What We Burn Is What Pollutes (GS Paper 3, Environment)
Introduction
- India's air pollution crisis is not a new phenomenon.
- For over two decades, scientists have known the root causes of the country's deteriorating air quality, yet political inaction has allowed this environmental issue to snowball into a life-threatening, unavoidable crisis.
- 25 years ago, when the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) first revealed the scale of pollution caused by biomass burning and fossil fuels, the government had ample data and warnings.
- Yet, successive administrations chose to overlook or downplay these findings.
- Now, the consequences are impossible to ignore, as India grapples with some of the most hazardous air quality levels in the world, causing widespread health problems and undermining economic productivity.
The Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX): A Wake-Up Call
The Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX), conducted between 1999 and 2000, marked a pivotal moment in our understanding of the environmental threat posed by pollution in South Asia. Over 200 scientists from around the world, including India, the US, and Europe, collaborated on this massive study. Led by V. Ramanathan from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the experiment focused on tracking the sources and impacts of haze over the Indian Ocean and Indian Subcontinent.
Key Findings from INDOEX:
- Discovery of the Indian Ocean Brown Cloud (IOBC): This thick brown cloud, composed of pollutants like soot and aerosols, hangs over the Indian Ocean and much of the Indian Subcontinent from October to February each year. The haze is a combination of biomass burning (e.g., agricultural residue, fuelwood, and dung cakes) and fossil fuel combustion (mainly coal).
- Impact on Regional Climate and Health: The haze not only impacts local weather patterns, including temperature and precipitation, but also leads to reduced agricultural productivity and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
- Transboundary Pollution: The pollutants in the Indian Ocean Brown Cloud do not stay confined to India but travel across the region, further exacerbating the problem for neighboring countries.
Despite these significant findings, the UN Environment Programme's 2002 report on the INDOEX study faced considerable political pushback. Some Indian scientists argued that the term “Asian Brown Cloud” unfairly singled out India, leading to a name change to “Atmospheric Brown Cloud with a Focus on Asia.” However, governments in South Asia largely ignored the report's warnings, and the pollution problem continued to grow.
The Ongoing Air Pollution Crisis in India
Despite the clear scientific evidence, India continues to be plagued by an air pollution crisis. In particular, the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), home to over a billion people, remains a major hotspot for air pollution. A dense brown haze, sometimes up to 3 km thick, regularly blankets the region, leading to a devastating impact on health, livelihoods, and economic growth.
Current Air Quality Status:
- Air quality standards in most Indian cities consistently fail to meet even the country's relatively lenient norms, which are already far worse than WHO guidelines.
- The primary sources of air pollution remain largely unchanged from the findings of 25 years ago, including biomass burning, coal combustion, and industrial emissions.
PM2.5 Emissions in India: A Closer Look (2023 Study Findings)
A 2023 study revealed that India emits approximately 52 lakh tonnes of PM2.5 annually (excluding natural and manmade dust). Here’s the breakdown of the primary contributors to this pollution:
- 55% from biomass burning: This includes agricultural residue burning, fuelwood, and dung cakes used for cooking.
- 6.5% from stubble burning: A major concern during harvest seasons.
- 37% from industries and power plants: Primarily coal burning in power generation and industrial processes.
- 7% from the transport sector: Emissions from vehicles add to the toxic air.
- Dust from roads, construction, and barren land contributes significantly, especially to PM10 pollution.
Solutions to Tackle Air Pollution
Addressing India’s air pollution crisis will require a multifaceted approach that tackles both the sources of pollution and the infrastructure that perpetuates it. Below are some of the key strategies:
Energy Transition: Reducing Household Pollution
- Shift to cleaner cooking methods: Moving away from biomass fuels to alternatives like LPG, biogas, and electricity for cooking can reduce household PM2.5 emissions, preventing 800,000 premature deaths annually from indoor air pollution.
- PM Ujjwala Yojana: This government initiative aims to provide clean cooking fuel to low-income households. Expanding such programs and offering additional incentives would be critical in reducing pollution from rural areas.
Cleaner Industry Practices and Stronger Regulations
- Encourage cleaner technologies: Introducing electric boilers, furnaces, and other clean technologies in industries can drastically reduce emissions.
- Stricter enforcement of pollution norms: Large-scale industries and power plants must adhere to stricter emission standards. Pollution control boards need modernization to enforce these norms effectively.
- Incentives for green industries: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should receive subsidies for adopting cleaner energy practices.
Stubble Burning Solutions
- Promote technology for stubble management: Combine harvesters that leave minimal stubble should be incentivized, along with technology that can recycle or utilize crop residue in environmentally friendly ways.
- Financial incentives and penalties: Offering ₹1,000 per acre for sustainable stubble management, alongside disincentives like fines or exclusion from government schemes for non-compliance, can drive better practices.
Electrification of Transport and Public Transport Expansion
- Scale up electric vehicle (EV) adoption: Government should set EV adoption targets and create a conducive ecosystem for EV infrastructure, including charging stations.
- Boost public transport: Investing in public transportation systems and encouraging people to use them can reduce emissions from the transport sector, which is responsible for a significant portion of air pollution.
Local Pollution Control Measures
- Strengthen local governance: Local bodies must be empowered to tackle sources of pollution like dust from roads, construction debris, and garbage burning.
- Public awareness: Raising awareness about pollution sources and healthy air quality practices can drive community action to mitigate pollution at the grassroots level.
Conclusion: Accepting the Science to Drive Change
- The science behind India’s air pollution has been clear for decades.
- The Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) in 1999-2000, along with subsequent studies, provided a blueprint for understanding the key causes of pollution: biomass burning, fossil fuels, and industrial emissions.
- The problem, however, lies not in the knowledge of the problem, but in the political and ideological debates that have hindered meaningful action.
- To truly address this crisis, India must accept the science, confront the root causes, and implement comprehensive solutions that address both pollution prevention and public health.
- If we continue to ignore the consequences of what we burn, the damage to our environment, economy, and public health will only deepen. The time for real action is now.
