Ban in place but Delhi’s pollution levels rise

NEW DELHI, JUNE 3: Despite the ban on old commercial vehicles effective since March this year, Delhi’s air has been found to be 50 per cent more polluted than before.

A study conducted by the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) at one of Delhi’s greenest areas — Lodhi Road — revealed that the concentration of particles finer than 10 micrometeres has gone up by more than half, from the level recorded before March. This gains significance as the government has been claiming that Delhi’s air has improved by over 60 per cent after the implementation of the ban.

Air Quality Index (AQI) is a value that is arrived at by taking stock of three major pollutants: Suspended particulate matter, NOx or pollutants released by diesel vehicles, and sulphur dioxide. TERI’s study, collated from 90 different samples, confirms that the relationship between vehicular pollution and air quality is too complex to be influenced by simple measures.