Haze in Delhi

The government has been claiming that Delhi’s pollution levels have fallen drastically over the past few years but a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) paints a hazy picture for the Capital. The report warns of atmospheric brown clouds that have resulted from the burning of fossil fuels, biomass and include particles like black carbon and soot. According to CSE, there are several other cities smaller than Delhi where pollution levels are much higher. Delhi does have a problem with high levels of NO2 and RSPM but data shows that levels of other pollutants have come down. The brown cloud phenomenon over Asia in general is not surprising as it is a developing area.

Visit the following link to find out more
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/Indian_experts_sceptical_a…

According to UN report, A dirty brown haze sometimes more than a mile thick is darkening skies not only over vast areas of Asia, but also in the Middle East, southern Africa and the Amazon Basin, changing weather patterns and threatening health and food supplies. Atmospheric brown clouds when mixed with emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases are blamed for warming Earth’s atmosphere. This is the newest threat to the global environment, according to a report commissioned by the UNEP. These brown clouds are dimming the light by as much as 25% in some places, including Karachi, Pakistan, New Delhi, Shanghai and Beijing.

The phenomenon complicates the climate change scenario, because the brown clouds also help cool Earth’s surface and mask the effect of global warming by an average of 40%, according to the report.

For full report visit the following link
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-fg-brown14-2008nov14,0,29…