Everything You Need To Know About Delhi's Smog Tower: The First Of Its Kind In India!

This tower will purify up to 1000 cubic metres per second of air by discharging clean and breathable air.

It’s well known that Delhi has been carrying the brunt of being one of the most polluted cities in the world. With severe smog and air pollution, the grave situation has, over the years, led to many ailments among Delhiites. However, there seems to be a hopeful development this year vis-a-vis tackling this situation.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday inaugurated India’s first-ever smog tower in the capital that is valued at Rs. 20 crores! 

Pic Credits: Twitter/ArvindKejriwal

This 18-metre tall concrete tower has a 6-metre-high canopy constructed on top, taking its total height to 24 metres. It boasts 40 in-built fans (10 on each side) and has 5000 filters actively working to purify the air. The fans and filters have been imported from the US.

This experimental project incorporates the ‘downdraft air cleaning system’ technology developed by the University of Minnesota. In this system, the tower will suck in polluted air from above and, after filtering it, will discharge 1000 cubic metres per second of purified air from below.

Pic Credits: Rediff

The construction of the smog tower was taken up by Tata Projects Limited (TPL) with technical support from IIT-Delhi and IIT-Bombay. Along with this, the institutes will also be engaging in a two-year pilot study, assessing how the tower will function during different weather conditions and analysing the PM2.5 (Particulate Matter) levels in the air.

The air quality in the city will be monitored by an automated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which will measure the levels of PM2.5, PM10, temperature, and humidity. The data will then be displayed on a board placed on top of the tower. Apart from that, monitors will be soon installed at distances away from the tower to measure its impact. 

Pic Credits: Al Jazeera

Meanwhile, environmental experts claim that there is no evidence that smog towers present across the world have helped in improving their city’s air quality. Unless the system is not operated in a confined space, the air purification process is not that reliable.

Previously, three other smaller air purifiers were installed in Delhi at Krishna Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, and Lajpat Nagar. 

Pic Credits: Al Jazeera

As of now, a second tower is currently under construction at Anand Vihar in East Delhi, supervised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). 

Pic Credits for OG/ Header/ Vertical: Twitter/Arvind Kejriwal, Jargan