Leaving no stone unturned to make Delhi pollution-free, the AAP Government has announced that real-time data on pollution sources would be available from August 1 in the national Capital. The real-time identification of pollutants will significantly help in taking mitigating measures and reducing pollution, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.
Delhi will become the first city to identify the real-time source of air pollution through its apportionment system. The project will help in identifying the factors responsible for the rise in air pollution at any given location in the city.
It will help in understanding the impact of pollution sources like vehicles, dust, biomass burning and industrial emissions. Based on these results, the Delhi Government will be able to take necessary steps to curb the specific sources of pollution. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had reviewed the progress of Delhi's ‘Real Time Source Apportionment System’ and directed officers to ensure that no loopholes are left in this system.
Notably, a supersite will be established in Delhi by the end of July to identify actual sources of pollution in real time. Along with the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Environment Minister Gopal Rai, Delhi Dialogue Commission vice-chairperson Jasmine Shah and other high-ranking officials were present in the meeting. Kejriwal chaired a review meeting with teams from IIT-Kanpur, IIT- Delhi, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) on the ambitious Real Time Source Apportionment System and Pollution Forecasting Project. During the review meeting, Professor Mukesh from IIT-Kanpur informed the CM that a suitable location had been identified for the establishment of the supersite apparatus. “They have proposed to set up a supersite at Pandara Road in Central Delhi. The work of setting up the supersite will begin by the end of July. It will be built in an area totaling up to 36 square metres,” the Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“The supersite will be built about nine to 14 meters above the ground. As part of this system, a mobile app will also be developed. Under the whole apportionment system the exact sources of pollution at specific locations will be discovered,” it said.
The Chief Minister was also apprised about the progress of the procurement process of equipment required like the 'Real Time Ambient Air Analyser' and 'Online Particulate Matter and Ion Analysis System'. A global procurement process for acquiring state-of-the-art equipment is being ensured under the project. The team also informed the Chief Minister of the developments that have taken place in the Air Pollution Forecasting System project. This system will provide accurate hourly, daily and weekly forecast data on air pollution.
Kejriwal said, "In Delhi pollution remains in the 'Moderate Category' around October 9 every year. After that, the pollution level starts increasing suddenly. Looking at NASA's photos, it has been noticed that a large amount of stubble was burnt during that period, whereas the figures every time say that only five per cent of Delhi's pollution is due to stubble burning.”“In such a situation it is important to ascertain the actual contribution of stubble in Delhi's pollution and how much other factors contribute to it.
This would enable real-time detection of factors causing pollution in the State and help in controlling that source of pollution," he added.