Abstract
Air quality has been a matter of public concern in Delhi. The concentration of Particulate Matters (PM2.5 and PM10) often surpasses the Indian National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This study is focused upon the evaluation of Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCAs) Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) action during 2018 in terms of PM2.5 and NO2. In order to control air pollution sources in National Capital Region (NCR), the (EPCA) Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority directed GRAP to advise the local industries and other sources of pollution to close their operations on particular dates whenever Air Quality Index (AQI) showed severe level. In this study, we have analyzed 24 hourly averaged Air Quality Index (AQI) data for the period September 2017 - January 2018 and September 2018 - January 2019 at two sites i.e. Delhi Technical University (DTU) and Income Tax Office (ITO) respectively. The GRAP results showed a significant decrease in AQI values of both after every order passed by GRAP task force. In general, the PM2.5 AQI values were always higher during year 2017-18 as compared to 2018-19 at both sites.
Highlights
Air Quality Standards The issue of air quality in the National Capital
The results showed that after the suggested actions, the Air Quality Index (AQI) values reduced noticeably falling under moderate and satisfactory categories
In response to the strict implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) by the EPCA, significant improvement was seen in AQI
Summary
Air Quality Standards The issue of air quality in the National Capital. Region (NCR) Delhi is a matter of public concern. Poor air quality has various harmful effects on the environment and human health causing smog, acid rain, reduced visibility and increasing premature deaths, asthma attacks and chronic respiratory illness.[1,2,3] In general, the poor air quality of Delhi is due to high concentration, of the PM2.5 and PM10 which have been reported violating the limits of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).[4,5] The soil dust, road dust, and construction site dust contribute to the high loadings of particulates in CONTACT Umesh Kulshrestha.
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