Air quality in Delhi has reached the last stage of Index: How is China addressing the issue of pollution?

The air quality in Delhi has now reached the final stage of the index,' severe plus,' making residents vulnerable to serious health problems.

Also read: IIT Kanpur developed a solution to deal with Delhi’s air pollution problem

The national capital's air quality index (AQI) was 454 on Sunday, prompting the central government to take all possible measures to prevent air pollution from reaching new heights.

According to real-time data, the average AQI was 470 this morning, nearly 20 times higher than the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended limit. The latest air quality index has reached 490, according to aqi.in.

Fire combustion from neighbouring states deteriorates air quality

One of the main causes of Delhi's terrible air quality has been identified as the increased burning of paddy straw in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh before the rabi crop season. However, Gopal Rai, the environment minister of Delhi, believes that the reason for the declining AQI is the combustion of stubble, which is only found in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and not in Punjab.

China’s Pollution level

China's weather bureau reports that "foggy and hazy" conditions are common in parts of the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, and Hubei, as well as the capital city of Beijing and the megacity of Tianjin. In all, over 100 million people call these locations home.

On Wednesday, Beijing awoke to a polluted morning. Its 22 million inhabitants wore face masks as they walked through streets covered in a thick gray haze.

At times, visibility has been reduced to less than 50 meters (164 feet) due to "severe" pollution in certain areas.

Data from air quality monitoring company IQAir showed that Beijing had five days with "unhealthy" pollution levels last week, compared with just three such days over the previous three weeks.

Beijing, just ahead of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, was ranked as the third most polluted city on Earth on Wednesday by IQAir. On Thursday, Beijing had fallen to 13th place, while Delhi maintained its top spot. Mumbai came in at number nine.

How china is addressing this issue?

Increased use of natural gas

Greater use of natural gas has significantly reduced Beijing's urban air pollution, which was previously known for its terrifying, gloomy, smog-filled skies.

The example set by the Chinese capital provides a model for other developing cities facing comparable difficulties. These cities, too, can drastically improve quality of life, reduce harmful health outcomes, and cut urban emissions by moving away from coal, the dirtiest and most polluting energy source.

Imports of liquefied natural gas

Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) were also crucial to Beijing's transition to clean air. China built five LNG import terminals close to Beijing between 2013 and 2018, totaling less than 40 billion cubic meters. Furthermore, the greater use of natural gas in the nearby provinces of Hebei and Liaoning, as well as the municipality of Tianjin, has contributed to the decrease in coal pollution in the greater Beijing area.

It is obvious that imports of natural gas, particularly LNG, have been crucial in lowering urban pollution in China. Between 2011 and 2021, China's total imports of natural gas more than quadrupled, while its imports of LNG increased during this time from just under 17 bcm to 110 bcm

Strict emission regulations

The improvement in air quality scores can be attributed to multiple factors. Key drivers are as follows, according to Lauri Myllyvirta of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air: enacting strict emissions regulations and employing emissions-control technologies for power plants and high-emission industries; doing away with coal-based home heating and cooking; and reducing the rate of increase in coal consumption.

Undoubtedly, Beijing's decision to embrace natural gas was a significant factor in its ability to decrease local coal production while preserving energy access

Turkmenistan meets China's natural gas needs

China also turned to Turkmenistan, which is most likely the world's most methane-intensive producer, negating the environmental benefits of switching from coal to gas. Although natural gas production releases less methane emissions than coal does, coal still emits far more carbon dioxide.

Methane traps radiation more effectively than carbon dioxide, but it lasts less time in the atmosphere. Turkmenistan provides China with the majority of its natural gas imports from Central Asia. The country produces 1.37 kg of methane per gigajoule, which is more than six times more than what is produced in the US, even before the IRA encouraged producers to reduce methane output.

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