Delhi Has Highest PM 10 Levels Among 130 Cities Covered Under National Clean Air Programme: Report
New Delhi: A new analysis has revealed that in the financial year 2024-25, Delhi recorded the highest PM 10 (particulate matter smaller than 10 micrometers) levels among the 130 cities which were covered under the Union Government’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
The analysis by non-profit Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has concluded that Delhi recorded an annual average PM 10 concentration of 206 micrograms/cubic metre (µg/m3), reported Indian Express.
The national capital was followed by Byrinhat and Patna, with annual PM 10 levels of 200 µg/m3 and 180 µg/m3, respectively.
Under the NCAP, cities have been given the target to reduce levels of inhalable PM 10 pollutants by up to 40% or achieve national ambient air quality standards by 2025-26, over the 2017 baseline year.
The NCAP evaluates PM 10 reductions on every financial year.
The analysis revealed that while Delhi’s PM 10 levels were found to be three times above the national ambient air quality standards (60 µg/m3 for annual period), the city did record a 15% decline in PM 10 concentration when compared to the NCAP’s baseline year of 2017-18.
“When benchmarked against the NCAP baseline year (2017-18), PM 10 levels increased in 23 cities and remained unchanged in two. The remaining 77 showed improvements,” said the analysis.
In October last year, the Supreme Court had reacted strongly to the air quality in New Delhi which had slipped from the ‘Poor’ to ‘Very Poor’ category. It had slammed the the union government and governments of Punjab and Haryana for inaction and the imposition of paltry penalties for stubble burning, respectively.
The court had said that an amendment to the Environment Protection Act (1986) in 2023 – which provides for imposing penalties on individuals who go against the Act (in this case, farmers who are burning stubble) – has made the legislation “toothless” because there is no adjudicating officer to enforce this provision. It said that it would take the union government to task for this.
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