Swachh Vayu Diwas- International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies

United Nations General Assembly has designated 7th September as the “International Day of Clean Air for blue skies” with an aim to raise awareness and to promote actions to improve air quality.

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Swachh Vayu Diwas- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 3: Environment- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation.

Swachh Vayu Diwas in News

Recently, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change organized 3rd International Day of Clean Air for blue skies as ‘Swachh Vayu Diwas (“Swachh Vayu Neel Gagan”).

Swachh Vayu Diwas

About: ‘Swachh Vayu Diwas (“Swachh Vayu Neel Gagan”) aims to raise awareness and facilitate actions to improve air quality under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
Key Guidelines: During the event on Swachh Vayu Diwas, MoEFCC has released the following:
- Guidelines on Capacity Building and Outreach programmes to be conducted at National, State and City level, help in mobilising stakeholders at all levels to promote actions to improve air quality.
- Guidelines for release and utilization of funds under NCAP;
- XV Finance Commission Operational guidelines for implementation of recommendations for air quality component
- Best Practices and success stories of 8 cities under NCAP. These best practices help in adopting sustainable approaches by other cities for improvement of air quality.

International Day of Clean Air for blue skies 2022

About: United Nations General Assembly has designated 7th September as the “International Day of Clean Air for blue skies” with an aim to raise awareness and to promote actions to improve air quality.
Theme: International Day of Clean Air for blue skies 2022 theme is “The Air We Share”.
Mandate: International Day of Clean Air for blue skies 2022 aims to raises awareness on the urgency of strengthening national action and regional collaboration to improve air quality.

Previous International Day of Clean Air for blue skies

First ‘International Day of Clean Air For Blue Skies’: The first event, with the theme “Clean Air for All,” was held on September 7, 2020.
Second ‘International Day of Clean Air For Blue Skies’: The 2021 theme for the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is “Healthy Air, Healthy Planet” which emphasizes the health aspects of air pollution, especially considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

About: National Clean Air Mission program (NCAP) was launched in 2019 to ensure Clean Air for All, healthy and productive life for citizens, and improve air quality in more than 100 cities through holistic approach.
Key Features: National Clean Air Programme aims at improving air quality by reducing Particulate Matter concentrations by 20-30% in 131 cities in the country. It includes-
- 123 Non-Attainment Cities (NAC) which exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 5 consecutive years and
- 42 Million Plus Population Cities/Urban Agglomerations.
- 34 cities are common in both categories.
Monitoring: Reporting and monitoring of physical and financial progress of action plans is done through PRANA portal (Portal for Regulation of Air Pollution in Non-attainment Cities).
Key Achievements: 131 cities of the country have developed City Action Plans and Micro Action Plans to address various sources contributing to poor air quality such as vehicles, road dust, construction, industries, thermal power plants, burning of waste, Construction and Demolition Waste, etc.
- There has been an overall improvement in Particulate Matter concentration in 95 cities including 20 cities conforming to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in the year 2021-22 compared to 2017.