WHO has changed its air quality guidelines. The standards related to six major polluting elements have been tightened. After 16 years, WHO has changed the guidelines. According to the new WHO standards, over 90% of the world’s population and almost the entire population of South Asia breathe air with more pollution than the permissible limit.
Based on the new guidelines of WHO, Delhi’s annual PM 2.5 has been 17 times more than the average safe limit. With the new standards, it will be difficult for Delhi to reach global standards. India last changed the air quality standards in 2009. At present, new standards are being considered, which will be released next year.
Countries are not legally bound to follow the guidelines of WHO. WHO claimed that if the annual average PM 2.5 deaths could be reduced by 80.
Last year, Delhi’s air contained 17 times more PM2.5 particles than the WHO has stated the safe limit of PM2.5. According to the new guidelines, Delhi will not be able to meet global standards. An analysis by Greenpeace India shows that at least 79 of the world’s 100 most populous cities have crossed the old PM2.5 limit.
Greenpeace’s data put Delhi’s average PM2.5 at 87 milligrams per cubic meter in 2020. This figure is 8 times more than the old guidelines of WHO. After the new guidelines, Delhi’s figure will be 17 times more than the global standard.
A study by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) shows that Delhi has the largest source transportation (41%) of PM2.5 particles. Dust is the second biggest polluting factor. The annual emissions of PM2.5 in major cities last year (2019-29) stood at 77 Giga grams in Delhi, 57 Giga grams in Ahmedabad, 45 in Mumbai, and 30 in Pune.
Greenpeace has also released statistics on premature deaths and financial losses due to air pollution. Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, New York, Istanbul, Bangkok, London, and Johannesburg saw the highest number of premature deaths (57,000) within the Indian capital. There was also a loss of 14% in GDP due to air pollution.
