Delhi: System to monitor air quality gets a boost

The commission recently reviewed work on the system and has provided in-principle approval for the DSS developed by IITM. A separate website, accessible to the public, has been launched for the DSS. The portal displays the contribution of emissions from Delhi and 19 surrounding districts on the air quality in Delhi. It also shows the contribution of various sectors to emissions — including transport, industry, biomass burning, road dust, construction, waste burning, and residential sources. The contribution of 8 such sectors is being mapped on a graph.

The portal can be used to try out different scenarios and determine what the effect could be on air pollution if emissions from certain sectors are reduced to a specific extent. The 19 districts from which data is being collected include Rohtak, Jind, Karnal, Panipat, Bharatpur, Alwar, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar. The system is expected to help make policy-level interventions to handle emissions.