Air pollution is a permanent problem now

The Central government should take steps to ensure that Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) does not grapple with smog in the coming days, the Supreme Court said on Friday observing that courts have limitations in dealing with such issues. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde asked Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta to ensure that the national capital is not impacted by smog and bad air quality while calling for "grading" actions/ offences that contribute to decline in Air Quality Index (AQI).

SG Mehta informed the top court that a body known as Commission for Air Quality Management for NCR and Adjoining Areas (Commission) has been set up by the Central government and will start functioning from today. The Centre in exercise of its powers under Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance, 2020, had constituted the Commission on Thursday for tackling air pollution and plummeting AQI levels in the NCR.

The air quality in Delhi, the capital territory of India, according to a WHO survey of 1,650 world cities, is the worst of any major city in the world. It also affects the districts around Delhi. Air pollution in India is estimated to kill about 2 million people every year; it is the fifth largest killer in India. India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases and asthma, according to the WHO. In Delhi, poor quality air irreversibly damages the lungs of 2.2 million or 50 percent of all children. In addition we have COVID-19 situation now. Delhi is undergoing a third wave of it or so with more than 6,000 cases being reported every day now.

On 25 November 2019, the Supreme Court of India made statements on the pollution in Delhi saying "Delhi has become worse than narak (hell)" Supreme Court Justice Arun Mishra said that it is better to get explosives and kill everyone. A research paper published by the Ministry of Earth Sciences paper in October 2018 attributing almost 41 per cent to vehicular emissions, 21.5 per cent to dust and 18 per cent to industries. The director of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) alleged that the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is lobbying "against the report" because it is "inconvenient" to the automobile industry. Pollution in Delhi spikes in the winter, owing to a mix of cultural practices involving burning and meteorological factors. A thick, noxious mix of smog and dust obscures the sun and chokes lungs, forcing schools to close and citizens who can afford breathing masks to don them.

Under pressure to do something, the Central Pollution Control Board has been testing a few technologies every winter in addition to filters at intersections. Thirty smaller air filters had been placed atop public buses. The CPCB also planned to sprinkle magnesium chloride and cement powder on roads and construction sites; these hygroscopic materials absorb water from the air, making the ground moist and keeping dust from flying up. The agency had announced a cloud-seeding project that, according to those in charge, should generate artificial rain to wash away pollution. However, no one seems to be interested in keeping our air clean, not just in Delhi but also in other cities. Hence, the suffering.