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India may be enjoying an unprecedented economic boom, but the country is also facing a darkening environmental scenario.
    A just-published research paper has warned that a blanket of smog hanging over the subcontinent is cutting down sunlight. In fact, the study, by Padma Kumari and her team of scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, says India is getting about 5% less sunlight than it did 20 years ago.
    Published in the Geophysical Research Letters and reported in the New Scientist this week, the study found that the amount of solar radiation reaching India’s land mass dropped on an average by 0.86 watts per square metre each year. The decrease was greater during the ’90s than in the ’80s, suggesting that increased industrial activity was accelerating the trend.
    Padma Kumari and team studied data from the India Meteorological Department, measuring differences in solar radiation at 12 stations across India between 1981 and 2004. They determined that the average decline corresponded to a 5% drop in sunshine over the two decades.
    According to Kumari, smog from industrialization, vehicular pollution, biomass burning, dust storms and the like, is increasing Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD). Greater AOD, which is the optical depth due to extinction by the aerosol component of the atmosphere, results in reduced sunshine.
    “And because India is on a steep industrialization and development curve, the AOD is only increasing, and sunshine lessening,’’ she told TOI from her office in Pune. How bad it would get depended on a variety of factors, she added, pointing also to a reverse trend in the West.
    “The phenomenon occurs more due to increased aerosol loading in the atmosphere which is the integrated effects of urbanization, industrialization, greater use of vehicles, biomass burning and some other natural causes,’’ she said.
    Ironically, this phenomenon, known as “solar dimming’’, may also be protecting India against global warming. Kumari and her colleagues believe that India is escaping the worst of the warming by greenhouse gas emissions because of smog.
PLUS MINUS
India is getting 5% less sunlight than it did 20 years ago because of a blanket of smog, says a new study
This is because of the integrated effects of industrialization, urbanization and greater use of vehicles
Ironically, the ‘solar dimming’ may be protecting the country from global warming by greenhouse gas emissions
Maximum temperatures during the day have risen by just 0.040°Celsius because of the smog shield. Minimum nighttime temperatures have risen by a much greater 0.310°C Smog shields against global warming
Washington: A study by a team of scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune has revealed that smog has resulted in India getting lesser sunlight than it did 20 years ago. Ironically, this phenomenon—solar dimming—may also be protecting India against global warming.
    Padma Kumari, who led the team, and her colleagues believe India is also escaping the worst of the warming by greenhouse gas emissions because of smog. Looking at temperature records since the ‘80s, they found maximum and minimum temperatures have both increased, but to different extents.
    Maximum temperatures, which occur during the day, driven by sunshine, have risen by just 0.040°C because of smog’s protective effect. Meanwhile, minimum night-time temperatures, independent of sunshine, have risen by a much greater 0.310°C. However, if the West’s experience and the correctives it applied are any indication, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and brighter days may be ahead, although it might not be anytime soon.
    It turns out that smog produced by the US and Europe until about 1980 had resulted in similar dimming across the world, according to a separate paper by Martin Wild cited by Kumari. But when the West cleaned up its act in the ’80s and ’90s—just as India and China were starting to spew—clearer skies returned. Researchers have described this as “global brightening’’. The downside is that this was accompanied by an accelerated rise in global temperatures.
    Incidentally, Kumari and the team also found that solar dimming over India reduced during the monsoon—because rains brought the fine particles back to earth, allowing more sunshine—giving a new twist to the expression through rain and shine.

While Festival Gets Softer On The Ears, No Heed Is Paid To 10pm Noise Deadline.

This Diwali was a quieter festival as compared to previous years with people preferring to use light-based, noiseless crackers. However, in most parts of Mumbai and the suburbs, the 10pm deadline was broken, a survey has revealed.
    The Supreme Court has disallowed the bursting of all noisy crackers after 10pm. Even pre-10pm rules were not adhered to, said noise pollution activists and residents. Before 10pm, crackers of upto 65 dB can be lit in residential areas and 45 dB in silent zones. Fireworks of upto 120 dB, which manufacturers have permission to make, can only be lit in open grounds.
    Whether it was Bandra, Worli or Borivali, noisy crackers could be heard after 10pm, leading to several complaints from residents to the police control room. The survey by the NGO Awaaz has shown that at around 10.55pm on Friday a reading of 120 dB was recorded at Nariman Point near Hotel Oberoi. Near Sena Bhavan, Dadar, 115 dB was recorded at around 11.30pm.
    At Pali Hill, Bandra (West), a predominantly residential area, crackers were heard upto 2.30 on Saturday morning, the survey revealed. At Kantwadi Road, Bandra, crackers were burst after 10 pm despite complaints from residents to police.
    Several residents were unhappy that the law wasn’t properly enforced. “We don’t know about decibel levels, but the sounds from crackers were really annoying and we didn’t see any policemen doing checks,’’ said Yogesh Datare from Kalina.
    “We could not sleep till late midnight. The police were not patrolling in the area and even after we called up the police chowky they did not turn up for
    over an hour,’’
    complained Supriya Patel, of Little Flower society at IC Colony, Borivali.
    Senior citizens and hospital patients can face severe problems during indiscriminate bursting of crackers. A reading of 105 dB was taken at Jaslok Hospital, a silence zone, at 9.45pm.
    Children too faced difficulty. “My child was waking up in shock every now and then when a cracker burst. We made a mistake of staying back in Mumbai during Diwali,’’ said Ashish Digvijakar, a resident of Mhada colony, Goregoan.
    High post-10pm noise was also detected at Marine Drive near the Police Gymnkhana, Girgaum Chowaptty and Dadar. At Worli Sea-face the noise was comparatively low (100 dB), but it was heightened by the burning of plastic and thermocole, the survey said.

    Sumaira Abdulali, founder president of Awaaaz, said, “The state has failed to inform people about the ban on noisy fireworks after 10pm. People are now aware of the adverse effects of noisy crackers, but they are sill confused about the deadline.’’ However, an interesting positive trend involves housing societies collectively bursting crackers, thus reducing the number of fireworks used. In areas like Shivaji Park, Andheri and Dahisar, housing societies opted for such celebrations. At Ashiward housing society, Dahisar, members collected a fund to burst crackers. “Such community celebrations, especially outside silence or residential zones, should be encouraged,’’ Abdulali said. “The state can also organise laser shows and other cultural events during the festival to reduce sound and air pollution.’’
    A DIFFERENT DIWALI
    About 4,000 followers of Mumbai-based spiritual group, Srimad Rajchandra Ashram, gathered at the remnants of a palace in Dharampur in Gujarat to celebrate Diwali in a unique way.
    The group, which is inspired by Jain philosophy, celebrated Diwali, keeping the basic Jain ideals of ahimsa (non-violence) and jayna (altruism) in mind. “Diwali is the festival of light and we were uplifted from spiritual darkness,’’ said Komal Shah, a member of Jivanarpit (youth wing of Srimad Rajchandra Ashram) and a student.
    Srimad Rajchandra Ashram believes that festivals should be free of ritualism. “Diwali is a festival to rejoice the victory of good over evil. We performed a bhav yagna (sacrifice of ill feelings) and we destroyed our negative energy in an imaginary holy fire,’’ said Shah, a student.
    “Crackers is forbidden at the ashram as it is a form of hinsa (violence),’’ said Shah. The Dharampur palace is lit with diyas instead of electricity, which “causes hinsa to insects’’. Jivanarpit uses the occasion to collect funds for the Jivadaya trust that provides for animals. “It is our duty to extend charity to animals,’’ said 65-year-old Vasumati Shah.