Environmental Impact: Various Types of Pollutants and Sources of Pollution in Delhi

This literature helps in analysing the sources that are the major cause of pollution in Delhi along with the study of some effects that is deteriorating the life in the city. The major sources of pollution in Delhi are vehicles, industrial sources, and rural activities. The health impact of air pollution is also discussed in detail. The study concludes that air pollution is a major concern in Delhi and is leading to many health effects on the people.

Running head: ENVIRONMENT 0
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................................1
Various types of pollutants and sources of pollution in Delhi:....................................................................1
Vehicles:..................................................................................................................................................1
Industrial sources of pollution:................................................................................................................2
Rural activities:........................................................................................................................................2
Heath impact of air pollution:.....................................................................................................................3
Conclusion:..................................................................................................................................................5
References:..................................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction:
Air is one of the basic requirements of life. It is a mixture of various gases such as nitrogen,
oxygen, argon, carbon di oxide etc. all these gases and their fixed proportion constitute the pure
air that can support the life of the living organisms on Earth. Any alteration or modification in
the constituents and proportion of the gases leads to polluted air 1. Along with this, presence of
some unwanted solid and liquids in gases or atmosphere results in air pollution. This pollution is
great cause of deterioration of human health. India is the country that is facing the air pollution
issues since years. Delhi, the capital of India is one of the most polluted cities in the country.
This literature helps in analysing the sources that are the major cause of pollution in Delhi along
with the study of some effects that is deteriorating the life in the city.
Air pollution is the one of the major reasons why Delhi people are facing so much of health
issues. There are many changes that have been experienced in the climate and air quality of
Delhi since recent years. There are various reasons for changes and rise on the sir pollution in
Delhi. One of the causes is vehicles 2. Many strategies have also been implemented in order to
reduce the pollution that is generating from vehicles in Delhi and near NCR region. Controlling
the pollution in India is very difficult and challenging. The interaction of urban and rural sources
supports the pollution to increase more. Despite of introducing various procedures and policies
for controlling air pollution, there is no improvement observed in India and especially in Delhi.
Several studies have been conducted on Delhi’s air pollution and air quality. During 2007–2008,
more than two-thirds of PM2.5 samples exceeded the national ambient air quality 24-h standard of
60 μg m−33. Most of the pollution is found to be in winters because of the atmospheric conditions
that are found to be more stable in winters.
Various types of pollutants and sources of pollution in Delhi:
Vehicles:
Nitrogen Dioxide is one of the main components of air pollution in Delhi. It has been analysed
that the main source of releasing Nitrogen Dioxide is road traffic or the vehicles that are running
of the roads of Delhi. Burning of fossil fuels is also one of the major causes that generate
Nitrogen Dioxide. The presence of Nitrogen Dioxide also leads to the development of other
pollutants such as ozone, acid rain, etc. in Urban areas, most of the pollution occurs because of

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the gases release from vehicles. Some of the indoor sources also contributes in Nitrogen Dioxide
generation by gas stoves, heaters etc. As per the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the
prescribed value of NO2 in Delhi is 80 μg/m34. As far as pollution in Delhi is considered, it has
been realised that motor vehicles in Delhi contributes the most in generating pollution in the city.
As per the data, it has been analysed that Delhi is the city which has around 4.2 million of
vehicles. 72% of the total air pollution is because of vehicles in Delhi. Delhi is the place where
the numbers of vehicles are increasing day by day as per the increase in the population. This
suggests that increase in vehicles leads to increase in pollution from those vehicles. As far as the
road transport system is considered, it has been analysed that it caters 60% of the travel dead
while the private transport which is very large in number cater only 30% of the travel demand.
This suggest that the private vehicles which are very large in comparison to public transport c
less needs and running unnecessary on the roads of Delhi to pollute the city. the government of
the country has introduced metro railways in the city so that people travel through these ways ad
reduce the burning of fuels that is creating high amount of pollution in the city 5.
Industrial sources of pollution:
Industries in Delhi also contribute in developing the air pollution in the city. It has been analysed
that the pollution that is generating because of industries is decreasing day by day but it still 20%
of the overall air pollution is generating from industries that are set up in Delhi. In 1990’s, most
of the industries in from Delhi has been shifted to the nearby places that are away from the
residential areas of the city 6. Sulphur dioxide is the pollutant that is mainly released from the
industrial waste.
Rural activities:
Not only the urban activities like industries and vehicles in the city is contributing in generating
pollution but some of the rural activities like fire in the agricultural region is also creating a large
pollution in the city. Most of the northern India faces this issue of burning the residual wheat and
rice crops at the agricultural regions. This happened twice in the year, in April to May and in
November to December. Burning is considered as the fastest and the cheapest mean this to
remove the rural waste of the crops and this generates a large amount of problem in the city. The
burning of these crops results in releasing of the aerosols that contributes to PM2.5 fraction. As far
as the recent case is considered, it has been analysed that Delhi has faced a severe situation of

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pollution in the month of December. The last two year of November that is 2016 and 2017 were
the worst year for the city as the pollution rate because of burning of the crops post Diwali was
so high. Diwali is one of the festivals of the India that is celebrated with great zeal and burning
crackers that also plays a great role in creating pollution 7. As Diwali comes in the month of
November and December, the pollution rate increases at this time. The condition of the city was
too worse that the government has taken the step to ban sales of cracker in the city.
There are any other strategies that have been implemented in the city of the central government
of India so that the pollution can be reduced. One of the strategies was the implementation of odd
even policy in the city. As per this policy, the vehicles with even and odd numbers have to come
on the roads n alternative days. This has implemented an over Delhi and benefits have been
observed in terms of reduced pollution rate in the city. But, the intensity of control was not that
much which can save Delhi from the ill effects of air pollution and the city is still facing many
issues.
Heath impact of air pollution:
Various studies have been conducted in order to analyse the effect of air pollution on the heath of
the population living in Delhi and nearby areas. One of the studies that were conducted by
Central pollution control Board in 2008 suggested that there are many adverse effects of
pollution in Delhi. One of the issues that have been found in the study was the issue of
respiratory problems that are still prevailing in the city 8. The control that was used for the study
was from rural areas of West Bengal. It has been analysed that many diseases such as cough,
wheeze, chest discomfort etc. Even the asthma diseases are also prevailing in the city. It has been
realised that most of the people in the city are suffering from respiratory diseases. Environmental
development, carbon di oxide and ozone are some of the reasons for development of some of the
heath issues such as eye irritation, lung and heart infection, premature death etc. The higher level
of pollution in Delhi results in cardiovascular issues also 9. Some other studies that are
community based also found that sir pollute is associated with respiratory morbidity. Not even
the adults but children are also facing the same issues. As discussed that Delhi faces more of the
population in winters thus the patients that are suffering from respiratory and other pollution
associated diseases also increase.

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Another study has calculated the health impacts of the air pollution in Delhi.
The calculation of the study suggests that there are several impact of air pollution in the people
such as premature mortality, chronic bronchitis, child acute bronchitis, cardiac vascular issues,
hospital admissions, emergency room visits, asthma attacks, respiratory symptoms etc. the data
suggests that the number of people facing the premature mortality is around 7350-16,200. This
suggests that the impact of air pollution has become so severe that the people are dying before
their actual death age 10. The pollution is shortening the life and becoming life threatening not for
the adults but also for the children. Time series analysis has been used to study the relationship
between air pollution and premature mortality. The study has even conducted because premature
mortality is one of the most serious issues in Delhi 11. The studies that have been conducted on
this aspect have concentrated on the effects of shirt term exposure of the pollution on the
probability of dying of the people in Delhi. In this the control that has been used was US. It has
been concluded in the study that there are 40% of the cases in which the premature death of the
people is because of exposure to long term pollution 12. The number is still less than US because
US is facing more issues than Delhi in this concern.
Most of the Indian cities along with Delhi fall under the category of most polluted cities in the
whole world. It has been examined that annually, 670,000 people, are dying because of high
exposure to pollution in al over India. This is a really a shameful figure of the country. One of
the major issue that has-been found din Delhi because of pollution is the decrease in fertility rate
and sex activities 13. Fertility experts in Delhi have suggested that the quality of air in Delhi is
really a serious concern not only for the health of the people but also for the sex activities. Air
pollution Delhi has resulted in 30% reduction in the sex activities at the city. The worst case
scenario has been experienced after the year 2016 Diwali. After Diwali, around 25 days, the city
was facing the situation of smog. The atmosphere was fully covered with the layer of smog
which is proved to be very harmful for the health of the people 14. As far as sex and fertility

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activities are considered, the smog or the bad air quality is changing the hormonal balance in the
pole which creates some uncomfortable situations for the people.
From over 30 years, it has been examined that air pollution is affecting the health of the people.
Many variables have been examined in order to understand the reasons for ill effects of health
that are faced by the Delhi people 15. One of the reasons has been found to be sir pollution in the
city. It is very difficult to find out the exact data of death because of air pollution because there
are several other variable that also contributes in the health effects of the people 16. Air pollution
can be one of the reasons but not the reason. One of the facts that has been analyse from all the
studies reacted to air pollution and heath impact are that it increase the risks of several discuses
and health issues such as respiratory issues, heath decrease, cardio vascular diseases etc. even the
short term exposure of pollution results in great impact on heath in a negative way. People who
have some issues with their health are more susceptible to the pollution and its ill effects 17. The
particulate matter in the air results in various issues of lungs and respiration that are linked with
the death and sever health problems of the people. Long term exposure is experienced by the
person who lives in the area with high level of harmful particles in the air this slowly affects their
heath severely over the time and ultimately results in premature deaths. Even the short term
exposure results in some of the small health issues that may become chronic in case the exposure
remains for the longer period of time 18.
Conclusion:
It has been concluded from the overall discussion that Air is one of the basic requirements of life.
It is a mixture of various gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon di oxide etc. all these
gases and their fixed proportion constitute the pure air that can support the life of the living
organisms on Earth. Any alteration or modification in the constituents and proportion of the
gases leads to polluted air. The whole world is facing the situation of sir pollution and it is
leading to many health effects on the people 19. Delhi is one of the cities that are in news now
days because of the smog case of the city. There are various reasons for changes and rise on the
air pollution in Delhi. One of the causes is vehicles. Many strategies have also been implemented
in order to reduce the pollution that is generating from vehicles in Delhi and near NCR region.
Controlling the pollution in India is very difficult and challenging. The interaction of urban and
rural sources supports the pollution to increase more. Other vehicles, there are some other

ENVIRONMENT 7
reasons such as burning of crops in the near buy areas and industries that are releasing many
wastes in the form of harmful gases 20. This leads many health issues in the population of Delhi.
It has been analysed from the studies that people are facing many premature death problems and
it is major ill effect of air population.

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