Even BS VI emissions in Delhi, Gurugram higher than on paper, finds study | Latest News India
A new study has found that real-world emissions from vehicles in Delhi and Gurugram, even those complying with the latest Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) emission standards, are significantly higher than what they are meant to be on paper.
Haze and smog in the Delhi-NCR region on July 23. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)
The findings — including readings that were a whopping 5-14.2 times for some types of goods vehicles and at least four times higher for taxis — appear to suggest the emissions certifications system and its enforcement is woefully inadequate and that pollution control obligations may have remained only on paper.
Even CNG-fuelled cars, which were previously considered a cleaner alternative, on average emitted 1.5 times higher pollution than they were meant to conform to. CNG light goods vehicles were found to be the biggest emitter of NOx ((nitrous oxides), CO (carbon monoxide), hydrocarbon (HC), and particulate matter (PM) within BS VI fleet in Delhi. Across all kinds of fleet and segments, BS IV CNG buses were the top pollutant.
The study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) was conducted in collaboration with the Delhi Transport department and Gurugram Deputy Commissioner’s office using remote sensing technology. Sensors were placed at 20 locations — 15 in Delhi and five in Gurugram — with which the team studied real-world tailpipe emissions from vehicles.
Of particular concern appeared to be NOx (nitrous oxides) pollutants, which are a key cause of smog and the ultrafine PM2.5 particles, even in the latest BS VI vehicle, but in particular commercial vehicles, such as buses, taxis and light goods vehicles, or mini trucks.
““The top pollutant in Delhi and most of Northern India is usually is particulate matter (PM), which also receives more attention is various studies. However, we are seeing that NOx emissions need to monitored very effectively from the transport sector because NOx contributes to secondary particulate matter and in turn high pollution levels in Delhi NCR,” said Amit Bhatt, India managing director ICCT in a press conference on Friday.
Bhatt explained that “real-world emissions of BS VI vehicles are found to be higher compared to the lab values mainly because of loading, road conditions, maintenance etc”. The current PUC regime does not capture particulate matter and NOx emissions for petrol and CNG, while for diesel it is basically capturing none of the criteria pollutant — which makes the testing system in need of a complete revamp.
To be sure, the report found that progression in emission standards generally led to significant reductions in emissions across all vehicles and pollutant types. But while BS VI vehicles showed substantial improvements over BS IV, many still exceeded the limits they have been certified for, especially for NOx.
The study also found that the current Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) test is not reflective of real-world driving emissions.
Bhatt stated, “It is evident that real-world emissions from transport vehicles differ significantly from their laboratory values. For the first time in India, we have collected significant emissions data from motor vehicles on the road and it is crucial to remember that what impacts our air quality is not the laboratory emissions, but the pollutants released by these vehicles when they are in operation. Therefore, it’s time to reimagine our emissions testing regime and aggressively push for the adoption of zero-emission vehicles.”
The results showed that compared to the lab limits, real world NOx emissions from BS IV light goods vehicles (LGVs) were 14-25 times the permissible limits, and around 14 times for BS IV petrol taxis as well as BS VI LGVs.
Compared to the PUCC limits, 51.4% of the BS IV LGVs, 15.6% of the BS VI taxis and 44-47% of the BS IV taxis and 31.3% of the BS IV private cars, exhibited real world concentration of HC more than twice the limit. Similarly, 37.6% of the BS IV LGVs, 28% of the BS IV taxis and 17.5% of the BS VI taxis exhibited real world concentration of CO more than twice the limit.
The results suggest a need for combined benefits of stricter emission standards and an accelerated shift to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), at least in the commercial vehicle category, ICCT recommended. Agencies like the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR could implement policies such as a ZEV sales mandate and a combustion engine phaseout programme targeted at highly polluting vehicle segments.
Sheila Watson, deputy director of the Foundation for the Automobile and Society, commented, “This important research clearly shows India and the rest of the world that compressed natural gas is not the clean alternative fuel which was promised. While Delhi battles with dirty air, a visible killer hanging over the city, the study has shown that this less visible but still deadly fuel is not the answer. For health and for the climate, the solutions to dirty air are to switch to walking, cycling, and shared electric mobility.”
The study’s findings are particularly significant given Delhi’s history with CNG. In 1998, the Supreme Court ordered all public transport vehicles in Delhi running on diesel to switch to CNG by 2001, including buses, three-wheelers, and taxis.
Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director of the Centre for Science and Environment, commented on the findings: “While CNG has played a significant role in curbing toxic and carcinogenic particulate emissions from diesel vehicles in Delhi, the new assessment of the real-world emissions shows that NOx emissions from on-road CNG fleet can be high. While CNG has been a transitional fuel, the solution cannot be substituting one transitional fuel with another to get cleaner emissions. But to move towards zero tailpipe emissions or electric vehicles.”
The study included two-wheelers, three-wheelers, cars, taxis, buses and light goods vehicles, but not heavy goods vehicles like trucks as these were not allowed during the winter months when the study was conducted. Of the total vehicles studied, 52.9% were registered in Delhi, 27.9% were registered in Haryana, 13.7% were registered in Uttar Pradesh, while the rest were from other states. The campaign was conducted across 20 test sites over 65 days from December 2022 to April 2023, capturing 111,712 valid measurements.
Vehicle information such as registration date, vehicle type, fuel type, emission standard, and other technical specifications were retrieved from the vehicle registration database, Vahan.
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