Not 13, Delhi Now Has 22 Pollution Pain Points

New Delhi: Nehru Nagar, Sonia Vihar, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, ITO and Patparganj are among the emerging pollution hotspots in the city, exhibiting high PM2.5 concentrations.
The Centre for Science and Environment's analysis of the Central Pollution Control Board's real-time air quality data shows that there are nine locations in Delhi with almost the same or worse pollution levels than the city's 13 pollution hotspots designated in 2018.Among the emerging hotspots are Pusa, Lodhi Road (IITM station) and Alipur.
At the original hotspots, agencies concerned focus on pollution mitigation measures like water sprinkling and enforcement teams act against violators. The new hotspots haven't been prioritised for similar action. Data shows that Nehru Nagar near Lajpat Nagar recorded an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 118 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022, 120 in 2023 and 90 micrograms per cubic metre till Oct 20 this year, all much higher than the national annual ambient average PM2.5 level of 40 micrograms per cubic metre. In the last three years, Nehru Nagar has fared worse than most original hotspots.
Lodhi Road (IITM station) is another non-hotspot which has seen toxic pollution levels at 118 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022, 111 in 2023 and 75 so far in 2024.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, said, "The only way to prevent the proliferation of new hotspots is to implement city-wide stringent measures to reduce emissions from all key pollution sources."
Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst, Envirocatalysts, said no new hotspots should be ignored and should become part of the focus areas. "Systematic action year-round is necessary to reduce emissions and kill local and regional pollution at the source. Apart from original hotspots, the new hotspots should also feature in the list of places for targeted action," said Dahiya.
In 2023, the locations in the capital that showed the worst pollution levels included ITO (100 micrograms per cubic metre), Patparganj (109), Sonia Vihar (108), Alipur and Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium (99 each), Mandir Marg (94) and Pusa (92).