Mains Paper II · 4 Environment & Ecology · APPSC Group 2
4.5 Pollution and control notes
10 notes, in reading order.
- 4.5.1Air pollution: pollutants, sources and health effects
Air pollution is the presence in air of any solid, liquid or gaseous substance (and, in Indian law, noise) in a concentration that harms people, other living things, property or the environment.
Advanced · 8 min · Full course - 4.5.2Air quality management: NAAQS, AQI and the National Clean Air Programme
India sets legal limits for outdoor air (NAAQS), tells the public about daily air quality through a colour-coded index (AQI), and runs a city-based plan (NCAP) to bring pollution down.
Advanced · 8 min · Full course - 4.5.3Smog, stubble burning, vehicular emissions and BS norms
Smog is polluted fog or haze; in north India it is worsened each winter by vehicle exhaust, crop residue burning and still, cold air, and India's main answer to vehicle pollution is the Bharat Stage emission norms.
Advanced · 7 min · Full course - 4.5.4Acid rain and indoor air pollution
Acid rain is rain or deposition made acidic by sulphur and nitrogen oxides, while indoor air pollution is harmful air inside homes and buildings, mostly from cooking smoke in rural India.
Advanced · 7 min · Full course - 4.5.5Water pollution: sources, BOD, COD and eutrophication
Water pollution is any change in the physical, chemical or biological quality of water that makes it harmful to life or unfit for use; organic waste is measured by BOD and COD, and nutrient overload causes eutrophication.
Advanced · 8 min · Full course - 4.5.6Groundwater contamination: arsenic, fluoride, nitrate and uranium
India's groundwater, the main source of drinking water in villages, is contaminated in many places by naturally occurring arsenic, fluoride and uranium, and by nitrate from fertilisers and sewage.
Advanced · 8 min · Full course - 4.5.7River conservation: Namami Gange and the National River Conservation Plan
India's river clean-up began with the Ganga Action Plan in 1985, grew into the National River Conservation Plan for other rivers, and since 2014 the Ganga has its own mission, Namami Gange.
Advanced · 7 min · Full course - 4.5.8Soil pollution, pesticides and biomagnification
Soil pollution is the build-up of toxic chemicals in soil, mainly from pesticides, fertilisers and industrial waste; persistent pesticides like DDT then concentrate as they move up food chains, a process called biomagnification.
Advanced · 8 min · Full course - 4.5.9Noise pollution: standards and the Noise Rules 2000
Noise pollution is unwanted or excessive sound that harms health and comfort; in India it is controlled mainly by the Noise Rules, 2000, which set day and night limits for four kinds of areas.
Advanced · 7 min · Full course - 4.5.10Marine, thermal and radioactive pollution: oil spills, dead zones and microplastics
Seas are polluted by oil, nutrients and plastics from land and ships; rivers and coasts also suffer heat from power plants (thermal pollution) and, rarely but severely, radioactive releases.
Advanced · 8 min · Full course
Practise Pollution and control. Questions with answers explained, from the same topics.
Medha AI is an independent preparation service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to APPSC, TSPSC, MPSC, UPSC or any other commission or government body.