National Ambient Air Quality Standards (naaqs) In An Environment

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which are standardized air quality standards for the entire country, have been created by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). In 2019, the NCAP was deployed across India with the aim of reducing particulate matter levels in 132 cities by 20-30% in 2024. A city is considered to be out of compliance if it continually fails to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) over a five-year period. 

 

•    The 1970s saw a rise in interest in air quality management methods in India.

 

•    It became clear that the nation required a uniform environmental law following the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment in 1972.

 

•    As a result, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was enacted by Parliament in 1981.

 

•    The first recommendations for ambient air quality were adopted in 1982 by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

 

•    The agencies in charge of creating and enforcing air quality regulations are the CPCB and a number of State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs).

 

•    The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is empowered to establish standards for the quality of the air under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.

 

•    As a result, in November 2009, the CPCB declared the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

 

•    The 2009 regulations standardized the national criteria and significantly lowered the pollutants' maximum allowable values.

 

•    Basic Standards: Primary standards are created with a sufficient margin of safety to protect human health, taking into mind vulnerable populations like infants, the elderly, and people with respiratory diseases.

 

•    Additional Standards: Secondary standards are developed to protect against any pollution's known or anticipated adverse effects on the general public, property damage, traffic risks, economic values, and individual comfort and wellbeing.

 

•    Standards must accurately reflect the most recent state of scientific knowledge.

 

•    Industrial areas used to be subject to less stringent rules than residential areas.

 

The following pollutants are included in the National Ambient Air Quality Standards:

•    Sulphur dioxide (SO2),

•    Nitrogen dioxide (NO2),

•    The particulate matter having a size less than 10 microns (PM10),

•    The particulate matter having a size less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5),

•    Ozone

•    Lead

•    Carbon monoxide (CO)

•    Arsenic

•    Nickel

•    Benzene

•    Ammonia, and

•    Benzopyrene

 

•    To provide direction to the central government on any matter pertaining to improving the quality of the air and preventing, controlling, and reducing air pollution.

 

•    To plan and oversee the execution of a national programme to prevent, manage, and reduce air pollution.

 

•    To provide technical assistance and advise to the State Pollution Control Board.

 

•    To carry out and support research and studies on the mitigation, control, and prevention of air pollution.

 

•    Assemble, disseminate, and collect technical and statistical data regarding air pollution.

 

•    Establishing and removing air quality regulations.

 

•    Thanks to the authority given to it by the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, the CPCB has the power to set standards for air quality.

 

•    The Central Pollution Control Board is in charge of the National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP), a federal initiative whose goals include tracking critical air pollution levels, disclosing infractions, and researching pollution trends.

 

•    At 342 operational sites in 127 cities throughout India, NAMP tracks levels of SO2, NO2, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM / PM10).

 

•    Here is a list of cities that the NAMP has published that breach air quality guidelines.

 

•    On November 29, 2011, the MoEP announced that PM2.5 would now be monitored at a few key places in major cities.

 

•    India's population-weighted mean annual ambient PM2.5 exposure was estimated to be 55 g m3 in the reference year, 2015.

 

•    India has a wide range of exposures, with the Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) having the highest exposure.

 

•    Annual PM2.5 exposure in India as a whole exceeds these guidelines in 58, 67, 83, 97, and 99 percent of districts, respectively.

 

•    Annual exposure levels are higher than the NAAQS in every district of Northwest India and the Gangetic Plain.

 

•    Only 22, 19, and 2% of the districts in North, Northeast, and South India exceed the NAAQS, compared to 82 and 50% of the districts in Central and West India, respectively. 

 

•    The National Air Quality Index (AQI), which ranges from good to severe, was introduced in 2014 in order to evaluate and rank the air quality.

 

•    Complexity: When compared to the Air Quality Index (AQI), the NAAQS was more intricate and challenging for the average individual to comprehend.

 

•    The AQI was created with the goal of bettering the general public's understanding of the state of the air.

 

•    The idea of "One Number-One Color-One Description" was behind the introduction of the AQI.

 

•    Taken Pollutants: The AQI only takes into consideration 8 major pollutants, but the NAAQS 2009 considers 12 contaminants. Another difference between the two standards is this.

 

•    All NAAQS pollutants are included in AQI with the exclusion of nickel, benzene, benzopyrene, arsenic, and others.

 

•    The AQI of the city is equal to the worst reading for each of the eight contaminants used to compute it. The short-term National Ambient Air Quality Standards (up to a 24-hour averaging period) are based on these eight contaminants.

 

•    In India, the re-establishment of the new national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) is anticipated for 2022.

 

•    The updated recommendations would cover a wider range of pollutants, such as ultra-fine particulate matter that is smaller than PM2.5.

 

•    The WHO recommendations and the requirements of each country will be taken into account before a decision is made.

 

•    The experts will also consider India's geographical and meteorological characteristics when making recommendations for upgrading NAAQS.

 

•    The researchers will map the impacts of air pollution on human health and flora in addition to recalibrating locations and timings for long and short frequencies. 

 

It should be considered sufficient justification to establish routine or continuous monitoring and further investigation whenever and wherever monitoring findings on two consecutive days of monitoring exceed the restrictions stated above for the relevant category under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. However, these norms for ambient air quality are only intended to be guides for decision-makers and are not enforceable. NAAQS are updated on a regular basis to take into account new research on air pollution monitoring and its effects on human health.