Delhi will soon inaugurate its first smog tower. A smog towe | UPSC Current Affairs Daily

Delhi will soon inaugurate its first smog tower.

A smog tower is a structure designed to work as a large-scale air purifier, fitted with multiple layers of filters which trap fine dust particles suspended in the air as it passes through them.
Smog towers have been experimented with in recent years in cities in the Netherlands, China, South Korea and Poland.
The fans at the bottom of the tower will suck in polluted air from the top and it will pass through 5,000 filters installed at the bottom and finally release purified air near the ground.
The filters contain electrostatically charged filter media and can capture particles as small as 0.3-10 microns in size.
An electrostatic air filter uses static electricity to give particles a positive charge as they enter the filter. This charge is released as the air continues through subsequent layers of the filter, and results in the particle ultimately getting trapped.
1000 cubic metre of air per second could be purified by the tower.
The smog tower is expected to influence the air quality of more than 1 km in the downwind direction.
The smog tower by helping purify polluted air will help control air pollution in Delhi.
Air pollution in the national capital has been an issue of concern of late. Pollution levels in Delhi increase dramatically during winter posing a serious risk to vulnerable and also healthy populations.
Construction work, industrial and vehicular pollution are the major sources of air pollution. The smoke from stubble-burning in neighbouring states, coupled with unfavourable meteorological conditions, such as calm winds and low temperatures only further aggravate the air pollution in Delhi.

SOURCE: PIB