India’s air quality deteriorated in January 2024, as the winter season and low wind speed trapped pollutants near the surface, according to this report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Under Section 12 (l) of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act,2021, the Commission is vested with powers to take all such measures, issue directions, etc., as it deems necessary or expedient for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality of the air in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas.

Air pollution is a major threat to health, and the dangers are particularly acute in low- and middle-income countries. However, little is known about how the burden of pollution is spread across the wealth distribution in these countries.

The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched in India in 2019 and aimed to significantly enhance the air quality in India by 2024 by reducing PM concentration by 20-30 per cent, which in 2022 has been extended to 2026, aiming to have a 40% reduction in pollution levels compared to 2017.

An analysis by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has revealed a substantial rise in fine particulate matter on Diwali, with a 45 per cent increase in PM2.5 and a 33 per cent increase in PM10, compared to the previous year.

This document summarizes several air quality measurement and modelling methods that can be used to estimate ground-level air pollutant concentrations and presents multiple approaches to monitoring ambient air pollution at different spatial and temporal scales.

Based on the need to establish scientifically robust health-based standards, this working paper evaluates the global best practices for setting or revising air quality standards.

Rising air pollution can cut life expectancy by more than five years per person in South Asia, one of the world’s most polluted regions, according to a report which flagged the growing burden of hazardous air on health.

The Air Quality Management (AQM) system in Tajikistan needs strengthening in its key policy and institutional as well as technical aspects to reduce health impacts of air pollution in the most polluted airsheds (Dushanbe and other urban centers).

Exposure to fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) increases mortality and morbidity and reduces human capital formation and worker productivity. As a consequence, high levels of particulate pollution may adversely affect economic activity.

Pages