On World Environment Day, CSE warns no one is safe from deadly ozone pollution -- including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal
Lutyens’ Delhi and hospitals are high risk zones, says latest CSE analysis This is bad news for those suffering from asthma and respiratory problems. It is dangerous if ozone increases even for short duration Rising NOx levels and volatile gases in the air, primarily from vehicles, form the recipe for ozone when exposed to intense sunlight and high temperature Delhi government must fast-track pollution emergency action and effective priority measures to reduce the cocktail of gases that form ozone in the air Delhi is still waiting for an implementation strategy to clean up the air in a time-bound manner New Delhi, June 4, 2015: Delhi has witnessed significant ozone build-up this summer, which is adding to the public health risk -- shows a latest analysis done by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Analysis of real time air quality data available from the key monitoring locations of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for the period April and May 2015 shows that the neighbourhoods of the rich and the powerful are highly vulnerable to deadly ozone pollution. The ozone level in Civil Lines, where Delhi chief minister Kejriwal resides, is more than twice the standards and falls in the ‘poor’ category of the National Air Quality Index (NAQI). Heat waves and sunshine have increased the frequency of days with unhealthy levels of ozone with serious public health consequences. This could have been worse this summer if intermittent rains had not cooled down the weather occasionally. Ground-level ozone is not directly emitted by any source. This is formed when oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and a range of volatile gases -- primarily from vehicles and other sources -- are exposed to each other in sunlight. Warm and stagnant air increases the formation of ozone. Ozone is extremely hazardous for human health. All neighbourhoods in Delhi – rich and poor – are at risk. According to Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy and head of CSE’s air pollution programme, “The high ozone level has made the cocktail of toxic pollutants deadly. Without a time-bound implementation strategy and preventive action, this can deepen into a serious public health crisis. It will spare neither the rich nor the poor.” What has CSE found? CSE has analysed ozone data from the automatic monitoring stations of the DPCC located in R K Puram, Civil Lines, Mandir Marg and Punjabi Bagh -- all residential areas – during the summer months of April and May 2015. This has exposed worrying trends in the city. To bridge the gap in official data for Lutyens’ Delhi and sensitive areas like hospitals, CSE used its own potable ozone monitoring machine to carry out limited monitoring in Lodi Estate in Lutyens’ Delhi and in the vicinity of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Civil Lines, where the chief minister stays, is an ozone hotspot: Civil lines has fared the worst in terms of number of days exceeding the standard for ozone. The eight-hourly average here peaked to 250 microgramme/cubic metre – 2.5 times the standard. While in April, 92 per cent of the days exceeded the standards, in May it was as high as 97 per cent: nearly every day, the levels exceeded the standards. As per the NAQI classification, the poorly polluted days rose from 22.7 per cent in April to 41 per cent in May -- almost twice the number. The percentage of days classified as worse than poor rose from 4.5 per cent in April to 27.58 per cent in May. Rapid build-up of ozone pollution in summer: While ozone levels have increased steadily with the onset of summer, it doubled up very quickly in most locations as soon as the heat wave hit Delhi in the first week of May. On several occasions and at several locations, very high peak levels have been noted, close to 2.5 to three times the standards. Says Roychowdhury: “This is of serious concern as even short duration exposure to high ozone levels can cause great harm. This is one of the reasons why ozone standards are set for an eight-hours average as well as a one-hour average.” In R K Puram, the eight-hourly average reached the high point of 240 microgramme/cubic metre, almost 2.5 times higher than the safe standard of 100 microgramme/cubic metre. The percentage of days with levels not meeting the standards was 60 per cent in April and 75 per cent in May. When the newly released Air Quality Index was applied to the data, it showed that in April -- with many rainy days -- 3.5 per cent of the days fell in the ‘poor’ category. But in May, 13 per cent days were ‘poor’ and 16 per cent ‘worse than poor’. Punjabi Bagh: In this area, the number of days violating the standards was very high. In April, 73 per cent of the days exceeded the standard; in May, this had gone up to 84 per cent. In May, the number of days with poor air quality was 30 per cent -- on 13.33 per cent of the days it was even worse than that. Every second day, the levels were in ‘poor’ and ‘worse than poor’ categories. Mandir Marg: This area has witnessed one of the worst peak levels – close to three times the standards. While in April as many as 85 per cent of days exceeded the standards, in May it was as high as 89 per cent. Unacceptable levels in Lutyen’s Delhi and around hospital: CSE’s own monitoring in Lodi Estate in Lutyens’ Delhi as well as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has brought out the vulnerability of these areas. During the day, the peak one-hourly averages frequently crossed the standards at Lodi Estate. Near AIIMS, one of the nation’s premier medical facilities, the peak one-hour average has been recorded at 266 microgramme/cubic metre between 12:00 noon and 1:00 pm. CSE researchers say the DPCC should carry out regular monitoring in sensitive areas as well as in Lutyens’ Delhi. Lack of air pollution data in this area breeds complacency among the rich and the powerful. Heat wave worsens ozone pollution: The months of April and May had several rainy days that reduced the ozone levels. But whenever a heat wave lashed the city, the ozone build-up has been very rapid. For instance, on May 13 this year, when it was raining the levels had plummeted to 13 microgramme/cubic metre. But within two weeks, as the heat wave started to build up in the city, the levels shot up by 20 times. The city cannot depend on the rain gods for clean-up. It requires stringent action to reduce toxic gases at the source. Why should we worry about ozone? Ozone is an extremely harmful gas: just a few hours of exposure to it can trigger serious health problems. Ozone is particularly harmful for outdoor activities. This can have immediate health impacts, especially among those who are already suffering from respiratory and asthmatic problems – this is even for short duration exposure. Ozone worsens symptoms of asthma, leads to lung function impairment and damages lung tissues. Chest pain, coughing, nausea, headaches and chest congestion are common symptoms. It can even worsen heart disease, bronchitis and emphysema. It increases emergency hospital visits and admissions related to respiratory diseases. Scientists inform that ozone is a powerful oxidiser, which means it can damage cells in a process akin to rusting. Children and the elderly are at special risk. There is a strong association between ozone and daily premature death counts. Those with pre-existing diseases and lung diseases are at serious risk. Growing concentrations of nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds from combustion sources, especially from the explosive increase in diesel vehicles, is adding to the deadly recipe of ozone in hot and extreme climate. The ozone that gets created in the polluted environ of the city can also drift depending on the wind direction, towards cleaner environs in the rural periphery. It then begins to accumulate as it has less chances of reacting with other pollutants in cleaner environments. Hence, it builds up fast at the outskirts. Additionally, it is known to damage crops. What do other governments do? Ozone is included in the daily smog and health alert programmes in countries such as Mexico, the US, China etc. In Mexico City, the elderly, children and those suffering from respiratory and cardiac problems are advised to stay indoors when levels of ozone go up. The US-based National Research Council, part of the National Academies of Science, has recommended that local health authorities should keep the harmful effects of ozone in mind when advising people on polluted days. The US is now tightening the ozone standards. A study by the University of Southern California and reported in Lancet, has found that in high-ozone areas the relative risk of developing asthma in children playing three or more sports was more compared to children playing no sports. Outdoor heavy exercise is not recommended as with every breath, one breathes in more pollutants -- athletes take in 10 to 20 times as much air, and thus pollutants, as sedentary people do. Hence, they are more at risk. Need urgent action Delhi needs much higher degree of health protection for all and especially the high risk groups, including the elderly, children, outdoor workers and people with asthma and lung disease. Cost of inaction can be very high, says Roychowdhury. The Delhi government must have its implementation strategy for priority measures in place before next winter: • Delhi government must implement daily health alert and pollution emergency action: Inform the sensitive population (children, elderly and those suffering from respiratory and cardiac problems) about the high daily levels and enforce emergency pollution control measures such as reducing traffic volume, allowing only clean fuel and vehicles, control other polluting activities etc. • Need urgent national action to leapfrog vehicle technology and fuel quality and control dieselisation: Introduce Bharat Stage IV nation-wide by the end of 2015 and leapfrog to Euro VI by 2020. Only Euro VI standards can resolve the problem of NOx and particulate matter together from diesel vehicles. Diesel vehicles are major sources of NOx -- diesel cars emit three times more NOx than petrol cars and NOx is the main catalyst that triggers reaction among gases to form ozone. • Need time bound implementation strategy to scale up public transport, walking and cycling to reduce vehicles usage and numbers. Reduce numbers of vehicles and traffic volumes. • Implement source-wise action plan across the NCR region