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The figures in Delhi the highest among all states are also double the national average of reduction in life expectancy which is 3.3 years.

Air pollution in India can cause about half a million premature mortalities every year, and exposure to fine particulate matter in India reduces life expectancy by about 3.4 years. Delhi, meanwhile, tops the list in the number of life years lost as many as 6.3 years due to exposure to particulate matter 2.5.

The figures in Delhi the highest among all states are also double the national average of reduction in life expectancy which is 3.3 years.

Dr Sachin Ghude, IITM scientist and co-author of the study, Premature Mortality in India due to PM 2.5 and Ozone Exposure, said such deaths were double that of 300,000 deaths globally caused by human impact of global warming and climate change.

The study published in Geophysical Research Letters was done by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado,USA and Atmospheric Chemistry Observations and Modeling Laboratory.

Exposure to fine particulate matter in India reduces life expectancy by about 3.4 years, with Delhiites losing 6.3 years. Air pollution is cutting the lives of those living in polluted states of West Bengal and Bihar by 6.1 years and 5.7 years, said the scientist.

Although, these results are in line with other global estimates (e.g. Global Burden Of Disease GBD, WHO,) there is no way to tell how many deaths can be attributed to air pollution, said Ghude.

The methods used in this study rely on statistical algorithms to construct estimates about a populations response to pollution exposure using previous concrete observations on pollution and public health. The problem is that most of these observational studies have taken place in regions with comparatively low pollution levels, such as Europe or the U.S. We dont have any epidemiological studies in India that look at the long-term effects of air pollution on mortality. In this work, we have extrapolated human responses to high pollution levels using results from less polluted places. However, it is the only available option for this type of research until the studies are conducted in India, he added.

The study uses value of a statistical life approach, which is the monetary value of a change in a persons likelihood of dying or amount of money a society would be willing to spend to save an individual citizens life.

We found the cost of the estimated premature moralities came to about $640 billion in 2011 about 10 times the countrys total expenditure on health in 2011, said Ghude.

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/study-shows-delhi-tops-list-in-number-of-life-years-lost-exposure-to-pm-2-5-reduces-life-expectancy-delhi-bears-brunt-2838305/

NEW DELHI: Consumers will have to shell out more for power, fuel and cars in a few years as these industries begin to pass on the burden of technology upgrades being put in place for meeting increasingly stringent environmental and emission norms.

The new environmental norms for coal-fired power plants, for example, are expected to push up electricity cost by 40-50 paise per unit. Motor fuels could become costlier by 70 paise or more per litre as the country moves to Bharat Stage-VI – akin to Euro-VI – grade fuels by April 2020. Similarly, carmakers say prices may rise by anywhere between Rs 1 lakh and Rs1.5 lakh.

No doubt these are back-of-envelope calculations and the final figures would depend on several factors such as rupee exchange rate, bulk prices of refined products and coal as well as shipping costs etc in the future.

The new norms for coal-fired power stations, announced in December, for example, would impact 180,000 MW of generation capacity. Generators would have to shell out Rs 1.8 lakh crore to retrofit machinery for meeting the new emission norms, at the rate of Rs 1 crore per MW. This would be passed on to consumers.

The new norms cover the range of emissions from power station including particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury etc as well as limiting water usage.

While future plants can be designed with relevant technology, retrofitting the existing plants remains a challenge due to lack of space and massive investment needs. Same is true for refiners. There are other issues for power stations. While dealing with SPM (ash particles) and SO2 emissions is easier and requires less investment – most of NTPC’s plants, for example, are compliant or getting ready – for NOx there is the larger issue of technology best suited for Indian coal which has high ash content.

There is also another issue that would have to be tackled. Since NTPC has significant coal-based capacity, the modification at all places in a time-bound manner would require huge investments and substantial shutdown of the generating capacity.
The Auto Fuel Vision & Policy 2025 in June 2014 had recommended a 75 paise cess to recoup Rs 64,000 crore of the Rs 80,000 crore investment projected for producing cleaner fuels.

The recommendation came after refiners indicated an incremental increase of Rs 2.64 and Rs 1.43 per litre for producing cleaner petrol and diesel, respectively. This was in addition to the Rs 35,000 crore invested till then for graduating from BS-III to BS-IV in metros and chosen cities and BS-II to BS-III in the rest of the country.

The capital servicing and operational costs was lower at 91 paise a litre for petrol and Rs 2.20 for diesel for shifting from BS-III to BS-IV. But moving from BS-IV to BS-V or BS-VI, fuels costs double. This is because graduating to BS-V or BS-VI requires refineries to put up additional units, while BS-IV can be achieved by upgrading existing systems. So keep your wallets ready.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/developmental-issues/New-green-norms-to-make-power-fuels-cars-costlier/articleshow/52628980.cms

A massive afforestation drive launched by the Forest department has taken the steel city, once known for high pollution levels, out of the most polluted cities of Punjab bracket.

In 2013, Pollution Control Board data had claimed that Batala, along with Mandi Gobindgarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar, were among the four most polluted towns. Thereafter, the Forest Department had chalked out an elaborate plan to plant 23,000 trees on the main roads of the city. Three years later, this afforestation drive has shown results with the fine particulate matter (PM) levels showing a downward spiral. Now, Batala and Jalandhar have exited the category and in their places, Khanna and Amritsar have entered the group of polluted towns.

Particulate matter, also known as particulates, are microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the atmosphere. The more the PM, the more the pollution level. Hence, it is mandatory to bring down the PM level to desirable levels to ensure that pollution levels decrease substantially. Particulates are the deadliest form of air pollution due to their ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and blood streams unfiltered, causing permanent damage to the body, said Wilbert Samson, Gurdaspur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO).

Samson revealed that after the 2013 data was released, he got in touch with then Deputy Commissioner Abhinav Trikha to prepare plans to bring down the PM levels. Finances to the tune of Rs 23 lakh were arranged and the money was spent on buying saplings and tree guards after forest officials identified areas to plant them. The project was named Green Batala.

As particulate matter level was high, diseases like asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, premature deliveries and birth defects were on the rise. However, there has now been a sharp decrease in the incidences of these diseases, said a Batala-based physician Dr SS Nijjar.

Forest officials said following the drive, not only have the PM levels gone down, but soil erosion, which was rampant a few years ago, has also been considerably minimised.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/afforestation-drive-brings-down-pollution-in-batala/247825.html

Erode: Erode Small Tanners Association has entered into an understanding with Central Leather Research Institute to implement cleaner technologies in Erode.

The MoU was signed during a workshop on ‘Roadmap to Sustainable growth to Erode leather sector’, organised here on Sunday to mark the World Environment Day.

As per the MoU, CLRI would help the tanneries inculcate environmentally sustainable technologies for waste discharge. Addressing the owners of tanneries in Erode during the workshop, CLRI director B Chandraseakaran said Erode had been a pioneer in implementing eco-friendly technologies. “Two recently developed technologies, ‘zero waste water discharge technology’ and “pickle free waterless chrome tanning technology’ are being implemented in Erode. Unlike the reverse osmosis-based zero liquid discharge that is in practice now, CLRI’s zero waste water discharge is cost effective and environmentally sustainable,” he said.

He said the tanners could form a cluster and approach the state government for funds to implement the two technologies in all the tanneries in Erode. “If the tanneries come together to function as a cluster, it would eventually create more employment opportunities for the youth,” he said.

Erode collector S Prabakar said a project proposal to set up waste water recycling plants in Erode, Salem and Namakkal districts was underway. The objective was to prevent discharge of waste water into Bhavani and Cauvery rivers.

The state government has sanctioned a sum of 1.4 crore for preparing the proposal by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), water board and local bodies.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/erode/Erode-tanners-sign-MoU-for-cleaner-technologies/articleshow/52613974.cms