Not Farm Fires Or Diwali Fireworks, Rapidly Rising Vehicles On Roads Delhi's Biggest Polluters
An overwhelming 1.1 million vehicles daily ply in and out of Delhi, which already has one of the highest numbers of registered vehicles among cities. In 2023-24, the number was 79 lakh vehicles
The rapidly increasing number of vehicles congesting the city roads has emerged as the biggest polluter in Delhi’s toxic smog. According to a recent analysis by New Delhi-based Centre for Science & Environment (CSE), if external sources are excluded, then the transport sector contributes over 50 per cent to the national capital’s PM2.5 concentrations among all local sources.
This comes despite the largest-ever CNG programme for public and local commercial transport, phasing out of 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles, restrictions on the entry of non-destined trucks, the introduction of Bharat Stage-6 emissions standards, and the onset of fleet electrification. The analysis is based on the real-time data of 29 pollution sources to Delhi’s PM2.5 contributions during winter put out by the IITM, Pune, from October 12 to November 3.
related stories
“The scary part is that despite all efforts we still need another 62% reduction in the PM2.5 annual levels to be able to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5. The mobility crisis cannot hide behind the smokescreen of pollution from farms and other sources," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, CSE, highlighting that the average level of winter pollution is on the rise.
NEED FEWER CARS ON ROADS
An overwhelming 1.1 million vehicles ply in and out of Delhi every day, which already has one of the highest numbers of registered vehicles among cities. As per the Economic Survey of 2023-24, the national capital recorded a total stock of 79 lakh vehicles. 90 per cent of these are two-wheelers and cars. Moreover, the two-wheelers and cars are growing at the same pace, at 15 per cent each year.
Worryingly, the vehicles are not only contributing to the particulate pollution (PM2.5) but also to the nitrogen oxide (NOX) levels. When stuck in traffic, the vehicles can spew emissions several times higher than their normal emissions on roads.
“Vehicles are not new to the pollution story of Delhi. However, every winter when we cannot breathe and gasp for breath and know the toxic impacts on our health, we tend to try and believe that something else is to blame. But the data is clear that Delhi-NCR’s own pollution is high. Combustion is the key reason, and in it, vehicles account for 50%, then comes other sources. So we need to act at scale to fix this problem before every winter becomes a gas chamber," remarked Sunita Narain, director-general, CSE.
ALARMING DROP IN BUS RIDERSHIP
Delhi currently only has 7,683 buses operating, falling short of the 10,000 buses required by the Supreme Court in 1998. According to the 2011 census, there are around 45 buses per lakh of people, falling far short of the ministry of housing and urban affairs’ service level target of 60 buses per lakh of people.
On the one hand, public transportation is still insufficient, the average travel duration has increased by an astounding 81.7 per cent due to growing urbanisation. People’s reliance on private vehicles increases with the length of their travel. The CSE analysis showed the modal proportion of private vehicles has risen from 38 per cent to 49 per cent over the past decade, while the share of bus trips has decreased by 20 per cent.
The bus ridership remains lower than expected. Additionally, the users of public transportation incur much higher total route costs than users of private vehicles, because of the hidden costs of waiting and interchange time, particularly for buses.
STUBBLE BURNING IMPACT MINIMAL
The analysis of real-time data also revealed that Delhi had “poor" to “very poor" air quality, even on days when the contribution of farm fires was minimal. The average stubble fire contribution to Delhi’s PM2.5 levels between October 10 and 20 was just 0.7 per cent, but the AQI was “poor". On October 23, it rose to 16 per cent.
“Even when the impact of stubble burning was minimal, PM2.5 concentrations remained high, indicating that local sources are the primary contributors to the elevated PM2.5 levels in Delhi," the researchers concluded.
- Location :
- First Published: