Sign In
Learn bits
Science & Tech.
Pradeep Kumar

05/10/21 10:25 AM IST

Science over smog towers

In news

Two new smog towers have been recently inaugurated in Delhi. Bengaluru and Chandigarh also installed smog towers this year.

Issue
  • The Delhi government claims that the newly installed smog tower in Connaught Place could reduce air pollution levels by 80%.
  • But there is no scientific evidence of smog towers or any other outdoor air filtration units improving air quality in cities.
  • The smog tower installed in China’s Xi’an and another one installed in Beijing did not prove to be effective and were not scaled up.
  • Smog towers create an illusion of progress towards clean air while diverting crores of public money away from proven solutions.
  • Of the 132 cities in the country that currently don’t meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 75 do not have a single real-time monitoring station.
  • Moreover, they misdirect policymakers and citizens by deflecting attention from areas that call for urgent action.
Solutions
  • Therefore, governments looking at investing in outdoor filtration systems should defer their deployment plans.
  • Further, the data on the effectiveness of the newly installed smog towers should be made available publicly for independent evaluation.
  • Until there is scientific consensus on their effectiveness, every new tower installed is just a violation of taxpayers’ money and citizens’ trust.
  • Meanwhile, governments must ramp up investments in proven solutions to reduce air pollution.
  • First, policymakers should expand air pollution monitoring in areas with limited or no air quality monitoring and strengthen forecasting capacity across cities.
  • For areas with no monitoring infrastructure, alternatives like low-cost air quality monitors in combination with satellite observations should be explored to plug the existing data gaps.
  • Simultaneously, cities should strengthen their air quality forecasting systems by collaborating with scientific institutions that are transparent about their approach and findings. 
Source: The Hindu

More Related Current Affairs View All

05 Mar

First-ever comprehensive survey of India’s river dolphins

'Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the results of the first-ever comprehensive population estimation of riverine dolphins – Gangetic and Indus dolphins – done in In

Read More

05 Mar

Arresting women at night

'The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in Deepa versus S. Vijayalakshmi and Others ruled that the legal provision in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which

Read More

05 Mar

Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023

'The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) looking to wrap up public consultations on the draft Rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 by Mar

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps