Is Delhi’s Odd-Even Car Policy Working?

  

Cyclists ride amidst morning smog in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. 

 

Manish Swarup/Associated Press

Delhi’s drivers have, largely, obeyed new rules aimed at restricting the number of cars on the Indian capital’s roads for five days,  but data shows air pollution remains at unhealthy levels.

The rules, which came into force Jan. 1 and are to last until Jan. 15, ban cars with number plates ending in an even number from the roads on odd-numbered dates and vice-versa. The government said it would fine offenders 2,000 rupees ($30) for violations.

The state government has been quick to declare the regulations a success, saying in a statement Jan. 6 that its data showed a “continuing declining trend in vehicular pollution.”

Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted Jan. 1:

The city’s air, however, was still visibly smoggy and pollution was above the “hazardous ” level Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Embassy’s air quality monitor in Delhi, and “very poor” according to the website of the Delhi government’s System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, or Safar.

Levels of tiny particles known as PM 2.5 in the Indian capital often exceed those deemed safe by the United Nations World Health Organization. The particles, from dirt, soot and smoke, can lodge in the lungs and cause respiratory illnesses.

The state government said it has made “elaborate arrangements” to measure air quality during the odd-even test. Since Jan. 1, mobile teams of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee have collected data from 72 locations, the state government’s website says.

The average measurement of PM 2.5 from the 17 locations chosen Tuesday was 353, the government said. WHO air-quality guidelines say that mean PM-2.5 levels should be below 10 for a year and not rise above 25 in any 24-hour period.

Monitoring in Delhi was done for 20 minutes at each site, according to data posted on the government’s website.

Pollution is worse in areas bordering Delhi, including those near the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh, agovernment statement from Jan. 5 said. That is because those areas bear the brunt of vehicular pollution including from trucks, it said.

Joshua Apte, an assistant professor in the department of environmental engineering at the University of Texas, who has studied Delhi’s pollution since 2007, said it is difficult to assess the success of the two-week experiment by looking at PM2.5 levels and comparing them with earlier readings, because weather conditions can also affect the amount of pollution.  Still, he said, “these policies have put air pollution on the map as an important issue.”

From Dec. 27 to Dec. 31, the five days prior to the implementation of the new rules, 24-hour levels of PM 2.5 at eight monitoring stations averaged 153.8, according to the Safar website, putting them firmly on the “very poor” end of the Safar scale.

Since the rules have come into force, levels have averaged 233.5, again in the “very poor” range. The worst day was Monday, when the reading was 280. On Sunday, when the rules didn’t apply, PM 2.5 was at 215, the Safar figures showed.

There are many exceptions to the regulations, meaning the number of cars hasn’t been halved each day.

Women driving alone or with children under 12, disabled drivers, people traveling in cars with diplomatic plates and motorcyclists are all exempt from the restrictions. As are many vehicles carrying VIPs or belonging to the military.

There are 1.9 million private cars registered in Delhi, according to the latest figures from the capital’s Transport Ministry. There are almost 4 million motorcycles and scooters.

Vehicle emissions contribute only between 20% to 40% of the PM 2.5 in Delhi’s air, said Prof. Apte of the University of Texas. Scientists at the Delhi Pollution Control Committee say  80% of PM-2.5 pollution is caused by vehicular traffic.

Other sources of the particulate matter include the burning of dung, rubbish and leaves, the use of diesel backup generators, which kick in when Delhi’s patchy electricity supply cuts out, and emissions from small-scale industries such as brick kilns.

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