI a more effective tool:

Making the NAQI national and having at least 3 monitoring stations in each location
Upgrading manual stations to continuous air quality monitoring stations which feed data into the NAQI portal
Expanding the distribution and reach of the real time monitoring data through television, radio, newspapers, mobile Apps and web portals
Issuing real time health advisory and data to give citizens advice on actions they can take depending on the pollution concentration
Including long term and chronic health impacts from air pollution in the health advisory
Strengthening emission standards for thermal power plants and other industries to reduce air pollution concentrations
Making public transport more reliable and safer to encourage a shift away from the use of polluting private vehicles
Implementing stricter exhaust emission standards for vehicles

The world’s 20 most polluted cities based on annual average PM2.5 concentrations in order are: