For the past few years, the problem of air pollution in the densely populated cities of the world has been intensifying, especially in winter.
If we talk about these densely populated cities, it may not be wrong to say that the people living in them are suffering from various respiratory diseases. One form of air pollution in winter comes in the form of ‘smog’.
Talking about Asia, Beijing in China, Delhi in India and Lahore in Pakistan are the cities where smog reigns as the cold weather arrives. For a long time, people living in these three densely populated Asian countries have been suffering from the toxic smog that blankets their cities.
On certain days, when smoke covers these three cities in orange and brown colors and the smell and taste of smoke permeates the air, people feel as if they are living in a nightmare.
Beijing residents even gave the disaster a popular nickname – the ‘airpocalypse.’
Like every year, smog reigns over Delhi and Lahore, but conditions in Beijing are much better this time.
The atmosphere of Lahore, one of the most polluted cities in the world, is affected by smog these days.
According to the Air Quality Index, Lahore’s AQI was recorded at 330, which falls under the unhealthy category. In this air pollution found in Lahore, there is a very dangerous and toxic chemical substance ‘PM 2.5’ for the human body.
These are said to be fine particles that enter the respiratory tract into the lungs and then into the bloodstream, which can cause serious human health problems.
In Lahore and some other major districts of Punjab province, the administration of Punjab province has made the use of face masks mandatory for the next seven days, and at the same time, the issued instructions have also said to avoid leaving homes unnecessarily. go Along with this, the administration also kept the educational institutions closed keeping in view the intensity of the smog.
The northern parts of India and some parts of Pakistan are being severely affected by air pollution, due to which a series of accusations also starts on both sides of the border.
The burning of residues or midi after large-scale harvesting of crops across the border by Pakistan is blamed for severe air pollution in Pakistani cities, particularly Lahore. However, now the same work has started to be done in Pakistan on a large scale.
It should be noted that during this part of the year, wheat is burnt to remove chaff and paddy, which increases the air pollution to dangerous levels.
But contrary to all this situation, a city which used to be in the same row with Lahore and Delhi until a few years ago is not with them today.
Let’s talk about Beijing, how it controlled the air pollution and how the skies of Beijing are blue and pollution-free today when the air of different countries of the world is facing pollution and smog.
Beijing has waged a war against air pollution since 2013, using a number of command-and-control measures.
A landmark action plan and plan banned the use of coal, shut down coal-fired heating systems in residential buildings, increased fuel and engine standards on diesel-powered trucks, and reduced polluting emissions. Cars were scrapped.
People were encouraged to use electric cars as an alternative and not only that, people were also asked to use their bicycles for short journeys.
According to Lori Meliorta, an analyst at the Helsinki-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, Beijing has worked hard to improve air quality in the city, and Beijing’s budget to combat air pollution It grew from $430 million (£350 million) in 2013 to $2.6 billion in 2017.
The results have been impressive. According to the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), compiled by the University of Chicago’s Energy Pollution Institute, since 2013, air pollution in Beijing has dropped by nearly 50 percent and nationwide by nearly 40 percent.
Beijing was at the very top (in the air pollution index). But there has been a dramatic improvement. There is a strong shift from coal to gas and renewable energy sources.
Chaim Lee, a China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told me that electric cars are easier to buy than petrol ones.
Experts acknowledge that Delhi’s two-decade-long efforts to improve air quality have also shown some results.
The city has dismantled polluting formal industries, closed coal-fired power plants, introduced the world’s largest natural gas-powered public transportation program, forced older commercial vehicles off the roads. has implemented strict emission standards and built an efficient metro.
Have these measures affected the city’s air quality? “Yes, they have,” says Anumita Rai Chowdhury, an air pollution expert and executive director of Delhi’s Center for Science and Environment.
“Long-term air quality trends in Delhi show that pollution levels are not increasing every year,” he said. It’s actually coming down. This means that Delhi has overcome the problem and reduced pollution.
“But it also means that Delhi needs to further reduce PM 2.5 levels by 60% to be able to meet clean air standards.”
Yet, Delhi’s battle against air pollution is hampered by inadequate planning, ill-conceived policies and partisan politics.
Research shows that more than half of Delhi’s pollution comes from vehicular emissions. Then comes smoke from coal-fired industries, and then smoke and dust from construction sites.
During winter, stubble burning, a common practice during the harvest season in Pakistan’s Punjab and Haryana provinces, can contribute up to a quarter of Delhi’s air pollution in some days, depending on wind speed and direction. .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government now blames Pakistan’s Punjab provincial government for failing to tackle the problem.
By banning old vehicles, Delhi has reduced the number of cars on its roads by more than a third compared to 2015. Nevertheless, vehicle emissions play a major role in pollution in a city whose urban design is friendly to cars and hostile to pedestrians and cyclists.
At nearly 400 kilometers (248 miles) long, the Delhi Metro is India’s longest and busiest metro network, but its connectivity to homes and workplaces is unclear.
Although about 14 percent of the city’s 7,000 public buses are electric, ironically, bus ridership is declining due to usability issues.
Under the Delhi Master Plan, 80 per cent of journeys will be made by public transport, but the lack of integration between the metro and bus systems has hampered the achievement of this target.
“Even if you have a solution, you can’t make it work because you haven’t designed it properly,” says Roy Chowdhury. Lack of regional planning is also a hindrance to progress. While there is a debate about pollution in Delhi, the neighboring cities of northern India, eastern Pakistan and parts of Nepal and Bangladesh in the vast plains of the Ganges are also engulfed in smoke.
Studies show that air pollution levels in Bihar are often higher than in Delhi, yet there is limited debate on the issue.
He said that the conversation cannot be only about Delhi. It needs to be expanded across the region.
Experts say this is what Beijing understood. It set a target of reducing air pollution by a quarter by 2017 and developed a regional plan involving neighboring provinces.
Between 2013 and 2017, levels of fine particles in Beijing and surrounding areas fell by about 35 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
According to the United Nations, no other city or region in the world has achieved such a feat. Beijing moved away from coal and diesel much faster than Delhi.
“The decisions that Beijing has taken are difficult (in a democracy like India),” says Rai Chaudhary.
He added that Delhi and India should look at how US and European cities have controlled air pollution.
Despite the growth, Beijing is three times more polluted than Los Angeles, according to AQLI. Which is the most polluted US city and one of the least polluted cities on earth.
“Delhi has no time,” says Rai Chaudhary. We have to start everything in the next few years. ‘