Delhi Launches Air Quality Index

The Indian capital of New Delhi has signalled its intention to launch an air quality index (AQI) for the city itself, with mobile applications to access the data being expected to become available in the coming months.

The network will work in tandem with Delhi’s two pre-existing government-run portals which provide information about air pollution. The two already in existence are the National Air Quality Index (NAQI) and the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

A More Comprehensive Overview

The logistics of the Indian climate mean that certain considerations must be taken into account when designing air quality monitoring equipment for the country. Since instrumentation is often affected by humidity and temperature, it must be ensured that the apparatus used is capable of coping with India’s hot climes.

Over recent years, India’s alarming problems with air quality have come to light. Indeed, a recent report found that 15 of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world lie in India, with New Delhi taking the top spot for concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in breathable air. As such, it’s clear that the capital is facing a huge air quality problem.

The existing systems already provide an insight into this problem, but cannot supply scientists and legislators with enough raw data to tackle the issue effectively. The Delhi Pollution Control Centre (DPCC) works closely with the country’s central pollution board to regulate the NAQI system using data from six different locations. However, the information is not clear or comprehensive enough – a problem which officials hope to overcome with the introduction of the new scheme.

“In this index, the pollution parameters for all locations are not clear,” explained Ashwani Kumar, the environmental secretary. “In our system, the information will be present for all pollution parameters that we monitor. The recorded value of a pollutant will be displayed as the rolling average of the past 24 hours.”

A Concerted Effort to Monitor Air Quality

The new AQI is just one of a number of measures the government is introducing in early 2016 in a bid to improve India’s terrible air quality levels. As of the 1^st January, it will implement a 15-day odd-even alternation policy, meaning that only half of the city’s cars will be allowed to take to the roads on any given day.

As well collecting the air quality information during this period as normal, the government also plan to use several portable air monitoring kits and as many as 20 fixed location monitors to gain an overall view of the extent of the problem. With the experiment nearing its end, experts are still divided over the effectiveness of the policy.