19-Dec-2022: Black Carbon

The study of Himalayan glaciers is a complex and evolving subject studied through investigations, data collection and analysis of various research studies by scientists in India and all over the world. The glaciers and their characteristics exhibit complex changes in specific locations across different sub-regions of the Himalayas. There are stable, retreating, or even advancing glaciers in the Himalayas, thereby emphasizing the complex geographical and cyclical nature of the glacial dynamics. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is operating a network of aerosol observatories under ISRO Geosphere Biosphere Programme. One of the parameters being measured from this network is the black carbon mass concentration. The long-term measurements of black carbon over the Indian region from the aforesaid regional network of aerosol observatories clearly shows a decreasing trend (0.24 µg m-3year-1) in the past decade.

The Government has taken several measures to control black carbon emissions which inter-alia include the following:

1. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana promoting use of cleaner household cooking fuels.
2. Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI norms for fuel and vehicles from 1st April, 2020.
3. Network of metro rails for public transport has been enhanced and more cities are covered.
4. Introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels like gaseous fuel (CNG, LPG etc.), ethanol blending.
5. A new initiative, “Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), has been launched to set up 5000 Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make CBG available in the market for use.
6. Under Central Sector Scheme on ‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for in-situ management of Crop Residue in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi’, agricultural machines and equipment for in-situ crop residue management are promoted with 50% subsidy to the individual farmers and 80% subsidy for the establishment of Custom Hiring Centres.
7. The Central Government is implementing the National Clean Air Programme as a long-term, time-bound, national-level strategy to tackle the air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner with targets to achieve 40% reduction in particulate matter concentrations by 2025-26.
8. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has identified 131 cities based on ambient air quality levels exceeding national ambient air quality standards, and cities with million plus population. City specific Clean Air Action Plans have been prepared and rolled out for implementation in these cities. These plans define time bound targets to control city specific air polluting sources (soil &road dust, vehicles, domestic fuel, municipal solid waste burning, construction material and industries, etc.).Annual plans with micro detailing are also prepared for effective implementation of the city plans.
9. Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) phase-2 scheme has been rolled out.
10. Shifting of brick kilns to zig-zag technology for reduction of pollution. Industrial units shifting to piped natural gas.

30-Jun-2021: Black carbon could lead to premature mortality: study

Black Carbon has a significant adverse effect on human health and leads to premature mortality, says a new study. The study could help in the estimation of future burden of mortality associated with air pollutants more accurately.

The Indo-Gangetic plain is exposed to black carbon (BC) with serious implications on regional climate and human health. However, most of the pollutions-based epidemiological studies essentially relate exposure to particulate mass concentration (PM 10 and/-or PM 2.5) that invariably generalize all particulates with equal toxicity without distinguishing individuals by its source and composition, which genuinely have different health consequences. Importantly, the health effects in terms of mortality due to BC aerosol exposure have never been evaluated in India.

R.K. Mall led the team of scientists including Nidhi Singh, Alaa Mhawish, Tirthankar Banerjee, Santu Ghosh, R. S. Singh from the Department of Science & Technology-Mahamana Centre of Excellence in Climate Change Research (MCECCR) at Banaras Hindu University explored the individual as well as the cumulative impact of BC aerosol, fine (PM 2.5), and coarse (PM 10) particulates, and trace gases (SO2, NO2, O3) on premature mortality in Varanasi. They have recently published their research in a reputed journal “Atmospheric Environment”.

A typical urban pollution hotspot in central Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), the town experiences very high aerosol loading and trace gas concentrations throughout the year due to prevalence of a subsidence zone and observed decadal increasing trends both in Aerosol Optical Depth and Black Carbon aerosols.

The Scientists from the Centre of Excellence in Climate Change Research supported by the Climate Change programme of Department of Science and Technology (DST) utilized daily all-cause mortality and ambient air quality from 2009 to 2016 to clearly establish a significant impact of BC aerosols, NO2 and, PM2.5 exposure on mortality. The inclusion of co-pollutants (NO2 and PM 2.5) in the multi-pollutant model increased the individual mortality risks for BC aerosols. The effect of pollutants was more prominent for males, age group 5-44 and, in winter. They found that the adverse effect of air pollutants was not limited to current day of exposure but can extend as high as up to 5 days (Lag effect). They further showed that mortality rises linearly with an increase in air pollutants level and shows adverse impact at higher levels.

Inclusion of BC as a potential health hazard inspires and provides a background for more epidemiological studies to provide evidence of health effects of air pollutants from different parts of India. The study could also help estimate the future burden of mortality associated with air pollutants considering the present association and incorporating a growing population rate. This will help government and policy-makers for better planning to mitigate the adversity associated with changing climate-air pollution-health nexus.

24-Sep-2019: Black Carbon particles affect unborn babies

The black carbon particles emitted by the vehicular exhaust and coal-fired power plants, have been detected on the fetus-facing side of the placenta, which possibly is expected to affect the overall development of the unborn baby.

90% of the world’s population lives in places where air pollution is above the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

The concentration of black carbon particles was highest in the placentas of women who are most exposed to airborne pollutants in their daily life. Inhalation of these particles by the mother gets translocated from the mothers’ lungs to the placenta, resulting in life-long changes to the development of the baby along with permanently damaging the lung tissues.

The link between exposure to dirty air and increased cases of miscarriages, premature births, and low birth weights which in turn increases the chances for diabetes, asthma, stroke, heart disease and a lot of other conditions, has been established in this study. This opens future avenues for new fields of research that demand focused attention on the direct role of particles getting to the tissues, rather than particles getting into the lungs.

A comprehensive global review also concluded that the air pollution may be damaging every organ and virtually every cell in the human body. Nanoparticles have been found crossing the blood-brain barrier in humans.

According to the WHO standards, the black carbon particles in the air are not considered as a major pollutant. The need is to identify and aptly list all possible pollutants affecting crucial stages of the development. The nascent stage of development is the most vulnerable period of life. All the organ systems are in the phases of development. For the protection of future generations, we have to reduce the exposure to such pollutants.

Black Carbon Particles: Black carbon particles are short-lived climate pollutant with a lifetime of only few days to weeks after release in the atmosphere. Black carbon particle is a potent climate-warming component of particulate matter formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, wood, and other fuels. Incomplete combustion releases CO2, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and organic carbon and black carbon particles in the atmosphere. Black carbon and its co-pollutants are key components of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution that is one of the leading environmental causes of poor health and premature deaths.