Thick and stinging smoke rose from the fire at the Ghazipur landfill, bringing with it heat and toxic emissions that burned the capital New Delhi.
The fire at Ghazipur, the largest landfill in the capital New Delhi, broke out on April 21 with an unknown cause. By April 23, most of the fire had been extinguished, but people living nearby complained of sore eyes and sore throats due to toxic air.
Landfill fires often occur due to methane gas emitted during the decomposition of garbage. This is the latest in a series of landfill fires that have caused the New Delhi government a headache trying to solve them for many years.
Smoke rises from the Ghazipur landfill in New Delhi on April 22. Image: AFP
Every year, when temperatures rise in the summer, landfills in the city burst into flames with decomposing waste, adding to the amount of methane in India. Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas after CO2, but contributes to the climate crisis more severely by trapping more heat.
According to GHGSat, a satellite emissions monitoring agency, India is the world’s largest emitter of methane gas from landfilled waste.
According to a 2023 report by the Center for Science and Environment, a nonprofit research organization in New Delhi, Ghazipur’s trash mountain is just one of about 3,000 landfills in India that are overloaded with decomposing waste and emissions. toxic gas. The landfill is 65 meters high, almost as high as the Taj Mahal castle, covering surrounding houses and negatively affecting residents’ health.
Inhaling methane over a long period of time worsens lung diseases, causes asthma and increases the risk of stroke, according to the nonprofit Global Clean Air Initiative. Methane gas is not the only source of toxic emissions from trash mountains. After decades, toxins from the garbage seeped into the ground, polluting the water source for tens of thousands of surrounding residents.
At Bhalswa, one of the major landfills in New Delhi, people in 2022 complained of skin and respiratory diseases due to years of living near the landfill.
According to a July 2022 report by the agency responsible for minimizing landfill fires, more than 2,300 tons of solid waste are brought to Ghazipur every day. Authorities have deployed drones every three months to monitor the size of the trash mountain and find ways to recover methane gas.
Excavators operating on Ghazipur trash mountain on April 23. Image: CNN
However, the landfill has exceeded its capacity since 2022 and methane gas exploitation activities have been slow, making it difficult for New Delhi officials to meet their goal of leveling the trash mountain this year.
The Indian government in 2019 proposed a number of waste treatment solutions, which encouraged the construction of recycling and waste treatment plants. However, while waste disposal has made some progress such as door-to-door waste collection and better waste disposal, the number of landfills in India continues to increase.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government is trying to take measures to remove trash mountains and turn them into green zones in the “Clean India” initiative. If this goal is achieved, the lives of people around landfills will be improved, contributing to reducing the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
However, India has yet to join the 155 countries that have signed up to the Global Methane Pledge, the pact to cut total global emissions by at least 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels. Scientists estimate the commitment This commitment will reduce global temperature increase by 0.2%, helping the world achieve the goal of maintaining global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
India explains its reason for not joining the treaty because the majority of methane emissions come from agriculture, with 74% from livestock and poultry farming, crop farming and less than 15% from landfills.
Hong Hanh (According to CNN)
