Two gases on a five-gas list turn out not to belong there. India’s Air Quality Index leaves out carbon dioxide and methane.
🏛️ Must Know
Which Gases India’s AQI Actually Tracks
- CO, NO₂, and SO₂ Count Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide are genuinely considered in calculating India’s Air Quality Index.
- CO₂ Does Not Count Carbon dioxide is not part of the AQI calculation. It is a greenhouse gas, not a local air-quality pollutant tracked this way.
- Methane Does Not Count Either Methane is also excluded from AQI calculation, for the same reason as carbon dioxide.
- Three of Five Are Real Only carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide from the five-gas list genuinely belong in AQI calculation.
Good to Know
📘 Good to Know
What Else Goes Into India’s AQI
- Eight Total Pollutants India’s National AQI actually tracks eight pollutants: PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and lead.
- Particulate Matter Matters Most Calculating an AQI value requires data on at least three pollutants, with at least one being PM10 or PM2.5.
- Run by the CPCB The Central Pollution Control Board runs India’s National Air Quality Monitoring Programme across hundreds of stations nationwide.
📝 Previous Year Questions
UPSC CSP 2016 — Which Gases Count Toward India’s AQI
- UPSC 2016 Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide are considered in calculating India’s AQI. Carbon dioxide and methane are not. See UPSC CSP 2016 GS Paper I, Q86. View this question.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
🌟 Great to Know
Why CO₂ and Methane Get Left Out
- Local Health vs Global Climate AQI measures immediate, local health risk from pollutants. CO₂ and methane matter for long-term climate, not immediate breathing risk.
- Background Concentration Too High CO₂ and methane occur at naturally high background levels globally, making them poor indicators of local pollution spikes.
- Connects to Other PYQ Facts This same CO₂-vs-local-pollutant distinction matters for other PYQs on greenhouse gases versus criteria air pollutants.
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