Causes of Pollution in New Delhi

The causes of air pollution in Delhi are more complex than simply referring to old, diesel-based
vehicles. Other causes relate to the burning of waste and crop residue surrounding Delhi. The
industry is poorly regulated especially informal brick kilns. Delhi depends heavily on coal for power
and road dust thrown up by vehicles adds further to the problem. The following expandable tables
document the different sources of pollution and their contribution to different air quality indicators.
 The table above shows that the biggest contributor to PM2.5 by far, is road dust. However, this
must be considered an indirect cause. For PM10s it is evenly split between transport and road
dust.

Crop Burning - Much of the air pollution in Delhi is blamed on crop burning; especially in the states
of Punjab and Haryana, where rice and wheat are widely grown. Burning typically peaks during the
first week of November, a time when many farmers set fire to leftover rice stalks and straw after
harvest, a practice, known as stubble or paddy burning, a cost-effective measure for clearing out
field

Industrial Pollution - Delhi has the highest cluster of small-scale industries in India. Assessments
made by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) show that the national capital is home to and
surrounded by highly pollutive industrial clusters that do not meet limits on air, water or soil
emissions. Industrial pollution adds about 18% to poor air quality. Emission levels in the order of
200-1000 tonnes/year are found over industrial zones next to the most used arterial roads.

Vehicle Emissions - The transport sector is the main source of PM2.5 emissions in Delhi. Vehicle
contribution also makes up 80% of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Data shows the following:
trucks and tractors generate 9% of emissions; 7% from two-wheelers; 5% from three-wheelers; 3%
each from cars and buses; and 1% from light commercial vehicles. In all, these vehicles are
responsible for 41% of the total pollution load in Delhi.

Construction - Construction sites generate high levels of pollutants that can travel long distances
over time; this is true for Delhi NCR. The outskirts of Delhi have roughly 360 brick kilns, mostly in the
Jhajjar, Faridabad and Ghaziabad regions, whose peak business months are from December to
June. Their emissions rise during the winter months, because in summer and spring, the winds are
relatively faster, and gases do not stay suspended in one place.

Impacts of Air Pollution

Health Impacts - Fine particles (PM2.5) pose the greatest health risk, as they can get deep into a
person’s lungs and bloodstream. Exposure to fine particles can affect lung function and worsen
medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease. Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter
has been linked with an increased rate of chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function and increased
mortality from lung cancer and heart disease.

The share of non-smokers in Delhi with lung cancer has risen from just 10% in the 1980s to 50% in
the last decade. PM10s are also dangerous because these are particles in the air with a diameter of
less than 10 micrometres, small enough to pass through the throat and nose and enter the lungs.
Inhalation of these particles can result in a number of health issues, ranging from coughing and
wheezing to asthma attacks and bronchitis, as well as hypertension, heart diseases, strokes, and
premature death.
Economic Impacts - A report by the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay found that air
pollution cost Delhi over $10 billion in 2015. Delhi suffers from these economic costs as the
economic strategic plan is to make the city and region an essential destination for product
manufacturing and enterprises.

According to the industry group ASSOCHAM, Delhi’s poor air quality could drive away top corporate
heads and push work to other urban communities in India or abroad. This would mean increased
difficulty in sourcing top-level talent to Delhi, increased costs for air purification systems and
maintenance in office places and decreased work efficiency during periods of acute pollution due to
employee sickness and absences. For example, exposure to pollution from fossil fuels leads to
around 490 million days of work absence a year due to illness.

Uneven Impacts on the Poor (adapted from the Guardian)

Delhi’s low-income residents –who don’t travel by car –bear the brunt of the city’s toxic air. This is
partly because of where they live. A 2011 study found levels of suspended particulates to be
generally higher in the city’s poorer neighbourhoods. The poor also spend more time outdoors,
where pollution is most intense. A study in the scientific journal Atmospheric Environment reports
that men from low-income households spend an average of 7 hours a day outdoors compared to
virtually zero for the richest. Affluent households can also afford air conditioning, better nutrition and
better healthcare, all of which protect them, to some extent, from dirty air.

Some of the highest pollution exposures are inflicted on street workers, including traffic police and
drivers of three-wheeled auto-rickshaws. Many of Delhi’s cars, burn particulate-heavy diesel.
Research shows that PM2.5 concentration is 8 times higher on the city’s arterial roads compared to
rooftop monitors just a kilometre away.

Children are particularly vulnerable as their developing bodies are especially susceptible to
long-term harm. A 2008 study for India’s Central Pollution Control Board reported that more than
40% of Delhi’s school children have reduced lung function, damage that is likely to be irreversible.
The city’s affluent classes reap the lion’s share of the benefits from the activities that poison the air,
while less privileged residents bear most of the human health costs.