As winters set in, Delhi prepares once again for the annual battle against egregious air pollution and smog. The city government has again activated its Green War Room – a 24/7 operational command center designed to coordinate efforts to monitor and mitigate pollution levels. This war room was first activated in 2020 and forms one of the critical components of the 21-point Winter Action Plan devised by Delhi to contain the menace of pollution through proactive actions and not just reacting in response to spikes in pollution.
State-of-the-Art Technology for Source Emission and Control-Time Monitoring
The Green War Room is well-equipped with state-of-the-art technology in source tracking in real-time monitoring. The command center has identified and engaged the major sources of pollutants: stubble burning, industrial and construction site dust, among others, through deploying drones and satellite imaging and live source apportionment studies.
For the first time this year, the war room will have a special interest in monitoring stubble burning in neighbouring states, one of the main causes of Delhi’s annual smog problem. It will use satellite images to highlight areas prone to large-scale crop residue burning, and then go on to ascertain the on-ground activities using drones. “We will be tracking each and every minute activity so that interventions can be done in real-time,” Ms Agarwal said. “We would be immediately coordinating with local authorities in other states to prevent worsening of pollution.”.
The approach of technology-driven helps the war room identify how crop burning in Punjab and Haryana, vehicular emissions, and construction dust contribute to bad air quality in Delhi. This level of understanding empowers the team to immediately act on areas that are the most responsible for pollution.
Public Engagement Through the ‘Green Delhi’ App
Besides the advanced technology being used by the Green War Room, public participation is also being encouraged to tackle pollution more effectively. Under this initiative, the government has launched an app called ‘Green Delhi’, which allows citizens to report sources like construction dust, open garbage burning, or industrial emissions. The app directly links up with the Green War Room and empowers residents to add their contribution to the fight against air pollution, providing an extra layer of monitoring across the city.
The people who reside there would be able to see the air quality levels being real-time monitored so they can make healthy decisions about going outdoors and even making precautions regarding health conditions. As data on pollution comes in both from technology and public reports, the war room would be better positioned to address the situation with effective swift measures to counter pollution.
Political Criticism of the Efficiency of the Green War Room
At a time when the first anniversary of two environment ministers being replaced after steep pollution spikes comes along, there are criticisms of the Delhi government’s efforts, particularly from BJP. The city’s BJP unit has questioned the efficacy of the Green War Room itself and larger strategy to control the pollution. They have pointed out that at the monitoring level, initiatives exist but regulation of larger sources of pollution, crop residue burning in Punjab and construction activities in Delhi, has been poor.
It is a critical step, and if this is not strictly implemented in Delhi as well as Punjab, then the city will have to suffer the full effect,” said BJP spokesperson Anil Gupta. GRAP is a set of emergency measures that get activated during serious conditions of smog and has the ambition of bringing down the alarmingly high levels of smog through closure of construction sites, vehicular curbs, and banning industrial operations. Gupta said the slack in checking stubble burning and construction dust may take an increasingly hazardous toll on the health of Delhiites.
“The Delhi government has to do much more for regulated construction activities and sweeping away construction waste from the roads,” Gupta said. He also stated that concerted effort with the state of Punjab needs to be done by including streamlining stubble burning, a perennial issue that brings hazardous levels to the winter air of Delhi.
Stubble burning and dust in construction: two big concerns.
Stubble burning will remain one of the major concerns for the national capital with winter approaching. Farmers in neighboring states like Punjab and Haryana generally burn residue left after harvest, which mainly contributes to the air pollution in Delhi due to the winds prevailing at that time. The level of pollution in the capital worsens with the smokes from the fires, something the nation is unwilling to forget during those haunting haze-filled winters.
Besides the smog emitted from stubble burning, solid particulate matter-emitting construction dusts from those half-constructed buildings and waste scattered in the roads contribute strongly to poor air quality. Even regulations exist to regulate dust-emitting constructional activities; regulation implementation has not been even. This toxic mixture of vehicular emissions and industrial pollution assimilated with construction dust leads to dangerous levels of particulate matter in the air, further deteriorating respiratory issues among residents.
Delhi’s Green War Room: A Critical Interface towards Controlling Winter Pollution
When winter sets in, the success of the Green War Room will determine the air quality in Delhi. Real-time tracking of pollution sources and accelerating responses by the war room will be essential for managing the annual rise in pollution levels. However, ultimate success would also depend on the cooperation of neighboring states, enforcing of rules and regulations, and involvement of the public.
With temperatures plummeting, the combination of weather patterns, emissions, and stubble burning would appear to be the perfect catalyst for smog formation. But the Green War Room will have to come up with ways of ensuring that pollution does not reach hazardous levels. Nonetheless, it shall have to coordinate with every stakeholder to achieve critical improvement in air quality.
Conclusion
Delhi is preparing for its next round of fighting air pollution with advanced technologies and public engagement, all aimed at one goal: reducing Delhi’s perennial pollution problem. With support from real-time data from drones and satellite imagery, together with citizen reports through the ‘Green Delhi’ app, the war room will coordinate actions to minimize sources of pollution. However, in the area of implementing regulations on stubble burning and construction dust, the city has political criticism and challenges.
All these factors will determine this winter’s health and air quality depending on how well the war room performs combined with action from the government and public.
Source: Delhi Government