Question

Do research on air pollution of four cities in India and four cities around the other continents. Tabulate your findings according to the highest percentage of air pollution. Make notes on India's progress to control of air pollution. Also find the technologies used by other countries to improve air quality.

Answer 1

Air pollution is standardly measured using the annual average concentration of PM_2.5 particles (μg/m³), which are fine inhalable particles that pose the greatest health risks.

Rank	City	Country/Continent	Annual Average PM2.5 Level (μg/m3)	Pollution Status
1	Loni (NCR)	India/Asia	112.5	Severe
2	Hotan	China/Asia	109.6	Severe
3	Delhi	India/Asia	99.6	Very Poor
4	Faisalabad	Pakistan/Asia	98.8	Very Poor
5	Ghaziabad	India/Asia	89.2	Poor
6	Noida	India/Asia	80.5	Poor
7	Kinshasa	DR Congo/Africa	52.4	Moderate to Poor
8	Santiago	Chile/South America	24.8	Moderate

 

Notes on India's Progress to Control Air Pollution:

India has introduced several systemic and technological frameworks to fight rising urban air emissions:

• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): A target-driven national strategy launched to reduce particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) concentrations by 20% to 30% across over 130 non-attainment cities.
• Transition to BS-VI Emission Standards: India skipped BS-V entirely, jumping directly to Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) vehicle fuel standards nationwide. This drastically cut down sulfur and nitrogen oxide (NO_x) exhaust limits for automobiles.
• FAME Scheme and EV Transition: The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme provides subsidies to rapidly integrate electric public buses, three-wheelers, and commercial cars.
• Agricultural Stubble Management: Distributing specialized farming machinery (like Happy Seeders) to manage crop residues in Punjab and Haryana to mitigate severe winter smog episodes in the northern plains.

Advanced Technologies Used Globally to Improve Air Quality:

Other countries have deployed cutting-edge scientific approaches to purify urban air:

• Ultra-Low Emission Zones (ULEZ) and Digital Geo-fencing (Europe): Cities like London use automated camera networks to charge heavily polluting vehicles entering dense urban centers, promoting public transport.
• Smog-Eating Infrastructure (Italy and Mexico): Use of specialized titanium dioxide-coated construction materials on buildings. When exposed to sunlight, the coating acts as a photocatalyst that chemically breaks down toxic airborne NO_x molecules into harmless salts.
• Mass-Scale Air Filtration Towers (China): Large-scale, solar-powered induction purification towers (such as the one built in Xian) draw in polluted air at the base, pass it through multiple industrial electrostatic precipitators, and release millions of cubic meters of clean air daily.