U4SSC - Case study - Air quality management in Southern California, USA

If you live in an urban area with cars, industry and unpleasant city smells, you might retreat to your house for safety from environmental pollutants. But how good is your air quality at home?[...]

A dense layer of smog enveloped Delhi and surrounding regions of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad on Wednesday morning.

A dense layer of smog enveloped Delhi and surrounding regions of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad on Wednesday morning.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has issued warnings of poor air quality in Delaware.

Wildfires in eastern Canada emitting particulate matter into the atmosphere continue to cause poor air quality.

The government of Punjab on Tuesday — expanding on its previous order — closed all the educational institutions up to the higher secondary level in the province from tomorrow until the end of the week, shifting them to an online mode, as the province tackles the hazardous smog situation prevalent for the past few weeks.

The recent smog situation was declared a “calamity” in Punjab last month. Schools have been closed in the province’s main divisions — Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan — until November 17 in a bid to lower children’s exposure to pollution.

Separately, the public has been barred from entering public parks, zoos, playgrounds, and museums until November 17 to reduce public exposure to smog.

A day ago, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) representative in Pakistan called for urgent and greater efforts to reduce air pollution, noting that over 11 million children under five years of age were exposed to smog in the worst affected districts of Punjab.

The province’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a notification issued today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com that “All the educational institutions […] up to higher secondary level shall remain closed and will shift to online mode with effect from Nov 13 within […] DG Khan, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Sargodha and Rawalpindi divisions […] till Nov 17.”

Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat also announced the closure of schools during a press conference today, saying that the “decision was made in light of the complaints received from the district.”

“This drastic decision had to be taken to protect children from the deadly effects,” he said, “There is a sense of educational loss, but the decision to close educational institutions is being taken out of compulsion.

“In view of the difficulties in online teaching, an alternative strategy is being quickly brought in,” the minister added.

He also appealed to the public to cooperate and do what was in their capacity to help the government deal with this issue.

50pc of govt offices to work online

Separately, all government offices were ordered to shift half of their workforce to online mode to reduce traffic load on roads to prevent the worsening of the smog situation due to vehicular emissions.

“The physical presence of human resource(s) of offices in your jurisdiction may kindly be reduced to 50pc by shifting them to online mode/work from home,” the EPA said in a separate notification issued today.

In the order issued on Tuesday, which is seen by Dawn.com, the Punjab EPA directed all the administrative secretaries, as well as heads of attached departments and semi-government/autonomous bodies, to reduce the physical presence of human resources by 50 per cent.

According to the notification, the situation was likely to prevail for a few weeks, adding that local pollution contributing factors, especially vehicular emissions, may further exacerbate the conditions.

“Hence, the situation warrants to specify safeguards to reduce the number of vehicles on roads in order to control air pollution, through preparation and implementation of contingency plans,” the notification said.

The EPA also called for inter-departmental meetings to be convened in an online mode unless the physical presence of participants was “extremely necessary”.

Bad-quality air aggravating pulmonary diseases: doctor

Speaking to Dawn.com, a pulmonologist at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital, Dr Nasir Javed, said that asthmatic patients, who were earlier stable, are now facing chronic health conditions due to the smog.

“[Due to the smog], asthma patients would start feeling inflation in their airways and it would become difficult for them to breathe smoothly,” he said. “Even medicines have stopped working properly to cure the problem.”

He further added that asthmatics and chronic smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were at greater risk and were visiting the hospitals with exacerbation of their diseases.

“Air-Quality Index is directly proportional to the symptoms/ severity which one can suffer,” he said.

“Limited outdoor activity and hydration are the mainstays to avoiding respiratory issues as antibiotics were of no use.”

Smog to persist in major cities as weather conditions worsen: NDMA

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in an advisory issued today, said that the smog situation was expected to persist across the urban centres in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa throughout November and December due to high humidity, low wind speeds, and upper atmospheric pressure.

According to the advisory, as reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) the cities most likely to be affected by the worsening smog situation include Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Peshawar, Mardan, and Nowshera.

“The advisory highlights the rising smog levels in the affected areas, driven by the current weather conditions, and advises residents to avoid prolonged outdoor exposure and adopt protective measures to safeguard their health,” the *APP report said.

“[…] The National Emergency Operation Centre has been monitoring the current smog situation in Pakistan and surrounding regions.

According to the advisory, the team has access to advanced ground-based and space-based monitoring tools, enabling the analysis and projection of pollution emissions from various sources, including industry, transportation, and agriculture.

Precautionary measures

The NDMA advisory recommended the public adopt several measures to mitigate the effects of smog, such as avoiding unnecessary outdoor exposure during peak smog hours, especially in the morning, and wearing masks during outdoor activities, according to the APP.

“Staying hydrated, using dehumidifiers and air purifiers to improve indoor air quality, and adopting efficient transportation methods—like carpooling and eco-friendly driving, along with using COx and NOx filters—are also advised,” it said.

Diesel equipment will be replaced with hydrogen- or electric-power gear.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) expressed what it called its “grave concerns” about media reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may be on the verge of granting the state of California waivers to implement potentially harmful and unrealistic emissions rules on the industry. Under California rules, new Class 8 heavy truck models would be zero-emission next year. Diesel and gasoline-powered drayage trucks must retire after 18 years to guarantee that they meet a zero-emission requirement by 2035.

A new study compares different types of cities in Europe to determine which cities are more favourable regarding medlinkhuman health/medlink, environmental quality and carbon footprint.

Delhi-NCR continues to grapple with hazardous air quality levels, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining at 355, classified as 'very poor.'

Some of the areas worst affected by air pollution included Wazirpur (AQI at 421), Jahangirpuri (419) and Anand Vihar (403), where the air quality dropped to 'severe' levels.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi's Anand Vihar has been recorded at 334, which is classified as 'very poor'.

In some areas of the national capital, the air quality dropped to the severe category, with an AQI in the range of 400.

Delhi's air quality continued to deteriorate, remaining in the "very poor" category on Diwali, with levels expected to worsen to the "severe" category due to bursting of firecrackers at night.

In a letter to States and UTs, the Director General of Health Services Atul Goel has said to discourage stubble and waste burning, and spread awareness among people about reducing firecrackers during festivities

The air quality was also ‘very poor’ in Delhi’s neighbouring areas such as Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Noida, and ‘poor’ in Faridabad and Gurugram

What factors contribute to the deterioration of air quality in Delhi during the winter months? How does stubble burning affect PM 2.5 levels? What role do urban emissions from vehicles play in determining air quality? Why is a coordinated approach necessary to tackle the air pollution crisis?

Ambala in Haryana recorded the highest AQI of 367 followed by Amritsar in Punjab at 350, while Delhi’s average AQI was 339; PM2.5 levels in Delhi reached values seen only in mid-winter months.

According to a press release, the ambient air quality monitored by the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee (PPCC) at Reddiyarpalayam, Mudaliarpet, and Anna Nagar in the city found PM (10) and PM (2.5) levels to be on the higher side

As the air pollution levels in the national capital reach "very poor," doctors say that even people with no history of respiratory diseases are suffering from breathing issues

Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research (TAAR)

Delhi’s air quality remains “very poor” with some areas in the “severe” category, despite a slight improvement

The minimum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 18.0 degrees Celsius, 3.7 notches warmer than usual.

Meanwhile, a thick layer of morning mist and smog blanketed the city as the minimum temperature dropped to 18.1 degrees Celsius, 3.8 degrees above normal; AQI stood at 387

Delhi’s air quality reaches severe levels, blamed on stubble-burning, Diwali fireworks, and low wind speed

The National Capital wakes up to toxic air with AQI at 334, ‘very poor’ air quality due to stubble-burning, Diwali fireworks, and low wind speed

Delhi’s air quality persists in the ‘very poor’ category more than a week post-Deepavali

Delhi’s average AQI rose from 295 (Oct 24-Oct 30) to 353 (Oct 31-Nov 6), Jaipur went from 196 to 243, and Patna jumped from 126 to 232

NOGALES, AZ – Today, the U.S.

Sheboygan County, Wis. – Today, the U.S.

WASHINGTON (April 28, 2020) —  Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State of Indiana announced that recent air monitoring data show the city of Indianapolis, and the areas of Muncie, Lake and Porter counties are meeting federal air quality standards.

WASHINGTON (May 4, 2020) — This week, as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) month-long celebration of our nation’s progress in improving air quality over the last 50 years, we are celebrating the 14t

BOSTON – To kick off Air Quality Awareness Week, the U.S.

This paper identifies the existing arrangements for air quality co-operation in North East Asia and provides guidance to advance regulatory co-operation.

Global air quality will significantly deteriorate by 2050 unless further steps are taken to cut current emissions from human activities, according to recent research. Most people around the world will be affected by worsening air quality with hotspots of particularly poor air occurring in China, northern India and the Middle East.

The impact of air quality on public welfare is important to policy development. However, it is difficult to make a clear link between the two when air pollution tends to be reported at a country level and wellbeing is an individual measure. A new study takes a step further towards linking the two by analysing regional level air quality across the EU and relating it to levels of life satisfaction.

The impact of air quality on public welfare is important to policy development. However, it is difficult to make a clear link between the two when air pollution tends to be reported at a country level and wellbeing is an individual measure. A new study takes a step further towards linking the two by analysing regional level air quality across the EU and relating it to levels of life satisfaction.

European policies have eliminated the most visible and harmful effects of air pollution, but current rates of emissions still pose a threat to the environment and to human health. A new study has assessed the policy scope to make further environmental improvements by applying the GAINS (Greenhouse gas-Air pollution Interactions and Synergies) model.

If the effects of air pollution on climate change are included in air quality strategies, efficiency gains of €2.5 billion can be achieved in the EU, according to recent research.

New research suggests potential benefits in integrating air quality and climate change policy. It predicts that accounting for the climate impact of certain air pollutants in the EU, USA and China could complement policies designed to reduce the air quality impacts of these pollutants.

Recent research has investigated the effectiveness of air quality management at the regional level in Italy and found that some of the most commonly adopted measures do not always produce the highest emissions reductions.

Measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have the additional benefit of reducing air pollutants. However, these benefits are rarely included in the design and evaluation of climate change policies. A new study suggests that considering these benefits in climate change policy could reduce the cost of such policies, and engage stakeholders who are otherwise unmotivated to tackle climate change.

Despite some criticisms about the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a new study has indicated that CDM projects in China could be making sizeable improvements to air quality. The research predicted, in particular, that the projects' associated SO2 reductions would make up 13-14 per cent of the reductions in 2010 towards the national target level.

Climate change is likely to significantly affect future air quality over Europe. According to a recent European study, climate change alone is likely to significantly increase ozone pollution in Europe and by as much as 50 µg.m-3 (micrograms per cubic metre) over central France in July by the year 2100, compared with 1990 levels.

A recent study has compared the impact of future power generated from large, central stations with power generated from smaller distributed generators (DG) in California on air quality. It concluded that although DG produces more emissions, its impact on air quality is likely to be smaller than central power stations due to complex interactions between air chemistry and transport.

A recent study assesses new methods for comparing and predicting air quality data in Helsinki, Finland and Thessaloniki, Greece, that significantly improve the capability to analyse and predict air quality in these cities. There are good indications that the methods could be applied to other European cities.

Pedestrians are exposed to different levels of pollution on the pavements depending on how parked cars at the roadside are arranged, according to the first in a series of new studies in this area. The researchers modelled different parking regimes and found that less pollution reached the pavement when cars were parked sideways on, rather than at an angle to the street. Their results may help urban planners design more pedestrian-friendly streets.

Global air quality will significantly deteriorate by 2050 unless further steps are taken to cut current emissions from human activities, according to recent research. Most people around the world will be affected by worsening air quality with hotspots of particularly poor air occurring in China, northern India and the Middle East.