Air Quality Index
1)
The government launched the National Air Quality Index (AQI) that
will -
i.
put out real time data about the level of pollutants in the air
ii.
inform people about the
possible impacts on health
2)
The new index will initially cover 10 cities — Delhi, Agra,
Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and
Hyderabad — each of which would have monitoring stations with AQI display
boards.
3)
The aim is to eventually deploy the index in all cities with a
population of over one million.
4)
The government has been under immense pressure to take a strong
stand on air pollution after release of following studies :
i.
A World Health Organization study of 1,600 cities released last
year showed that Delhi was the world’s most polluted capital.
ii.
Another study by experts from the Energy Policy Institute at
Chicago, Yale and Harvard University, found that India’s poor air quality
reduces the lifespan of the average citizen by 3.2 years
5)
The AQI is a global standard. It takes multiple data on pollution
already available with the country’s Central Pollution Control Board and
presents them as a colour-coded scale with six levels.
6)
The first level, Dark green indicates good air quality while
maroon at the other end indicates severe pollution.
7)
For each category, the index identifies associated health impacts.
Ø For example, when the
scale touches maroon, the advisory reads: “May cause respiratory impact even on
healthy people, and serious health impacts on people with lung/heart disease".
8)
India does not yet have a mechanism or measures in place to bring
down peak pollution levels. For instance :
Ø Beijing puts in motion a slew
of operations when the warning signal for severe pollution is issued. On such days
kindergarten, primary and middle schools close, there is a cap on the number of
cars allowed on the roads and polluting factories either cut down emissions or shut
down completely.
Ø When the air quality
index rose in Paris recently, the city made public transport free and removed
almost 50 per cent of the vehicles off the road.
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