By Karuna Madan
New Delhi: Motor vehicle emissions are considered the major reason for poor air quality in Delhi. According to some reports, 80 per cent of PM2.5 air pollution is caused by vehicular traffic, though other surveys suggest the percentage is lower. Other causes include wood-burning fires, fires on agricultural land, exhaust from diesel generators, dust from construction sites, and burning garbage.
Badarpur Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant built in 1973, is another major source of air pollution in Delhi. Despite producing less than 8 per cent of the city’s electric power, it produces 80 to 90 per cent of the particulate matter pollution from the electric power sector in Delhi. During the Great Smog of Delhi in November 2016, the Badarpur Power Plant was temporarily shut down to alleviate the acute air pollution, but was allowed to restart on February 1, 2017.
