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Delhi's Air Plan: Stuck in the Past?
27 Nov
Summary
- Delhi's air pollution plan relies on outdated data from 2018.
- A 2023 source-apportionment study remains unintegrated into action plans.
- Decision Support System for air quality uses old emissions data.
Senior advocate Sanjay Upadhyay, acting as amicus curiae, has informed the National Green Tribunal that Delhi's strategies for fighting air pollution are based on obsolete source profiles. The city's annual winter response measures, such as dust control and vehicular restrictions, are implemented without a current understanding of pollution origins.
The capital's clean-air action plan has not been updated in seven years, despite a new source-apportionment study being finalized in 2023. This study, conducted by multiple IITs and IISER Pune, along with previous ones from 2016 and 2017, highlights the disconnect between scientific findings and policy. The current action plan, adopted as the State Action Plan, still relies on measures framed in 2018.
This lack of updated source information affects the Decision Support System (DSS) used for real-time air quality forecasting and intervention guidance. The DSS, developed by IITM, uses emissions inventories that are likely underestimating current pollution realities, as noted in a 2024 peer-reviewed study. Immediate priorities include upgrading the emissions inventory for the Delhi NCR region.
