Why Not All Trees May Help You Breathe Easy

New Delhi: Not all trees planted in Delhi are effective to counter pollution and a tree needs to be picked after considering multiple factors, Delhi University’s environmental studies department has found during a two-year study.

- Mohammad.Ibrar

The department has found that areas with high pollution content due to high traffic or industries require trees such as neem and peepal as they have a high air pollution tolerance index (APTI).

The study was conducted under professor Chirashree Ghosh of the department in collaboration with Babli Moitra Saraf, principal of Indraprastha College for Women, on the college premises. It was an extension of the tree census of the campus, which listed 803 trees across 91 species.

“Delhi government has announced a target of planting 3.3 million saplings in the coming monsoon months and draft Master Plan Delhi 2041 targets to create green belts,” Ghosh said. “Vanmahotsav is organized with a lot of publicity every year. While such policy initiatives are welcome moves, we need to be careful about the rationale behind the choice of the species that are planted,” she added.