Weekly Environmental News Update for Week 37, 2021

Weekly environmental news update from across different media networks for Week 37 (Sep 13 to Sep 19) 2021.

1. Delhi must cut PM2.5 by 58% to meet annual standards
   Delhi still needs to reduce its annual PM2.5 load by another 58% to meet national air quality standards.
2. Delhi issues 14-point guidelines for construction firms to curb dust pollution
   Delhi government issued an ultimatum to construction agencies, as it released a 14-point set of dust mitigation guidelines and gave them 15 days to adhere to the directions to control dust pollution in their sites.
3. Delhi govt bans storage, sale, use of firecrackers during Diwali
   Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced a ban on the storage, sale and use of firecrackers during Diwali this year.
4. Cold discomfort: Winter pollution worsened in 11 of Delhi hotspots
   The data from the last two winters reveal that 11 of the 13 hotspots in Delhi witnessed an increase in pollution in 2020-21 as against the previous winter.
5. 64% of Delhi’s winter pollution not its doing
   A recent source-apportionment study jointly conducted by TERI and ARAI indicates that 64% of PM2.5 pollutants blow into Delhi from upwind areas in the neighbouring states, the rest being locally generated.
6. Stubble burning: Delhi CM urges Centre to ask neighbouring states to use Pusa bio-decomposer 
   Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the Centre to ask the neighbouring states to use a bio-decomposer developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute to avoid stubble burning in agricultural fields.
7. Delhi to get 300 e-buses in January 2022: DTC official 
   Delhi will receive its first fleet of 300 e-buses in January 2022 since the tender for it has matured, said Ravinder Singh Minhas, Deputy Chief General Manager (Traffic and Public Relations), DTC.
8. Pollution: Delhi ranks depts on complaint resolution, East DMC on top
   The Delhi government has ranked 14 departments based on their performance in resolving pollution-related complaints, with the East Delhi Municipal Corporation topping the charts, followed by the PWD and SDMC.
9. DDA plans to develop Sanjay Van as ecotourism hub
   The Delhi Development Authority is planning to develop Sanjay Van in south Delhi, the 783-acre green lung of the national capital, as an ecotourism destination.
10. Delhi Jal Board to offer financial assistance for rainwater harvesting system
    Water minister Satyendar Jain said the Delhi Jal Board will provide a financial assistance up to ₹50,000 and a rebate of 10% on water bills to those who install rooftop rainwater harvesting systems in their homes.
11. STP at Okhla to be completed by 2022 end
    The STP will have a capacity of 564 Million Litres Per Day and will be spread over an area of 110 acres and will be completed by the end of 2022.
12. Hry readies pollution plan for 5 ‘critical’ areas 
    The Haryana government said it is preparing a special action plan to mitigate air pollution this winter season in five ‘critical’ areas — Gurgaon, Faridabad, Panipat, Sonipat and Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district.
13. Niti Aayog Launches ‘Shoonya’ Program to Promote Zero-Pollution Delivery Vehicles 
    Niti Aayog, a public policy think-tank along with Rocky Mountain Institute launched an initiative “Shoonya” to promote zero-pollution delivery vehicles by working with consumers and industry.
14. 2 Indian projects among 15 finalists for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize
    Tamil Nadu schoolgirl’s solar-powered ironing cart project and a Delhi entrepreneur’s agricultural waste recycling concept were named among 15 finalists from hundreds of nominations across the world for the first-ever Earthshot Prize.
15. WRI Connect Karo 2021: ‘Nature-based solutions best to tackle water pollution’ 
    With most sources of water pollution traced to urban areas, there is a need for nature-based solutions and better planning in cities to tackle the issue in metropolitan areas, said experts at the 2021 edition of the World Resources Institute annual flagship event, Connect Karo.
16. 50°C temperature becoming more frequent: Report
    The number of extremely hot days in a year – when the temperature soars past the 50 degrees Celsius mark – has doubled across the world since the 1980s, according to an analysis by BBC which underlined the harsh realities of the global climate crisis.
17. Tree plantations may not improve forest cover or livelihood benefits: Research
    The paper published on September 13 in Nature Sustainability suggests that the percentage of each plantation area classified as having more than 40% tree canopy density did not increase after establishment of plantations.
18. Need to focus on environment, clean energy: Heavy industries minister
    Heavy industries minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said there is a collective responsibility to focus on the environment and strengthen the nation in the area of clean energy.
19. Climate action dialogue: US envoy lauds India’s leadership on renewable energy 
    Kerry lauded India’s leadership on renewable energy but also underlined that it is now imperative that all parties to the Paris Agreement commit to a net zero emissions target by 2050.
20. India has successfully phased out consumption of ozone depleting substances: Ashwini Choubey 
    India has successfully phased out the production and consumption of several major ozone depleting substances, Union Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Choubey said during the 27^th Global Ozone Day event.
21. India shows economic development, clean energy can go hand-in-hand: John Kerry
    John Kerry met external affairs minister S Jaishankar and power minister RK Singh, after which he announced the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation dialogue.
22. World Bank Predicts Massive Internal Migration From Climate Change By 2050
    Climate change could displace more than 200 million people internally within their own country by 2050, says the World Bank.
23. ‘Larger than usual’: this year’s ozone layer hole bigger than Antarctica
    Scientists say ozone hole is unusually large for this stage in season and growing quickly.