Delhi Metro helps reduce vehicular air pollution, indicates research

The Centre for Development Economics at Delhi School of Economics has come up with a research paper claiming that theDelhi Metro has resulted in reduced levels of two important vehicular pollutants - nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO).

The research found that the level of CO in the area around ITO, a busy intersection in Delhi, has fallen by at least 35 per cent.

The research paper prepared by Deepti Goel in association with Sonam Gupta from Food and Resource Economics Department at University of Florida in the US was presented at a seminar at Indian Statistical Institute recently.

"Looking at each extension of the rail network as a separate event, it has resulted in three to 47 per cent reduction in NO2 concentration, and a 31 to 100 per cent reduction in CO concentration," Goel said.

"We quantified the effect of the Delhi Metro on air pollution. We used hourly data on four criteria pollutants from 2004 onwards.

Both NO2 and CO are important constituents of vehicular emissions and our findings are suggestive of the diversion effect of the Delhi Metro," she said.
The Delhi Metro has not only reduced your travel time and made commuting hassle-free but has also helped in bringing down the pollution level in the Capital.