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Time of India
5 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Living near coal plants? You may be inhaling 10 times more sulphur dioxide, says IIT Delhi study
New Delhi: If you live near a coal-fired power plant, the air you breathe may carry ten times more sulphur dioxide than in areas far from such facilities, a new study by IIT Delhi has found. The report reveals that cities located within 10 kilometres of thermal power plants recorded an annual average SO₂ concentration of 16.4 micrograms per cubic metre, sharply higher than the 1.5 micrograms recorded in cities beyond 25 kilometres. The study, conducted by the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences at IIT Delhi, categorised cities into three groups based on their distance from thermal power plants and analysed SO₂ concentrations using Central Pollution Control Board's Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) data between 2019 and 2022. The findings show a consistent trend of rising sulphur dioxide levels in cities that are closer to coal-fired units. 'Results indicate that cities in closer proximity to thermal power plants have significantly higher annual average SO₂ concentrations,' the report said. The analysis attributes this disparity to direct emissions from coal-based thermal units, where pollution control technologies like flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) are either absent or yet to be implemented. The findings come at a time when implementation deadlines for sulphur dioxide emission standards, initially finalised in 2015, have been extended to as late as 2027 in several regions. The report adds that thermal power plants located near dense population centres should be prioritised for early installation of emission control systems to reduce exposure levels. The study aims to support policymakers in refining location-based emission strategies and emphasises the need for urgent intervention in coal plant clusters situated near large urban populations.
NDTV
29-05-2025
- Climate
- NDTV
Scientists Warn Heat Waves To Last Longer, Affect More Areas In India
New Delhi: Heat waves in India are expected to last longer and affect larger regions, scientists have warned, as climate change continues to intensify extreme weather events. Climate models show that the area and duration of heat waves in India would increase, said Krishna Achuta Rao, Head, Centre for Atmospheric Sciences at Delhi's Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Speaking at the India Heat Summit 2025, organised by research group Climate Trends, Rao said "this means the northern plains and several states across the southern peninsula will experience heat waves that last longer and cover larger areas". "What might have been a week-long event could turn into a month-and-a-half or two-month-long event. Our future looks very stark," he added. The scientist said the models also suggest that heat waves may occur during the monsoon months which could be more dangerous. "This is especially worrying because it will be hot and humid, with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius," added Rao. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) sixth assessment report and recent scientific papers have warned of more frequent and intense heat waves in South Asia even during monsoon months. Farooq Azam, senior cryosphere specialist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), said the rising temperatures are melting glaciers faster, affecting water availability in India's rivers. Azam said the country depends heavily on water from glaciers for agriculture and electricity generation. At present, there is more water because of warming-driven glacier melt, but there is a threshold beyond which glaciers will start contributing less water, called peak water. Some models project that peak water could occur around 2050 in the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins, while some studies suggest it may have already been reached in the Brahmaputra system, he added. Azam warned that this could mean "more floods until 2050" and water shortages afterwards. He said that 2022 saw the most negative glacier mass balance -- more ice was lost than gained -- although annual temperatures were higher in 2023 and 2024. "This is because early heat waves in March 2022 led to early melting of glaciers, resulting in high river flows when water was not needed. The early heat waves and early monsoon contributed to the devastating floods in Pakistan that year," added Azam. ICIMOD's Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment and studies by the World Weather Attribution have linked glacier melt and climate change to increased flood risk in the region. The senior cryosphere specialist also said that glacier melt in the Himalayas has more immediate impacts than glacier loss in Iceland or the Arctic, as the Himalayan glaciers supply water to more than a billion people in the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins.
