Black Carbon: Explained

• In Lok Sabha, the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change outlined the various measures taken to counter black carbon.
• Under the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, under which ISRO operates a network of aerosol observatories and black carbon mass concentration is one of the parameters being measured.

What is black carbon?

• Soot, often known as black carbon, is a type of tiny particulate air pollution (PM2.5).
• It is created when fossil fuels, wood, and other fuels burn inefficiently.
• Soot is a term used frequently to describe the complicated mixture of particulate debris produced by incomplete combustion.
• CO2, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, organic carbon, and black carbon particles are all produced as a result of incomplete combustion.
• Black carbon has a brief lifespan in the atmosphere, only remaining there for a few days to a few weeks.
• India is the second-largest producer of black carbon in the world, and emissions are anticipated to skyrocket over the next few decades.

Impact of the black carbon:

• Black carbon is good at absorbing light and heating its surroundings, it plays a significant role in global warming.
• Additionally, it affects regional circulation, cloud formation, and rainfall patterns. Effect on health:
• It has an adverse effect on health as it is the main contributor to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution, which is the primary cause of ill health and early death due to the environment, is black carbon and its co-pollutants.
• Household and ambient (outdoor) PM2.5 air pollution is believed to be the cause of 7 million premature deaths annually.

Effects on Ecosystems and the Vegetation:

• In addition to depositing on plant leaves and raising their temperature, black carbon can also reduce the sunlight that reaches the earth and alter rainfall patterns, all of which can have an impact on ecosystem health.
• The effects of changing rainfall patterns can be felt far into the future on both ecosystems and human livelihoods.

Various steps by the government:

• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana encourages the use of cleaner fuels for home cooking.
• BS-IV to BS-VI standards for gasoline and automobiles will be skipped starting on April 1, 2020.
• More cities are now connected to the metro train network, which has been improved.
• Introduction of cleaner, alternative fuels, such as ethanol blends and gaseous fuels (CNG, LPG, etc.).
• As part of a new programme called "Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT)," 5000 compressed biogas (CBG) production facilities will be built, and CBG will then be sold on the open market.
• Agribusiness machines and equipment for in-situ crop residue management are promoted under the Central Sector Scheme on "Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for in-situ management of Crop Residue in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and NCT of Delhi" with a 50% subsidy to individual farmers and an 80% subsidy for the establishment of Custom Hiring Centers.
• The National Clean Air Programme is being implemented by the Central Government as a long-term, time-bound, national policy to address the issue of air pollution across the nation in a comprehensive manner, with aims to achieve a 40% decrease in particulate matter concentrations by 2025–26.
• Based on ambient air quality levels surpassing national ambient air quality requirements and cities with a million or more residents, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has designated 131 cities.
• For implementation in these cities, city-specific Clean Air Action Plans have been created and released.
• These plans specify time-bound goals to reduce air pollution from sources specific to each city (soil &road dust, vehicles, domestic fuel, municipal solid waste burning, construction material and industries, etc.).
• To ensure that the municipal plans are carried out effectively, annual plans with minute details are also created.
• The phase-2 of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) programme has been launched.
• Switching to zigzag technology in brick kilns to reduce pollution switching to natural gas piping for industrial units.

Solutions :

The following actions would significantly improve public health, particularly in underdeveloped nations.

Household Energy:

• Use clean-burning modern fuel cookstoves and clean-burning biomass stoves to replace traditional cooking methods.
• Get rid of kerosene lights.
• For heating and cooking, use coal briquettes instead of lump coal.
• Modernize conventional brick kilns by switching to vertical shaft kilns for industrial production.
• Adapt coke ovens to modern recovery ovens.

Transport:

• For both on- and off-road vehicles, use diesel particulate filters.
• Quick conversion to soot-free buses and trucks and Euro VI/6 vehicles
• Get rid of the high-emission diesel cars.

Agriculture:

• Prohibit the burning of agricultural waste in open fields.

Fossil Fuels:

• Reduce oil flaring and increase gas output.

Waste Control

• Do not burn municipal rubbish in the open and proper disposal and handling of municipal waste.

Way Forward

• The measures to prevent black carbon emissions can reduce near-term warming of the climate, increase crop yields and prevent premature deaths.
• Black carbon’s short atmospheric lifetime, combined with its strong warming potential, means that targeted strategies to reduce emissions can provide climate and health benefits within a relatively short period of time.