Capital considers whether to lower the pollution bar for emergency measures, including bans on car use in the city Odd-even car bans might become more frequent in Beijing later this year if the capital goes ahead with proposed changes to emergency air pollution measures, according to mainland media reports yesterday. …
BEIJING – Air pollution in Beijing dropped slightly last year, municipal authorities said, although levels of the most dangerous small particulate matter remained more than three times the internationally recommended limit. China’s cities are often hit by heavy pollution, blamed on coal-burning by power stations and industry, as well as …
AIR pollution in the city yesterday reached eight times the World Health Organization safe level. And continuing warm weather, with temperatures up to 19 degrees Celsius, means that more pollution is possible today, said officials. Yesterday, a combination of high pressure, temperatures reaching 16 degrees and weak southwesterly winds led …
Beijing witnessed an increasing number of days with blue skies in 2014, a clear improvement in air pollution control, while the reduction in the average concentration of PM2.5, a major air pollutant, failed to reach the annual goal by a hair, the municipal environmental watchdog said on Sunday. This year, …
PUNE: There has been a marked increase in pollution across the city this winter as compared to last year, say scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). "With the exception of Pashan, the average PM 2.5 levels recorded at all stations across the city have been significantly higher …
GURGAON: Delhi may have been in the spotlight for being the world's most polluted city, as per a recent urban air quality database released by the World Health Organisation but Gurgaon is definitely no better. A recent study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), using a portable air …
This inaugural State of Clean Transport Policy report compiles advancements in national and international regulations to reduce energy use, mitigate climate change, and control air pollution from motor vehicles and fuels across eleven major vehicle markets from January 2013 through August 2014. These eleven vehicle markets—China, the United States (US), …
On December 1, 2014, COMARNAT, the national regulatory committee of the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), approved a proposed update by SEMARNAT to existing emissions standards regulating particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOX), hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) from heavy-duty diesel engines and vehicles, including trucks, buses …
This paper presents a new set of estimates of exposure to air pollution (fine particulate matter - PM2.5) at the city, regional and national levels for the 34 OECD countries, and at the regional and national levels for Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. The estimates are developed by …
Early on November 13, Delhi Environment Pollution Authority chief Bhure Lal left from his residence in Lutyens’ Delhi for his daily walk at Lodhi Gardens, his personal air pollution monitor attached. The monitor read: 1,196 microgramme per cubic metres. He was breathing 20 times the recommended safe standard for particulate …
NEW DELHI: Inadequate and unreliable data from government agencies has led to individual researchers using battery-operated portable devices that measure one's personal exposure to air pollution. This method reflects not only the alarming fact that exposure to air pollution in Delhi, however brief, could sometimes be 10-20 times the safe …
The white marble domes of the Taj Mahal are iconic images of India that attract millions of visitors every year. Over the past several decades the outer marble surfaces of the Taj Mahal have begun to discolor with time and must be painstakingly cleaned every several years. Although it has …
A majority of people living in Asian cities are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution every day. Seven out of 10 cities in developing Asian countries have unhealthy levels of air pollution, when measured as annual levels of particulate matter with size range of not greater than 10 microns …
The planned expansion of coal burning in India will double or triple the amount of premature deaths from air pollution by 2030, according to a new report from the Conservation Action Trust and Urban Emissions. India is already the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases; and its coal plant …
NEW DELHI: Dry leaves, which are a precious resource for making compost, are more often being burnt in the city. Smoke from such biomass burning is adding to Delhi's severe smog crisis and very high particulate pollution but agencies seem to be oblivious to this threat. Despite a ban on …
Almost 3 billion people, in low- and middle-income countries mostly, still rely on solid fuels (wood, animal dung, charcoal, crop wastes and coal) burned in inefficient and highly polluting stoves for cooking and heating. In 2012 alone, no fewer than 4.3 million children and adults died prematurely from illnesses caused …
Smog in Beijing jumped to hazardous levels, dashing hopes the capital would hold on to pollution-free skies that marked last week’s summit of world leaders. The fog blanketing the capital was a stark contrast to the clean air, dubbed APEC Blue, that resulted from smog-control efforts ahead of the Asia-Pacific …
This report presents an overview and analysis of air quality in Europe from 2003 to 2012. It reviews progress towards meeting the requirements of the air quality directives and gives an overview of policies and measures introduced at European level to improve air quality and minimise impacts.
Recent studies have shown that black carbon, a component of particulate matter (PM), is the second most powerful climate warming pollutant after carbon dioxide (CO2), and international experts have linked it to cancer and other serious health problems. In Latin America, the expanding use of diesel fuels and vehicles, coupled …
The scope of the study and the present report covers the detailed characterization of the existing environmental status in the Project area for major environmental components viz. Meteorology, Ambient Air Quality, Water Quality and Noise Levels.
