New Delhi: Data from the last two winter revealed that 11 of the 13 hotspots in Delhi witnessed an increase in pollution at 2020-21 such as fighting the previous winter.
Only one hotspot, Wazirpur, showed an increase, showing more efforts to be needed in the field to control local air pollution.
Track the level of pollution in Cityin 2018, the Delhi pollution control committee and the central pollution control board identified 13 of the most polluses of Delhi where PM2.5 concentrations were far above even the average city.
This survey was conducted to take specific actions of the location and every hotspot received a local action plan in 2019.
However, the data analyzed with the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) only showed Wazirpur and Sahibabad in all regions of the National Capital (NCR)) has shown actual improvements In terms of PM2.5 concentration.
Data for Dwarka is not available for comparison.
13 Hotspots are Rohini, Dwarka, Okhla Phase II, Punjabi Bagh, Anand Vihar, Vivek Vihar, Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, RK Puram, Bawana, Munapuri, Narela and Mayapuri.
Six pollution hotspots were identified for the entire NCR – two in Faridabad and each in Gurgaon, Bahadurgarh, Bhiwadi and Sahibabad.
“Jahangirpuri with a seasonal average of 256 micrograms per cubic meter is the dirtiest among the recognized hotspots.
Bahadurgarh recorded a leap of almost 50%, but it was still cleaner than other hotspots,” declared analysis.
After Jahangirpuri, Vivek Vihar, Narela, Anand Vihar, Bawana is the most polluted in Delhi, all shows the increase in winter pollution then compared to 2019-20.
For the rest of the NCR, Sahibabad is the most polluted with an annual average above 200 micrograms per cubic meter.
CSE also shows that data reveals that new pollution hotspots also appear, calling for the same attention.
These include eight locations in Delhi and seven throughout the NCR.
This new hotspot was identified by comparing their annual average with an average of existing hotspots – 197 micrograms per cubic meter.
Location Including Alipur, DTU, Ito, Nehru Nagar, Patparigaj, Sonia Vihar, Mandir Marg and Ashok Vihar in Delhi and Sector 1 and 116 in Noida, Loni, Sanjay Vihar and Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, Park Knowledge V in Greater Noida and Bulandshahr.
“This again points to the impact of local pollution and data shows more efforts needed in these locations to bring it closer to the city average,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, Executive Director of Research and Advocacy in CSE that analyzed the data that analyzed Data.
Working on a pollution hotspot and identifying a new location is one of the 10 main focus areas identified by the Delhi Government as part of the winter action plan, which will be released at the end of September.
Constant efforts are being made every year, especially during the winter, to control local sources of pollution, said a government official.
“Action plans for each hotspot include direct and long-term actions.
The increase will be visible immediately,” the official said.