Wednesday, November 28, 2007
1,000 new cars a day are polluting Delhi air: study
One thousand new cars are purchased every day in the capital, taking the air pollution to the pre 2000 levels that used to claim over 50,000 lives a year, revealed a new study released November 6. The study, carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment, found that Delhi is on the verge of losing the gains of switching its city buses to compressed natural gas (CNG) five years ago.
"Every day Delhi is registering 994 new cars and all these are private cars. In a city with nearly half a million vehicles, you can expect the pollution level and we found that the cars are the real culprit," CSE director Sunita Narain said.
"Currently nearly 30 percent of our vehicles are diesel-run and by 2010 half of them are going to be run on diesel. I must warn that this cheap oil is giving rise to sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide in the air.
"The city has exhausted all soft options like advocacy and awareness to reverse the trend, and it's time to take harsh steps like not allowing diesel vehicles on the road," Narain told reporters.
"Restricting car numbers and upgrading the public transport system are the only options for the city now," she said.
In 2002, when the CNG program was initiated in the capital, the annual average levels of the respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) in residential areas stood at 143 micrograms per cubic meter.
"It dropped to 115 mg per cubic meter by 2005.
The upward swing in RSPM has now been noticeable since 2006 and the annual average levels have jumped back to 136 mg per cubic meter.
"The monthly average level of RSPM in the winter of 2006-07 was as high as 350 mg per cubic meter. In normal circumstances it should not go beyond 250 mg in winter," the study said.
The levels can even be higher this winter, as is hinted by the early onset of smog. Due to the high concentration of nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide, many Delhiites will face breathing difficulties, asthma and other problems related to lungs, the study revealed.
Anumita Roy Choudhury, associate director of CSE, said: "High exposure to RSPM is known to lead to increased hospitalization for asthma, lung diseases, chronic bronchitis and heart damage.
Long-term exposure can cause lung cancer."
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Image and article source:NewsIndiaTimes
Article taken from the issue:30 November, 2007
Labels: 1000 cars, air pollution, Centre for Science and Environment, delhi, natural gas, pollution, smog
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