Air

Much before air pollution emerged as a critical health and environment issue in India, we developed state-of-the-art capacities for studying air quality. Our research focusses on a range of issues, including ambient air quality and apportionment of contributing sources , indoor air quality assessment for urban and rural households, regional scale assessment, impacts on health and agriculture, and capacity building of stakeholders for better management. Our research and analyses have been taken into account by policy makers for improvements in various standards and policies.

air

NEW IN AIR

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    Report

    Cost effectiveness of interventions for control of air pollution in Delhi

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    Position Paper

    Opportunities with Biofuel: Co-benefit of Air Quality Improvement

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    Explainer

    How evidence-based actions can help achieve breathable air in Indian cities

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    Video

    Matters of Particulate Matter: An Air Pollution Education Initiative by TERI

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    Article

    Nudging MSMEs towards natural gas to lighten Delhi's air pollution burden

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Projects

Articles

Air Pollution in India: Major Issues and Challenges

This article foregrounds the challenges India is currently facing in reducing air pollution and bringing the level of air quality to a certain standard. It also discusses solutions that could be adopted to combat the national crisis.

Air Quality and Public Health Challenges: The battle can be won

Ms Meena Sehgal

It is time to take action on air pollution using both technology and awareness as major methods and it needs strong incentive mechanisms to ensure participation both by farmers and clean-energy producers

Vulnerability Index Tool: Vulnerability assessment for health

Ms Meena Sehgal
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Ms Vidhu Gupta

A prototype digital tool is being developed for state health departments in India to upload data, and the vulnerability index can be generated using the tool.

Air Pollution Health Effects online tool

Ms Meena Sehgal
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Ms Vidhu Gupta

This tool was created in collaboration with researchers from North Carolina State University (NCSU), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Statconsulta and sponsored by DST.

COVID-19 lockdown: Cleaner air and health benefits

Ms Mahima Uttreja
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Ms Meena Sehgal

During COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the clear skies and clean air have turned out to be the blessings in disguise for the millions affected due to air pollution in India.

अगले 10 साल हैं ज़रूरी: WSDS में होगी 2030 के लक्ष्यों को पूरा करने के लिए चर्चा

Ms Shweta

- 20 देशों के प्रतिनिधि आएंगे साथ एक ही मंच पर - वायु प्रदूषण, ई-गतिशीलता, नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा, ऊर्जा दक्षता, हरित वित्त, नीली अर्थव्यवस्था, टिकाऊ खपत, कई मुख विषयों पर होगी चर्चा। - सतत विकास में योगदान की होगी पहचान, सस्टेनेबल डेवलपमेंट लीडरशिप अवार्ड से नवाज़ा जाएगा।

Events

Launch of Catalogue of Indian Emission Inventory Reports

January 14, 2022
to January 14, 2022

By providing a database of all publicaly available Emission Inventory Reports and previously unreferred studies for India, the report will aid policymakers and scientists prepare reckoner of all the work done in this area.

Webinar and Report Release on Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Control Options for Managing Air Quality in Delhi

December 9, 2021
to December 9, 2021

The webinar will discuss the air quality and cost scenarios assessed in the report

On 9th December 2021 | 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM (IST)

Webinar on Health Effects of Air Pollution (Pune and Nashik)

June 29, 2021
to June 29, 2021

The webinar under the Clean Air Project India, will address the severe health issues resulting from air pollution followed by a panel discussion with health experts dealing with patients suffering from diseases that can be attributed to air pollution.

Webinar on 'Restoring Air Quality for Healthy Ecosystem'

June 4, 2021
to June 4, 2021

The webinar under the Clean Air Project India, will focus on the issue of restoring health with a healthy ecosystem. It will also hold an expert session for stakeholders to discuss issues related to health and air pollution.

Media sensitization workshop on Air pollution, sources, and impacts in Pune and Nashik

March 9, 2021
to March 9, 2021

The event aims to sensitize and build capacity of media professionals for effective and adequate reporting on air pollution and the possible solutions for cities of Lucknow and Kanpur

Webinar II on 'Air Quality and Public Health Challenges'

February 19, 2021
to February 19, 2021

The second webinar in the series will focus on health impact challenges that is posed by exposure to air pollution exposure especifically in the region of South Asia.

News

Gasping for breath: What is India doing about its air pollution crisis?

May 30, 2023 |
May 30, 2023
WION

India has implemented a variety of regulations aimed at various sources of air pollution, ranging from industry to road traffic. Despite this, its air quality has steadily deteriorated, to the degree of today's public health catastrophe.  The difficulty in achieving a lasting impact from these initiatives is multi-faceted said Mr Suresh Ramasubramanya Iyer, Senior Fellow and Area Convenor, Centre for Environmental Studies, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

Harder to breathe: Mumbai wheezes its way to becoming pollution capital

March 21, 2023 |
March 21, 2023
Business Standard

The Swiss air tracking index, IQAir, ranked Mumbai and the Mumbai metropolitan region as India's most polluted urban centre. Mumbai's AQI ranged between 200 and 400 on Most days in January and February. Due to La Nina, the air transfer between sea and land, which used to happen every two to three days, slowed down to a seven to 10-day cycle this winter, says Dr Anju  Goel, Fellow, Earth Science and Climate Change Division, TERI.

Soon, Delhi's air pollution sources to be available in real time

January 29, 2023 |
January 29, 2023
The Hindu

A "super site" and mobile laboratory (a lab-on-wheels capturing air pollution readings and sources from various parts of the city) are set to be opened by the chief minister, Mr. Arvind Kejriwal. These were used for the "real-time source apportionment study," under which data on Delhi's air were collected. A model (software) was created giving sources of air pollution by using air from the surroundings as input. The source apportionment study is being done by IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi, TERI, and IISER Mohali at the cost of around Rs 12 crores for the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.

Study on local polluters in 3 Haryana cities gets nod, will help make roadmap to improve air

January 14, 2023 |
January 14, 2023
The Times of India

A PM2.5 and PM10 source apportionment study, with a focus on identifying local polluters, will take place for the first time in Gurugram, Sonipat and Panipat. The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has given its nod to the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to conduct this study. TERI is conducting a similar study in Faridabad.

At Boardroom Brunch with News9, experts suggest ways to clean Delhi's air

December 13, 2022 |
December 13, 2022
News9

The experts' panel of the Digital Boardroom Brunch, News9 Live, made several points to both explain Delhi's air pollution crisis and provide a way ahead. According to Mr. Nimish Singh, Associate Fellow, TERI, MSMEs, the backbone of the Indian economy, are not given the due emphasis they require when talking about air pollution and its solutions. For MSMEs, cost-effectiveness trumps any environmental considerations and the authorities need to provide economically-viable alternatives to the emission-heavy practices of MSMEs.

Delhi's air quality improves on back of winds, rains in Rajasthan, Haryana

November 9, 2022 |
November 9, 2022
Business Standard

A smoky haze had lowered the visibility levels to 800 metres at these places on 8 November. Southeasterly winds gusting up to 30 kmph barrelled through parts helped improve the situation. According to a study conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute in 2018, vehicular emissions account for around 40 per cent of the PM 2.5 pollution in the capital.

Policy

Could the National Capital Region serve as a control region for effective air quality management in Delhi?

November 4, 2020

Air pollution does not follow administrative boundaries, and needs to be tackled at the regional "airshed" level at which it is caused. Identifying the appropriate candidates for airshed management requires scientific analysis using systematically developed emissions inventories and dispersion models to simulate the impact of the estimated emissions on air quality.

Emissions control in thermal power stations: Issues, challenges, and the way forward

February 21, 2020

As per TERI's analysis, of the total environmental pollution in 2016, the power sector reportedly accounted for 51% of sulphur dioxide (SO2), 43% of carbon dioxide (CO2), 20% of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and 7% of PM2.5 emissions.

Crop residue management: Solution to achieve better air quality

January 30, 2020

Residents of different cities (probably villages too) of India breathe some of the least healthy air of the globe. During 2017, about 76.8% of the population of India were exposed to annual population-weighted mean PM2·5 greater than the limit recommended by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQ: 40 mg/m3) (Balakrishnan, Dey, Gupta, et al. 2019). Over last five years, the annual population-weighted mean ambient PM2·5 concentrations were significantly higher over the Indo- Gangetic Plain (IGP) region in comparison to other parts of the country.

Fleet Modernization: A solution to achieve better air quality

December 10, 2019

India's transport demand has grown from a total of 5.3 million in 1981 to 230 million in 2016, with two-wheelers and cars having 73% and 14% share, respectively. Commercial vehicles though constitute only about 5% of the total fleet, contribute to nearly 80% of total PM emissions.

Phase-wise implementation of fleet modernization (transforming pre BS-IV commercial vehicles to BS-VI) would lead to a 40-80% reduction in PM and NOx emissions from the sector by 2025.

Opportunities with Biofuel: Co-benefit of Air Quality Improvement

December 5, 2019

While biofuels have been discussed as one of the ways to reduce air pollution, changing the process of bio-diesel production is needed to reduce tailpipe emissions of nanoparticles. These are lesser known pollutants even more harmful than PM2.5 and PM10.

Position paper on Improving Inspection and Maintenance System for In-use Vehicles in India

March 3, 2017

The transport sector is an important contributor to pollution in cities. The sector accounts for a significant contribution in PM2.5 concentrations in most Indian cities. In Bengaluru, the sector accounts for almost 50% of PM2.5 concentrations.

Area Convener, Centre for Environmental Studies