Groundwater extraction-induced seismicity around Delhi region, India.
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ABSTRACT: The non-tectonic deformation, either of natural or anthropogenic origin, may influence the earthquake occurrence process and seismicity rate along the plate-boundary or 'stable' plate-interiors domains. The low magnitude but moderate seismicity rate of Delhi region on the stable plate-interiors domains of India, exhibits significant variation both in short-term at annual seasonal scale and in long-term at decadal scale. It correlates with the anthropogenic groundwater pumping for the extensive irrigation, urban activities, and seasonally controlled hydrological loading cycle of Indo-Ganga Basin hosted freshwater aquifers. Our coupled hydro-mechanical simulation and poro-mechanical analysis of basement fault stability suggest that the combined aquifer contraction and basement rock expansion act together to modulate the effective stress regime and anthropogenic seismicity on the basement faults in Delhi region.
Project description:BackgroundFood policies and environment (availability, accessibility, affordability, marketing) in and around educational institutes can influence food choices and behaviours of children and adolescents.MethodsCross-sectional, mixed-methods study was implemented in schools (n = 9; Private = 6, Public = 3) and colleges (n = 4) from Delhi and National Capital Region (India). The data was collected from students of schools (n = 253) and colleges (n = 57), parents of school students (n = 190), teachers (n = 12, schools = 9, colleges = 3) and canteen operators of Private schools and colleges (n = 10; schools = 6, and colleges = 4). The primary and secondary data was collected to: 1) identify the strengths and weaknesses of the existing guidelines and directives (desk review); 2) examine food environment, existing policies and its implementation (structured observations, in-depth interviews, surveys, focus group discussions), and; 3) assess food choices, behaviours of students (focus group discussions). The thematic analysis was used for qualitative data and descriptive analysis for quantitative data.ResultsThe available food and beverage options, in and around the participating educational institutes were either high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS), despite government and educational institute guidelines on restricting the availability and accessibility of HFSS foods. The healthy food and beverage options were expensive compared to HFSS foods both inside and outside educational institutes. In total, 37 vendors (Private = 27; Public:10) were observed outside schools at dispersal and twelve at lunchtime. Around colleges, vendors (n = 14) were seen throughout the day. Students from all Private schools (n = 6) and colleges (n = 2) were exposed to food and beverage advertisements either HFSS (Private schools = 1-3 and colleges = 0-2 advertisements), whereas no advertisements were observed around Public schools.ConclusionIt is imperative to implement food policies to improve the food environment in and around educational institutes to ensure the availability of healthy foods to establish and sustain healthy eating behaviours among students. Thus, the study findings emphasise stringent implementation, regular monitoring and surveillance of recently introduced Food Safety and Standards (Safe food and balanced diets for children in school) Regulation 2020, ensuring its compliance through effective enforcement strategies.
Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a deep global impact, not only from a social and economic perspective, but also with regard to human health and the environment. To restrict transmission of the virus, the Indian government enforced a complete nationwide lockdown except for essential services and supplies in phases from 25 March to 31 May 2020. Ambient air quality in and around New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities of world, was also impacted during this period.ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to assess and understand the impact of four different lockdown phases (LD1, LD2, LD3 and LD4) on five air pollutants (particulate matter (PM) PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3)) compared to before lockdown (BLD) at 13 air monitoring stations in and around New Delhi.MethodsSecondary data on five criteria pollutants for 13 monitoring stations in and around New Delhi for the period 1 March to 31 May 2020 was accessed from the Central Pollution Control Bard, New Delhi. Data were statistically analyzed across lockdown phases, meteorological variables, and prevailing air sources around the monitoring stations.ResultsPollutant concentrations decreased during LD1 compared to BLD except for O3 at all stations. PM2.5 and PM10 remained either close to or higher than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) due to prevailing high-speed winds. During lockdown phases, NO2 decreased, whereas O3 consistently increased at all stations. This was a paradoxical situation as O3 is formed via photochemical reactions among NOx and volatile organic compounds. Principal component analysis (PCA) extracted two principal components (PC1 and PC2) which explained up to 80% of cumulative variance in data. PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 were associated with PC1, whereas PC2 had loadings of either O3 only or O3 and SO2 depending upon monitoring station.ConclusionsThe present study found that air pollutants decreased during lockdown phases, but these decreases were specific to the site(s) and pollutant(s). The decrease in pollutant concentrations during lockdown could not be attributed completely to lockdown conditions as the planetary boundary layer increased two-fold during lockdown compared to the BLD phase. Such restrictions could be applied in the future to control air pollution but should be approached with caution.Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing financial interests.
Project description:Groundwater quality should be continuously monitored for irrigation and drinking purpose so that risk from geochemical contaminants can be reduced by appropriate treatment method. Therefore, the focus of the present study was to determine the suitability of groundwater collected from South West Delhi, India, for irrigation and drinking purpose on the basis of various water quality indices. In order to assess the groundwater quality, 50 samples were collected from different sites of selected study area and parameters such as pH, EC (electrical conductivity), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, total hardness (TH), total alkalinity (HCO3-), calcium (Ca+2), magnesium (Mg+2), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), chloride (Cl-), Fluoride (F-), sulfates (SO4-2) and Nitrates (NO3-) were determined. Based on the above parameters, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), soluble sodium percentage (SSP), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), permeability index (PI), magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), Kelley's ratio (KR) and Na% were calculated. Water quality index (WQI), which is an important and unique rating to represent the overall water quality in a single term that is useful to determine the suitability of water for human consumption, was also estimated. The present dataset demonstrated the application of water quality indices that would be helpful to policymakers for appropriate management, treatment and sustainable societal development at large.
Project description:In the present study, hydro-geochemical characteristics of groundwater samples collected from South West Delhi, India, have been assessed. 50 sampling locations were recorded with the help of global positioning system, to assess the groundwater quality and evaluate the corrosion and scaling potential. Hydro-geochemical characterization for different parameters such as pH, temperature (T), electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity (SA), total hardness (TH), total alkalinity ( HCO3- ), levels of anions such as calcium (Ca+2), magnesium (Mg+2), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+) and cations which include chloride (Cl-), Flouride (F-), sulfates ( SO4-2 ), Nitrates ( NO3- ) was done using standard APHA methods. The corrosion and scaling potential of groundwater was evaluated by five stability indices: Langelier saturation index (LSI), Ryznar stability index (RSI), Aggressive index (AI), Learson-Skold index (Ls) and Puckorius scaling index (PSI). The dataset classified groundwater as polluted and this indicates that the water is not safe for domestic, agricultural and industrial usage and will need further treatment. This dataset is beneficial for policymakers, and researchers in the field of water purification, quality management and in preventing the economic and safety concerns related to corrosion and scaling of groundwater.
Project description:Local groundwater levels in South India are falling alarmingly. In the semi-arid crystalline Deccan plateau area, agricultural production relies on groundwater resources. Downscaled Global Climate Model (GCM) data are used to force a spatially distributed agro-hydrological model in order to evaluate Climate Change (CC) effects on local groundwater extraction (GWE). The slight increase of precipitation may alleviate current groundwater depletion on average, despite the increased evaporation due to warming. Nevertheless, projected climatic extremes create worse GWE shortages than for present climate. Local conditions may lead to opposing impacts on GWE, from increases to decreases (+/-20 mm/year), for a given spatially homogeneous CC forcing. Areas vulnerable to CC in terms of irrigation apportionment are thus identified. Our results emphasize the importance of accounting for local characteristics (water harvesting systems and maximal aquifer capacity versus GWE) in developing measures to cope with CC impacts in the South Indian region.
Project description:AimTo assess the level of adherence to diabetes care processes, and associated clinic and patient factors at general practices in Delhi, India.MethodsWe interviewed physicians (n = 23) and patients with diabetes (n = 406), and reviewed patient charts at general practices (government = 5; private = 18). We examined diabetes care processes, specifically measurement of weight, blood pressure (BP), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipids, electrocardiogram, dilated eye, and a foot examination in the last one year. We analyzed clinic and patient factors associated with a number of care processes achieved using multilevel Poisson regression model.ResultsThe average number of clinic visits per patient was 8.8/year (standard deviation = 5.7), and physicians had access to patient's previous records in only 19.7% of patients. Dilated eye exam, foot exam, and electrocardiogram were completed in 7.4%, 15.1%, and 29.1% of patients, respectively. An estimated 51.7%, 88.4%, and 28.1% had ≥1 measurement of HbA1c, BP, and lipids, respectively. Private clinics, physician access to patient's previous records, use of nonphysicians, patient education, and the presence of diabetes complication were positively associated with a number of care processes in the multivariable model.ConclusionAdherence to diabetes care processes was suboptimal. Encouraging implementation of quality improvement strategies like Chronic Care Model elements at general practices may improve diabetes care.
Project description:Chemical and physical responses of groundwater to seismicity have been documented for thousands of years. Among the waves produced by earthquakes, Rayleigh waves can spread to great distances and produce hydrogeological perturbations in response to their passage. In this work, the groundwater level, which was continuously recorded in a monitoring well in Central Italy between July 2014 and December 2019, exhibited evident responses to dynamic crustal stress. In detail, 18 sharp variations of the groundwater level due to worldwide Mw ≥ 6.5 earthquakes were observed. Apart from earthquakes that occurred in Papua New Guinea and those with a hypocentral depth > 150 km, all far away Mw ≥ 7.6 earthquakes produced impulsive oscillations of groundwater. As the earthquake magnitude decreased, only some earthquakes with 6.5 ≤ Mw < 7.6 caused groundwater level perturbations, depending on the data acquisition frequency and epicentral distance from the monitoring well. A clear correlation between earthquake distance and magnitude in hydrogeological responses was found. Our results shed light on the hydrosensitivity of the study site and on the characteristics of fractured aquifer systems. Detecting the water table variations induced by distant earthquakes is another step towards a correct identification of (preseismic) hydrogeological changes due to near-field seismicity.
Project description:Influenza surveillance was carried out in a subset of patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) presenting at an Employee Health Clinic (EHS) at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi (urban) and pediatric out patients department of civil hospital at Ballabhgarh (peri-urban), under the Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project (CRHSP) of AIIMS, in Delhi region from January 2007 to December 2010. Of the 3264 samples tested, 541 (17%) were positive for influenza viruses, of which 221 (41%) were pandemic Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, 168 (31%) were seasonal influenza A, and 152 (28%) were influenza B. While the Influenza viruses were detected year-round, their types/subtypes varied remarkably. While there was an equal distribution of seasonal A(H1N1) and influenza B in 2007, predominance of influenza B was observed in 2008. At the beginning of 2009, circulation of influenza A(H3N2) viruses was observed, followed later by emergence of Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 with co-circulation of influenza B viruses. Influenza B was dominant subtype in early 2010, with second wave of Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in August-September, 2010. With the exception of pandemic H1N1 emergence in 2009, the peaks of influenza activity coincided primarily with monsoon season, followed by minor peak in winter at both urban and rural sites. Age group analysis of influenza positivity revealed that the percent positivity of Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza virus was highest in >5-18 years age groups (OR 2.5; CI = 1.2-5.0; p = 0.009) when compared to seasonal influenza. Phylogenetic analysis of Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 from urban and rural sites did not reveal any major divergence from other Indian strains or viruses circulating worldwide. Continued surveillance globally will help define regional differences in influenza seasonality, as well as, to determine optimal periods to implement influenza vaccination programs among priority populations.
Project description:Decreased susceptibility of Neisseria meningitidis isolates to ciprofloxacin emerged from an outbreak in Delhi, India. Results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the meningococcal isolates to ciprofloxacin and further sequencing of DNA gyrase A quinolone-resistance-determining region confirmed the emergence of ciprofloxacin resistance in the outbreak.
Project description:The present investigation focuses on assessing the water quality of groundwater surrounding brick kilns in the Jammu district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). At 43 different brick kiln sites in both north and south regions of Jammu, concentrations of heavy metals were measured using established techniques. The elements zinc, copper, iron, lead, cadmium, nickel, and manganese were analyzed utilizing an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The pollution load index value was consistently below unity across all sites, suggesting an absence of pollution and making the water suitable for consumption. The average concentrations, listed in ascending order, were found to be 0.38 mg/L for copper, 0.31 mg/L for zinc, 0.01 mg/L for iron, and 0.09 mg/L for manganese. Notably, concentrations of lead, cadmium, and nickel were found below the detectable levels. Evaluation of contamination factors revealed the sequence Cu > Fe > Zn > Mn, while the geo accumulation index followed the sequence Cu > Fe > Mn > Zn. Comparison of these findings with the established standards of World Health Organization and Bureau of Indian Standards indicated that the recorded ranges were within permissible limits. The study's outcomes suggest that heavy metal emissions from brick kilns may not significantly impact the quality of groundwater. Elevated copper levels found near brick kilns were likely to result from plumbing materials in the study area. Iron and manganese in groundwater seems to have geo-genic origin and not emission-related. This research represents a foundational step in examining groundwater contamination by heavy metals specifically in the neighborhood of brick kilns in Jammu district. It contributes to the establishment of a comprehensive database and serves as a reference point for future studies. Additionally, the study recommends regular monitoring of groundwater to ensure the maintenance of drinking water quality.