In order to increase pace of pollution reduction in the national Capital, the Delhi Environment Minister, Gopal Rai held a meeting with officials from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and experts from IIT-Delhi and Kanpur at Delhi Secretariat.

The meeting came on the heels of a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health which stated that globally, air pollution alone contributed to 66.7 lakh deaths and in India, out of 16.7 lakh air pollution-related deaths 9.8 lakh were caused by PM2.5 pollution, and another 6.1 lakh by household air pollution. “During the meeting, the IIT-Kanpur team announced that a super site would be built at SKV, Pandara Road, to determine true sources of pollution in Delhi. This supersite will take up 36 square metres of space. In addition, starting in August, real-time pollution factors will be assessed in Delhi, which will aid in formulation of a strategy to control the sources of pollution,” said Rai.

“Through its apportionment system, Delhi will become first city to identify source of air pollution in real time. The project will aid in determining causes of increased air pollution at any given location in the city,” said Rai.

“It will aid in the comprehension of pollution sources such as vehicles, dust, biomass burning, stubble burning, and industrial emissions. Based on these findings, the Delhi Government will be able to take necessary steps to reduce pollution from specific sources,” said Rai. “This will aid in identification and mitigation of various pollution-causing factors. Furthermore, pollution forecasting will assist Government in making policy decisions such as construction and vehicular restrictions in advance,” Rai added.