Climate and air pollution implications of potential energy infrastructure and policy measures in India Indoor and Ambient Air Pollution in Chennai, India during COVID-19 Lockdown: An Affordable Sensors Study

delivered on Operational air quality early warning decision support system for Delhi Success and challenges on May 2022. He discussed the Air quality early warning (AQEWS) and Decision Support System (DSS), developed by IITM, that helps to timely alert the public of forthcoming air pollution episodes. He highlighted how these systems provide quantitative information about the contribution of emissions, sectors and biomass-burning to the air quality in Delhi. His talk was highly informative. This study assesses the impact of Diwali on the concentration, composition, and This study examines the implications of possible future energy, climate, and air pollution control policies and measures in India through 2050. A scenario approach using the GCAM global energy-climate-land model combined with the Hector simple climate model was taken and the TM5-FASST air quality source-receptor model to examine energy, climate, and air quality outcomes. It was observed that reducing the use of traditional biomass in buildings can reduce primary carbonaceous particulate emissions well below 2015 levels. However, policies that are more ambitious than current plans would likely be required to reduce SO2 and NOx emissions well below 2015 levels. Among single policy cases considered, pricing of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and expansion of natural gas infrastructure have the largest impacts on overall energy system changes relative to the reference scenario. The Tamil Nadu Air Pollution and Health Effects Study (TAPHE-2) aimed to evaluate the relationship between air pollution and birth outcomes in a rural-urban cohort of 300 pregnant women. The impact of graded COVID-19 lockdown on indoor particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) levels based on calibrated data from affordable real-time PM sensors called atmos™ and ambient PM levels from publicly available regulatory monitors was checked The study period was between 11 March and 30 June 2020 (i.e., 100 days of continuous monitoring), which coincided with four phases of a nationwide graded lockdown. The indoor PM2.5/PM10 ratio decreased during the lockdown, suggesting a decline in


Indian & International Cities-May 2022
Delhi is found to be the highly Polluted city The graph above shows the daily average PM 2.5 for the month of May 2022. Amongst the popular cities worldwide, Delhi has shown the highest concentration of PM 2.5 followed by Dhaka and Mumbai. Delhi and Kolkata within India rank among the topmost polluted cities worldwide while the other Indian cities in the graph are among the top 10 metropolitan cities.

May 2021 Vs May 2022
May 2022 recorded poor air quality as the meteorological conditions like less rainfall impacted the dispersion of pollutants and resulted in trapping the local pollutants. In addition to these, a long-running decline in COVID-19 cases resulted in an increase in social gatherings and anthropogenic activities whose impact is visible on the Delhi Air Quality, which can be clearly correlated and observed in the graph. Hence, PM 2.5 has increased by 24.15µg/m3 on an average in May 2022 as compared to May 2021.
From Air pollution to Climate change, CERCA virtual Expert Monthly Talk series spotlights a range of contemporary issues while providing a platform for renowned speakers from around the world to share their knowledge and views.
To register for this June 2022 Talk Series, Click here Expert Talk delivered by Dr. Sachin D Ghude on 13th May, 2022 Dr. Sachin D Ghude delivered a talk on "Operational air quality early warning and decision support system for Delhi NCR: Success and challenges" on May 13th, 2022. He discussed the Air quality early warning (AQEWS) and Decision Support System (DSS), developed by IITM, that helps to timely alert the public of forthcoming air pollution episodes. He highlighted how these systems provide quantitative information about the contribution of emissions, sectors and biomass-burning to the air quality in Delhi. His talk was highly informative.
If you have missed this event, the link below will direct you to the recorded video.

Expert Talk delivered by Raghuvansh Saxena** on 30th May 2022
Raghuvansh Saxena delivered a talk on "Citizen Science and Air Quality' -A Unique Approach for People's Participation in Scientific Research" on May 30th, 2022. He talked about various citizen science initiatives and highlighted how these initiatives help in involving the public at large using welldesigned scientific projects making them more aware and educated. He mentioned how citizen science can bring behaviour change in people and has become one such instrument that helps not only in monitoring air quality and weather observations, but also disseminating air quality information. His talk was highly informative and interesting. As part of the forum different stakeholders under six pillars of the corporate sector, expert institutions (including NGOs, CSOs, Academia), international development agencies, international philanthropic organizations, national philanthropic organizations, and the UN system of organizations-are to be brought together on a common platform to support efforts of the Government of India (GoI) in improving air quality and its management. Additionally, as part of AQAF, wider stakeholder engagement will be facilitated by UNEP to undertake better coordination with the MoEFCC in achieving the broader national goals set forth under NCAP.
Stakeholder discussions across 6 pillar groups will be conducted to identify perspectives on various issues concerning air pollution in India and the possible solutions that could lead to its reduction in the short and long timeframes. The inputs from various stakeholders on challenges, gaps, needs, and possible solutions will be compiled into a report to be shared during the Forum Convention scheduled around mid of 2022.
To know more about the forum contact cerca@iitd.ac.in or unepindia@un.org.
Chemical speciation and source apportionment of ambient PM2.5 in New Delhi before, during, and after the Diwali fireworks Chirag Manchanda, Mayank Kumar, Vikram Singh, Naba Hazarika, Mohd Faisal, Vipul Lalchandani, Ashutosh Shukla, Jay Dave, Neeraj Rastogi, Sachchida Nand Tripathi This study assesses the impact of Diwali on the concentration, composition, and sources of ambient PM2.5. It was observed the total PM2.5 concentrations rose to 16 times the pre-firework levels, while each of the elemental, organic, and black carbon fractions of ambient PM2.5 increased by a factor of 46.1, 3.7, and 5.6, respectively. The concentration of species like K, Al, Sr, Ba, S, and Bi displayed distinct peaks during the firework event and was identified as tracers.
The source apportionment study, undertaken using positive matrix factorization, revealed the fireworks to account for 95% of the total elemental PM2.5 during Diwali.

Watch the complete Video Here.!
Delhi has encountered serious haze events following Diwali in recent years; this study highlights that biomass burning emissions rather than the fireworks drive the poor air quality in the days following Diwali.

Brinda Yarlagadda, Steven J. Smith, Bryan K. Mignone, Dharik Mallapragada, Cynthia A. Randles, Jon Sampedro
This study examines the implications of possible future energy, climate, and air pollution control policies and measures in India through 2050. A scenario approach using the GCAM global energy-climate-land model combined with the Hector simple climate model was taken and the TM5-FASST air quality source-receptor model to examine energy, climate, and air quality outcomes. It was observed that reducing the use of traditional biomass in buildings can reduce primary carbonaceous particulate emissions well below 2015 levels. However, policies that are more ambitious than current plans would likely be required to reduce SO2 and NOx emissions well below 2015 levels. Among single policy cases considered, pricing of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and expansion of natural gas infrastructure have the largest impacts on overall energy system changes relative to the reference scenario.
The Tamil Nadu Air Pollution and Health Effects Study (TAPHE-2) aimed to evaluate the relationship between air pollution and birth outcomes in a rural-urban cohort of 300 pregnant women.
The impact of graded COVID-19 lockdown on indoor particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) levels based on calibrated data from affordable real-time PM sensors called atmos™ and ambient PM levels from publicly available regulatory monitors was checked The study period was between 11 March and 30 June 2020 (i.e., 100 days of continuous monitoring), which coincided with four phases of a nationwide graded lockdown. The indoor PM2.5/PM10 ratio decreased during the lockdown, suggesting a decline in the fine mode dominance in PM10.
The indoor-to-outdoor (I/O) ratios in PM2.5 marginally increased during the lockdown, suggesting an uneven reduction in indoor and ambient PM2.5 levels during the lockdown.

97.6% in Maharashtra exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution: Report
In a recently published paper by the World Bank Group, Maharashtra has ranked third in the list of most populated sub-national regions globally, with 97.6% of its population exposed to either hazardous or unsafe levels of air pollution, specifically PM2.5 aerosols. pollutants. Maharashtra has the highest number of non-attainment cities in the country as per the National Clean Air Program (NCAP), at 25. These are all rapidly expanding urban centers which are struggling to curb emissions at source, whether due to vehicles, construction and development works, poor waste management, or industries. These cities are regularly recording daily PM2.5 averages in excess of 35 ug/m3,

Air panel for increasing plantation target by 17% in Delhi-NCR
Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining areas (CAQM) in consultations with the governments of NCR states finalize the greening and plantation action plan for 2022-23 in the region. For 2022-23, CAQM has mandated an enhanced plantation target. The Commission stated that the timeline, covering various activities including site selection, pit digging, soil weathering, the commencement of plantation, completion of the plantation, weed removal, mortality refreshment, and replacement, has been finalized. Greening is one of the major actions for abatement of air pollution, emphasis on large scale greening, plantation, and urban foresting initiatives including the Miyawaki technique for better utilization of both small and large patches of land and considering the larger impact on biodiversity and urban ecology Air pollution is killing millions -it's time to hold ourselves accountable for the harm it causes