Context:
The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) recently completed five years.
National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): Insights from Respirer Living Sciences and Climate Trends
- An analysis of the “Five Years of the National Clean Air Programme” report published by Respirer Living Sciences, a climate-tech startup, and Climate Trends, an environmental consulting group.
Five Years of National Clean Air Programme: A Stark Reality Check and Call for Stringent Actions
- Attainment of 2024 Targets: According to the report, most major cities in the country are way behind the 2024 benchmark, and most cities are unlikely to meet the 40 percent reduction target by 2026.
National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)
- About: It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in January 2019.
- Aim: To achieve reductions up to 40% or achievement of National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter10 (PM 10) concentrations by 2025-26.
Non-Attainment Cities:
- These are designated if they consistently fail to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter or nitrogen dioxide over a five-year period.
Difference Between PM2.5 and PM10:
- While PM10 is small enough to penetrate the respiratory system, PM2.5 is much smaller and can move deeper into the lungs and trigger a range of diseases, including fatal ones.
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- Non-attainment cities as well as the peri-urban areas and villages are now found to be highly polluted.
- Air Pollution Levels: In most cities, they are higher than the NAAQS of 40 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) and 60 µg/m3 for PM2.5 (ultrafine particles) and PM10, respectively.
- Out of 93 cities with PM10 data for 2023, only seven (less than 10 percent) met the national standard of 60 µg/m3. Meanwhile, 32 cities met the national standard for PM2.5 at 40 µg/m3.
- Reduction in PM10 Levels: Among the 46 cities monitored over the years, the PM10 levels have worsened in 22 cities over the last five years.
- Only 8 cities have successfully achieved the initial target of reducing pollution levels by 20 to 30 percent.
- Worst Performer in PM10 Levels: Durgapur in West Bengal has been the poorest performing city.
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- Its PM10 level surged above 53 percent during 2019-24 from 77.2 µg/m3 in 2019 to 118.2 µg/m3 in 2023.
- It was followed by four Maharashtra cities: Thane, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Aurangabad.
- Maximum Improvement in PM2.5 Levels: Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh has shown significant improvement, witnessing a 63 percent reduction in PM10 concentration in 2023 compared to 2019.
- Talcher follows it in Odisha.
- Worst PM2.5 Levels: Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra exhibited the most deteriorated air quality for PM2.5, experiencing an increase of about 47 percent, closely followed by Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.
- Performance of Metropolis: Mumbai was the worst-performing metropolis, with its PM10 level increasing by 37 percent in the last five years.
- Fund Utilisation: The cities could not decrease pollution levels despite the disbursal of Rs 9,650 crore to control air pollution across 131 non-attainment cities.
- Out of total funds, only 60 percent (Rs 5,835 crore) have been utilized by the cities.
- Relation Between Fund Utilisation and Pollution Reduction: Numerous cities have worsened or shown only marginal improvement over the last five years, despite receiving substantial financial allocations.
- Despite receiving Rs 939 crore between 2019 and 2023 and utilizing Rs 680 crore, the pollution level of Mumbai continues to rise.
- In contrast, Delhi and Bengaluru, despite receiving meager funds from the National Clean Air Programme to combat air pollution, managed to make some progress.
- Need for Stringent Actions: More stringent actions to suppress dust emissions are needed, along with steps to minimize biomass burning, solid fuel burning (especially low-grade coal) and solid waste burning, which would reduce particulates, especially the finer particles (PM2.5).
News Source: DTE
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