Delhi’s polluted air may force Obama to stay indoors Jan 8, 2015, 03.04AM IST TNN [ Jayashree Nandi & Indrani Bagchi ] Air quality, because of the high pollution in the city, is routinely rated by the US embassy pollution monitor as “poor”. NEW DELHI: Amid reports that the US may curb President Barack Obamas early morning schedule during his visit to Delhi later this month, air pollution monitoring agencies said the levels of PM2.5 or fine, respirable particles that get lodged in the lungs are likely to be in the range of moderate to high in the period while hes here. Air quality, because of the high pollution in the city, is routinely rated by the US embassy pollution monitor as poor — in other words, unhealthy. Its in that context there is speculation that the US authorities here could seek to curtail Obamas outdoor activities during his visit. However, what makes this difficult is that Obama is chief guest at the Republic Day parade which is held in the open and in the morning when pollution levels are usually high. Its possible that Obama will be seated in a sealed bulletproof enclosure which will keep out the polluted air. When contacted, US embassy sources dismissed all speculation about Obamas outdoor activities being curtailed. According to data with Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the PM2.5 level for the past three years - 2012, 2013, 2014 - during January 25 to 27 (the period when Obama will be here) was between 130 to 170 microgram per cubic metre, which is at least five times the WHO standard, eight times the US Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) standard and twice the Indian safe standard. The PM2.5 levels early in the morning when the R-Day parade is held is likely to be very high. In 2013, on the Republic Day between 6 am to 10 am, PM 2.5 values ranged between 234 to 160 g/m3. So, the levels could peak to 15 times the US safe standard of 15 g/ m3. This winter, the US embassys monitoring station in Chanakyapuri has been recording several days with hazardous air quality because of severe smog. The embassy provides an AQI in the city with real time PM2.5 values and a corresponding health advisory. It is too early for the SAFAR model to predict the air quality on January 26, but based on the statistical analysis of past four year of data and considering the growth in emissions and weather conditions, it is estimated that value of PM2.5 on that day is likely to be hover between moderate to poor, between 90 to 110 g/m3, which is better than now, said Gufran Beig, chief project scientist of System of Air Quality, Weather Forecasting and Research
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 02:19:43 +0000